Kobo's latest premium device is the phablet of the ereader world. It feels huge in the hand, at least right now – it may be that in five years’ time a 7.8-inch screen ereader will be the norm.
Almost every ereader you can buy right now, including all four products in the ever-popular Amazon Kindle range, sport a 6-inch screen; Kobo apparently wants the Aura One to stand out as a big-screen alternative.
That 7.8-inch screen will look and feel huge if you've been used to a Kindle, or pretty much any other ereader – but has the Kobo Aura One got anything distinctive going for it other than its size?
Kobo Aura One price and release date
- The Kobo Aura One is out now in the US, UK and Australia
- It costs $229.99 (£189.99, AU$349.95)
- The Aura One is more expensive than a Kindle Voyage
The Kobo Aura One is available now – you can buy it directly from Kobo's website, and from a number of other retailers.
The Aura One is the most premium and expensive product in the Kobo range at $229.99 (£189.99, AU$349.95). That's more than the $199.99 (£169.99, about AU$265) Kindle Voyage, but a good bit less than the top-of-the-range Kindle, the Kindle Oasis, which will set you back $289.99 (£269.99, about AU$380).
Key features
- New screen tech is designed to help you sleep better
- Waterproof design makes this a great choice for holidays
- The larger size may not be for everyone
The Kobo Aura One's headline feature is its size. This is different to any other ereader we've seen, and if you've always thought the current crop of devices were a bit small for your liking then this might be the ereader you’ve been waiting for.
While it may feel a little odd when you first pick up the Aura One, the large screen feels natural to use, and you should get used to it fairly quickly – and you’ll certainly appreciate it when you're reading.
The Kobo Aura One's screen features Kobo’s new RGB front lighting technology, ComfortLight Pro, which works in a similar way to Night Shift on your iPhone or iPad (if you're running iOS 9.3), and is designed to help you get to sleep easier, and sleep better, after you’ve been looking at the screen.
The screen lighting starts the day as blue, and gradually switches to yellow and orange tones during the course of the day. Research has shown that such a shift in lighting makes it easier to sleep at night, which will be welcome if you tend to read in bed.
It’s another feature that marks the Auro One out from the competition, and while we can't say for sure that it helped us sleep any better, it did make reading in bed a more relaxing experience.
Design
- Large screen may make the Aura One difficult to use for some
- It's thin and has an attractive design
Design-wise, the Aura One doesn't feel as premium as some Kindle products. The back panel is covered in dimpled plastic that makes gripping it easier, but it doesn't feel as nice as the Kindle Oasis.
That doesn't mean it's a bad-looking device though – in fact there's a certain charm to the design of the Kobo. And there are no thick bezels that dip around the screen, like on some cheaper ereaders.
The Aura One is certainly large at 195.1 x 138.5 x 6.9mm, so you'll need both hands to use it comfortably – that’s fine if you’re sitting down, but it may a problem if you’re standing up on the train or bus, for example, and need to keep one hand free to brace yourself.
It's also one of the thinnest ereaders you can buy at 6.9mm, as the internals have been spread across the larger body.
There's a power switch on the rear of the device which is easy to hit when you need to turn the Auro One on and off; apart from that the device is buttonless.
Another big selling point of the Aura One is its waterproof design – you can happily use it to read beside the pool, and considering how popular ereaders are with holidaymakers it’s surprising more ereaders don’t have this feature.
That said, it’s worth noting that the Auro One isn’t dust-proof – the microUSB slot at the bottom of the device is open, which could cause issues if you're on a sandy beach.
We regularly splashed the odd drop of water on the device while using it on holiday, though, and the waterproof design proved very welcome.
Display
- Clarity of text is impressive
- It's almost the same size as an iPad Mini 4 at 7.8 inches
- 300 dots per inch, the same as the Kindle Paperwhite, Voyage and Oasis
If you've used an ereader before you'll likely find it strange to use the Kobo Aura One. With its 7.8-inch HD Carta E Ink touchscreen it's so large it could pass for a tablet.
The screen on the iPad Mini 4 is 7.9 inches, and it's quite an odd feeling to be reading books on a display this size if you've been used to a 6-inch Kindle product.
But if you've been looking for something larger than the Kindles, the Aura One's size will be a selling point, and it feels like a step in an interesting direction – after all, books come in all shapes and sizes, so why not ereaders?
While the Aura One is large for an ereader it’s still much easier to wield than your average hardback book, or even a paperback copy of the A Song of Ice and Fire series.
The screen is high-quality as well, with a resolution of 1872 x 1404. That's 300 dots per inch, meaning text is clear and easy to read, and book artwork looks great; viewing angles are strong too.
Another standout feature of the Kobo Aura One is its front lighting technology. This enables you to read in comfort in all kinds of lighting conditions, and the device is a joy to use even in bright sunshine.
You can also read in bed in the dark, which is something you wouldn't be able to do with Amazon's cheapest Kindle model without the aid of clip-on reading light or bedside lamp.
As mentioned, the Kobo Auro One aso includes a technology called ComfortLight Pro, which changes the colour of the light from blue to yellow/orange as the day progresses, making for a more comfortable reading experience at night.
We noticed that the light did flicker on a few occasions when the device was trying to adjust itself to the ambient conditions, but it only took a few moments to sort itself out.
Battery life
- You’ll average about 10 hours screen-on time with auto brightness enabled
- Not the best battery life on the market, but still enough to get you through an average-length book
- Recharges in an hour or two through via the microUSB port
Kobo lists the Aura One as having a battery life of up to one month, but if you're a keen reader you won't see anything close to that. We found that after a week of fairly intensive usage, reading for around an hour each day, the battery fell from 100% to around 30%.
You're going to get around 10 hours of reading time from a single charge. That may sound good compared to your average tablet or smartphone, but it's not as good as much of the competition in the ereader market.
You'll get a solid amount of screen time out of the Kobo Aura One – enough to read the average paperback – but it's not as much as you’ll get from most other ereaders.
That said, recharging your ereader once a week or so isn't particularly onerous.
Kobo store
- Easy to search for books on the Kobo store, with over five million titles to choose from
- Limited selection compared to some of the competition
The biggest issue with buying a Kobo ereader is that the Kobo store doesn't have as big a selection of titles as Amazon's.
Kobo does offer over five million books, but that doesn't rival Amazon's ereader store, and if you tend to read a lot of niche titles you may not find what you’re looking for.
If you read mostly best-selling books, though, the Kobo store will keep you happy – we searched for several popular titles that TechRadar writers have been reading recently, and all were available.
In addition to the more limited choice there’s also the issue of price – buying from the Kobo store may prove a little more expensive than buying from Amazon.
The Kobo store does have sales, but the discounts don’t tend to be as generous as those you’ll get at Amazon's store – and you don't get the benefits of the Kindle Unlimited library-like scheme.
Software
- Simple to use interface that you'll pick up quickly
- Lots of easy-to-access options to improve your reading experience
- Recommendations and a Top 50 make it easy to find new titles
If you’re familiar with ereaders it won’t take you long to get the hang of the Kobo Aura One – and even if you haven’t used an ereader before you’ll find it pretty easy to get to grips with the software and interface.
Kobo has kept things nice and simple. The home page displays the book you're currently reading at the top-left, and you can tap it to go straight to the page you were on.
When reading you tap the right or left of the screen to go forwards and backwards respectively. To come out of a book, or to change settings, you tap at the top of the screen to bring up the relevant options.
The Aura One is as fast as you'll ever need an ereader to be. It can sometimes take a moment to flip the page, but that's a fault of all e-ink screens, and it won't frustrate you enough to make you put it down and pick up a paperback.
The home page of the Kobo makes it easy to see your library, and you can also search your collection if you have a bulging collection of titles.
The search bar at the top is also where you access the store to buy new books. If you're looking for ideas there's a list of the top 50 titles at the right-hand side, as well as customized recommendations based on your reading history.
Not surprisingly we didn't find the recommendations particularly useful after reading just one book, but after you've purchased or read a few titles Kobo will start to work out what you like to read, and give you more useful suggestions.
The Kobo Aura One doesn’t support cellular connections – you can only download books over Wi-Fi, so you’ll need to stock up if you’re going on holiday, for example, and will have limited access to the internet. The files won't take up much space, though, and the 8GB capacity is enough to store thousands of books.
The Aura One is different to any other ereader on the market. The size is a big change, and something that will take some getting used to if you’ve used other ereaders, but the new front-lighting technology is a big plus, while the waterproof design will be welcomed by many.
The problem for Kobo is getting noticed in a market dominated by the behemoth that is Amazon – but there are good reasons to take a look at Kobo, and the Aura One showcases most of them.
Despite coming with a larger screen the Kobo Aura One offers a comfortable reading experience, and is easy to hold for long stretches.
Unlike most other ereaders you can safely use it around water, and it won't matter if you spill your Piña colada on it when you’re on the beach.
The screen is impressive on the Aura One too, and not just because of its size – it's clear and simple to read on, and offers one of the best ereading experiences around.
There are negatives to the Kobo Aura One that may put you off. The big one is the limited selection of titles compared to the competition.
If you’re thinking of buying an Aura One, take a look at Kobo’s online store, and search for the kinds of books you like to read to ensure the titles you want will be available.
Also the battery life on the Aura One isn't as strong as we'd like – if you compare it to some of the Kindle range it's not that impressive, and it may be an issue if you’re on the move a lot and likely to be away from a power outlet for a while.
Why should I buy the Kobo Aura One?
If you’re after a big screen alternative to a Kindle, the Kobo Aura One is the obviouis choice. The design is unlike anything else on the market, and the great high-res display is a big selling point.
It’s well designed, and easy to grip considering its large size. You may sometimes have to use two hands to be able to use the Kobo Aura One comfortably if you have smaller hands though.
The waterproof design makes this the ultimate ereader if you’re planning to take it on holiday, and want to leave it on your sunlounger while you’re off swimming without worrying about it getting splashed.
The software on the Kobo Aura One is simple to use, allowing you to download and read ebooks with ease, even if you're new to ereaders.
The combination of great design, beautiful screen and innovative new features, all for a lower price than a Kindle Oasis, mean this could be the premium ereader to go for.
Why shouldn’t I buy the Kobo Aura One?
The Kobo Aura One is generally a great ereader, but it does have some issues.
If you’re looking for specialist books, the Kobo Store may not be the best choice for you. Your best bet is to take a look at the store, and Amazon’s ebook collection, before you decide which ereader is the better buy.
The battery life on the Kobo Aura One isn’t fantastic either. It will last the length of the average paperback book with the backlight on, but if you’re going to be using it a lot you may find it slightly limiting – and if you’re on holiday you'll definitely want to take your charger with you.
First reviewed October 2016
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