The screen’s speed boost is noticeable next to the first Libra. Poolside and bathtub reading shouldn’t present any issues at all.

You can submerge it in up to two meters of water before running into any issues. The good news is that, despite not having any covering on the screen, the Libra 2 has an IPX8 waterproof rating. This won’t be a problem if you’re a pristine reader, but I suspect most people want to use their e-reader in a wide variety of circumstances - some of which are, yes, messy. Crumbs, sand, and other debris are much more likely to end up stuck between the screen and the bezels. This choice, coupled with the screen’s slight depression, saves the front of the Libra 2 from the worst of the Kindle’s glaring fingerprint issues. There’s no plastic covering the screen at all, actually. Kobo has chosen to stick with the same front design as the first Libra, with the touchscreen inset slightly - the exact opposite of the Kindle’s full-flush front, where the seams between the screen and the bezels are imperceptible. The Libra 2 sports a 7-inch E Ink Carta 1200 touchscreen, a significant step up in terms of speed over its predecessor. Kobo Libra H2O (left) vs Kobo Libra 2 (right). We only include products that have been independently selected by Input’s editorial team. Input may receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article. It’s this kind of design decision that sets the Libra 2 apart from the rest of the e-reader market. Rather than fumbling around for a hand-hold (as I found to often be a struggle with the Paperwhite), Kobo has given us the perfect place to hold our electronic books one-handed. This hardware quirk is demonstrative of the Libra 2’s greatest gift to readers. The first thing you’ll notice with the Libra 2 is its asymmetry: the right-side bezel extends outward a few inches to house the device’s physical page-turn buttons. The hardware is streamlined, yes, but not to the point where all that’s left is a screen. The Libra 2 - the H2O has been dropped from its name - looks nothing like its cousin the Kindle Paperwhite. The Libra 2 is just as refreshing, now with adjustments to bring Kobo’s best into the new decade. Playing will stop as soon as you close the MP3 player so it’s not functional for listening to music while reading, or reading along while listening to an audiobook, but at least it’s a start.Ĭheck out the thread at MobileRead for more details.Kobo’s Libra H2O helped me fall in love with e-readers again after Amazon’s monopolistic practices left an acrid taste in the back of my throat.Īfter feeling cornered by Kindles for years, the Libra was a spring of the purest digital water. You can skip chapters and adjust the volume in the app, pause and play, and slightly slow and speed up playback. Each MP3 file in the mp3z folder will show up as nameless chapters. Unfortunately the MP3 player is rather rudimentary but it is functional. You’ll have to connect Bluetooth headphones or speakers from the settings menu to listen to the audio files, or open an official Kobo audiobook to get the option to connect Bluetooth devices the setting doesn’t exist in the MP3 player. Then load them on your Kobo and each MP3Z file will show up on the book list. To sideload audiobooks and music files in MP3 format, all you have to do is put them in a zip file and then change the extension to mp3z.

Kobo libra 2 deals