Any new Kobos coming out this year?

[tschucha]

It's been a while since Kobo had released anything new in the 8 inch and 10.3 inch Ereader universe. Any rumors floating around.

I'd love to see an updated Elipsa with 300DPI or better yet something a little smaller - maybe 9 inches or so

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by tschucha

It's been a while since Kobo had released anything new in the 8 inch and 10.3 inch Ereader universe. Any rumors floating around.

I'd love to see an updated Elipsa with 300DPI or better yet something a little smaller - maybe 9 inches or so

Kobo really needs to make a new 7" Libra BW. That's the one most people want. An 8" Libra 8 BW would also be good. An updated Elipsa with a good battery is also good. All of these have to be BW and no color.

[John F]

I don't recall seeing any rumors on MR.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Kobo really needs to make a new 7" Libra BW. That's the one most people want. An 8" Libra 8 BW would also be good. An updated Elipsa with a good battery is also good. All of these have to be BW and no color.

Jon, I think you hit "Submit Reply" too early? I don't see a reply to the OP's question.

[texasnightowl]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Kobo really needs to make a new 7" Libra BW. That's the one most people want.

Agreed. I don't need color. I don't want color at the expense of clarity, etc. My eyesight sucks so I already use more intense/bolder fonts than the ones built in to the kindle. So although some people say the color screen isn't that bad...I don't need anything that will decrease the text clarity.

So since I won't be buying a new kindle, I'd love the return of the BW Libra as it has the buttons and similar form factor to the Oasis. Which is still my favorite reader. (I'm mostly using a PW5 at the moment as my mother likes the Oasis too. She likes the buttons too and she is a lefty so she loves the auto rotate of the screen, etc.)

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Kobo really needs to make a new 7" Libra BW. That's the one most people want. An 8" Libra 8 BW would also be good. An updated Elipsa with a good battery is also good. All of these have to be BW and no color.

^^^
T H I S!

[rantanplan]

Right now if my Libra 2 or Sage would break there would be nothing to replace them with.

[JSWolf]

I'd love a 7" Kobo Aura BW. I do like the shape. Yes, it's akin to the PW6. But it would be a Kobo running Kobo firmware AND NO COLOR.

[Apollyon202]

I've set up a notification on the FCC website under Netronix, so if any changes occur I'll receive an email immediately. But I also check it almost every day manually. So far no change since last June, almost a year ago. Let's say they put a new entry there tomorrow, we still won't get anything until late August or September at best.

Of course, this assumes that Netronix will be the manufacturer for Kobo. It's only May, so there's still a chance we get something this year. If not, this will be the first year since the Kobo Touch (2011) that Kobo hasn't released anything new. That would be a shame.

I just don't get it. Kobo has a book store, probably they have their most income from there. What do they expect? Most books are with BW text and without images. But they mostly sell colour ereaders, which is a quite terrible way to read these books, compared to BW ereaders at least.
Colour reader owners please don't get offended.

I also don't like the fact that the Kobo CEO is very active on social media yet never says a word about any upcoming ereaders, ever. In fact, he cringily avoids the topic like it's hot lava or something.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Apollyon202

I also don't like the fact that the Kobo CEO is very active on social media yet never says a word about any upcoming ereaders, ever. In fact, he cringily avoids the topic like it's hot lava or something.

Have you tried sending a message to the CEO to tell him we want a 7" BW Reader?

[Apollyon202]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Have you tried sending a message to the CEO to tell him we want a 7" BW Reader?

I reserve the right to be wrong, but I think those brand new flowery collector cases are inspired from reddit / other social media posts. The kobo sub is flooded with sticker decorated Libra Colours and stuff. So - at the same time - he MUST have seen and acknowledged that people are begging for Libra 2 and Sage successors. And/or somebody, or a lot of people, who actually have a Bluesky account, are spamming the CEO with this. So I'm not gonna do that.

My theory is, his hands are tied or something. Maybe the parent company Rakuten doesn't give the funds and/or permission for new models. Or something is happening with E Ink. Well, Boox also haven't released any new models in the 7" segment (nor they have any 8" models), while previously they were releasing new models in the same category in a 10-12 month period, no matter what. And right now they don't have anything new.
So I would guess that E Ink has supply issues or whatnot. Or both.

But I still have hopes that Kobo will release repairable 7-8" BW devices not later than next year. With a battery door!
Yeah, I know...

[JSWolf]

Any Reader Kobo release after February 2027 in the EU has to have a user replaceable battery. So maybe that's why Kobo is holing out.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Any Reader Kobo release after February 2027 in the EU has to have a user replaceable battery. So maybe that's why Kobo is holing out.

Jon: Stop beating the. Current Kobo ereaders fulfil the requirements of the EU directive. Do I really need to quote the document AGAIN in the probably vain hope that this time you will read it? Perhaps you can enlighten us as to which specialized tools you need to pay for that are required to replace the battery in a current Kobo ereader? Do you require thermal energy or solvents?

A portable battery should be considered to be removable by the end-user when it can be removed with the use of commercially available tools and without requiring the use of specialised tools, unless they are provided free of charge, or proprietary tools, thermal energy or solvents to disassemble it. Commercially available tools are considered to be tools available on the market to all end-users without the need for them to provide evidence of any proprietary rights and that can be used with no restriction, except health and safety-related restrictions.

That Kobo is working on firmware to meet the EU's accessibility requirements is a different item and the reason that Kobo's v5 firmware for the Libra Colour, Clara Colour and Clara BW exists.

[John F]

Originally Posted by Apollyon202

... Most books are with BW text and without images. But they mostly sell colour ereaders, ...

Interesting. I would guess that Kobo thinks you are not their normal target customer..

The majority of my ebooks do have images, and the majority of those have at least one color image. And then there are those customers who appreciate color for other reasons.

[Haesslich]

I'd rather a new Forma more than a new Sage. Light, big screen but not too big or heavy.

[Sirtel]

I'd like ANY 7-8" b&w Kobo with buttons.