I have absolutely no complaints about Kobo as a company. I’ve been using their device for many years, and it continues to receive updates. My assumption that support had ended was based on the fact that, according to the version matrix (
https://pgaskin.net/KoboStuff/kobofirmware.html), the KA1 hasn’t received any of the last five versions. However, after reviewing the full release history, I realize that this happens occasionally.
Special thanks for the link to the thread with the updated patches!