Kobo Clara BW eReader, 6” Touchscreen, Waterproof, 16GB, Black

Buying the Kobo Clara BW is easily one of the best things that could have happened to my reading habits. I genuinely cannot believe I waited this long to get one! I have travelled with this little device multiple times now, and it has proven to be the ultimate companion. The compact 6-inch form factor makes it effortless to hold comfortably in one hand for hours on trains or flights without any fatigue. The glare-free touchscreen is pin-sharp and reads just like real paper, even in direct sunlight. The battery life is phenomenal - lasting weeks (or even months) on a single charge - so you never have to stress about carrying extra chargers. It is also packed with handy adjustments, allowing you to easily customise font sizes, margins, and screen warmth for comfortable late-night reading. With 16GB of storage, you can keep thousands of books with you wherever you go, and being fully waterproof means you can read by the pool or in the bath without worry. An absolute game-changer for any reader!

I've had two Kobo ereaders before and the reason I bought this was to replace an 8 year old one which died. I've found they have everything I need in an ereader. This one has a particularly lovely screen with the same excellent interface. Page turning is fast. The display constrast is the best I've seen: it's clear, crisp and glare-free. The size & weight of the reader makes it ideal for putting it in my coat pocket. Reading on it is a pleasure. I can't comment on the audiobook feature as I don't use them. I do have one gripe which didn't apply to my previous readers. The display screen is a little recessed which makes it difficult to get at the small pull down menu right at the top of the reading screen. It's no deal breaker though as I rarely if ever use that menu and all the info in it is available elsewhere. For that reason I would have liked to give 4.8 out of five stars. All in all it's great value .

Beautiful e-reader. It’s light, with a clear & crisp bright screen. It’s waterproof so I can use it in the bath without worrying. It’s easy to put my books on it via calibre. I have a lot of fan fiction and books bought direct from publishers and authors so wanted an e-reader outside of Amazon for them and this is perfect. It’s a small size so very portable and great for my handbag and I think it’s excellent value for money. It’s easy to use, I can sort books by series which is much easier on a Kobo than a Kindle (sorry Amazon it just is) plus the swiping up and down the screen for brightness levels is one of my favourite features. It’s a perfect little e-reader.

I have had a number of book readers over many years and so my expectations were based on what I have used already, from the time before any lighting was offered, to that of the most recent models. Please see my included photos of the book reader. Firstly....The overall build quality is adequate. Yes, it is plastic and not, seemingly, the most robust, but nothing that would cause concern. It does not seem to flex or make any noises when the screen is pressed. Happy enough with that, and the grip on the rear of the case. The screen is also recessed a little and not flushed, for me that is great as it offers protection. I do not like a flushed screen unit for that reason. Powering up for the first time and you are invited, not compelled, to create an account with Kobo. Wi-fi connected without issues and updates done. I use Calibre to manage many of my books and that works with no issues with this Clara BW reader, the latest version of Calibre being used. The reader is quick to populate its library and responsive when looking through the list and selecting the book to read. It is also quick and immediately responsive when opening a book and turning the pages. Some of my books have been converted from epub to Kepub, Kobo's native file format, as that provides additional book reading statistics not offered by other formats. Again please see my screenshots. The conversion was done by using the software "Calibre". The screen on my unit has been exceptional. I compared it to my wife's Libra 2 and I also have a previous Kobo reader, the Clara HD. I did not know that it would have been possible but when compared next to each other this Clara BW seems crisp and more "detailed" in how clear and precise the font appears. The white background is evenly lit, using the backlight and natural light (for warmth settings) it works really well. I do very much enjoy a 6" book reader. It fits in my pocket and can be held with one hand in comfort. What I was also impressed about is the fact my Clara HD book cover fitted perfectly on this Clara BW model. It works a treat, both opening and closing the cover will wake the device and also place it in sleep mode. The battery life is very good, having had the device since the 7th May and only charged once when first bought. I understand that is not long, but from noting how much I have used it, including the backlight, I can see that it is going to be very good. Using the reader outside in bright light, no lighting is needed on the device. I would struggle to find and fault with this book reader. It simply does everything that would be reasonable to expect and do that well. The only aspect of this reader that I will probably not make use of is the sketch pad, see screenshot. It works with my finger, do not have a suitable pen, and can be used to draw or add notes that can be saved, they appear on the home page. Perhaps some will make use of that feature, can be found within the beta section of the settings. I do use the dark mode whilst reading in bed at night, that inverts the screen and text colours, see photo. Overall I very much recommend this book reader. It offers exceptional value, great amount of storage space, I do not use audiobooks, and the responsiveness and clarity of screen is exceptional. I do hope that this review helps you. Happy reading :)

Absolutely amazing device! It has everything I needed- warm light, waterproof, small device that allows you to access and borrow library books and sideload books. If you are planning to switch or looking for a new device- this is it! Text is clear and sharp even on 0 brightness with day light (picture). Its very responsive & very user friendly ( menu is easy to navigate and use it). I returned many ereaders over few weeks due to various reasons- no warm light, too bight (i have small hands), or not a great contrast (colour screen), however this is amazing and I really hope this will last me a while!

Not used it loads yet but nice so far. Feels like a quality build, light and nice bright clear screen. Easy to read at night and hold in bed. Nice compact size, large enough to read comfortably but can slip in small bags or coat pockets.

A fantastic e-reader, really glad I bought it. Perfect for holidays or travelling around. Great size and very light weight. Very easy to use and the light automatically adjusts to your environment, but you can also change it manually. Great selection of books available.

I purchased this product in May 2026. I’m an experienced a long-term Kindle user. I bought the Kobo because my local Library no longer supports Kindle. The Kobo interface is extremely clunky and the software very unreliable in comparison to Kindle. However, after some back-and-forth I managed to get it working and syncing with overdrive at my local Library. For two months it worked fine. Then it all went horribly wrong! For the last three months it has been incredibly difficult to connect connect to Wi-Fi, the Kobo never remembers any previous WiFi password and even when you restart your router (as advised) it rarely can access the Wi-Fi. As a result, I can no longer add library books or purchase new books. I have followed all advice on the Kobo website and by reading a lot of Reddit comments from many customers with exactly the same problem. None of the fixes have worked for my Kobo. Unless Kobo fixes the Wi-Fi issues with this product, I suggest you do not buy.

i used to contempltate bringing my phyisical book with me all the time since it does take up a lot of spaces in my purse and heavy. but now i can read everywhere love it!

Escribo esta reseña más que nada porque más de uno estará pensando: "Llevo tiempo queriéndome comprar un e-reader y no sé cuál elegir. ¿Estaré tomando una buena decisión comprando este?" Pues sí, definitivamente. El contraste es espectacular. El brillo es simplemente perfecto, adaptándose maravillosamente tanto a la lectura en interiores como en exteriores. Tal vez las letras no se vean tan oscuras como en una pantalla Carta 1200 (la tecnología de pantallas Carta 1200 o Carta 1300), pero la verdad es que, siendo este un modelo con pantalla Carta 1300, el tiempo de refresco es notablemente mejor, lo cual se agradece mucho durante la lectura. También añadir que no se cansan los ojos al leerlo por la noche. Un punto a destacar es que hace falta una cuenta de Rakuten para poder usarlo. Sin embargo, si buscáis en internet, veréis que hay formas de utilizarlo sin necesidad de ponerle una cuenta. Además, la duración de la batería es impresionante, permitiéndote leer durante semanas sin necesidad de recargar. La interfaz es intuitiva y fácil de usar, incluso para aquellos que no son muy tecnológicos. La capacidad de almacenamiento es más que suficiente para albergar una amplia biblioteca de libros, y la conexión Wi-Fi facilita la descarga de nuevos títulos. También se puede conectar tanto por Bluetooth como por USB-C (es lo que uso yo para los libros) y puedes conectarlo al movil (sorpendentemente se puede usar el movil como batería para el e-reader) Una cosa que tal vez sea negativa para algunas personas es que no lleve Android pero vaya que yo no lo he echado en falta en absoluto. En resumen, si estás buscando un e-reader de alta calidad con un rendimiento superior y una experiencia de lectura agradable, este modelo es la compra que debes hacer. PD: También hay una cosa muy chula y es que (como veréis en la foto) al apagar el e-reader se queda el libro que estabas leyendo en la pantalla sin reiniciar los pixeles.

Lo adoro! Funziona alla grande. Come si legge dalle specifiche, ha la funzione di regolazione dell'intensità luce e della sua modalità (fredda, calda). Si può regolare la grandezza dei caratteri e i font, si può cercare agevolmente una parola sul vocabolario dopo averla sottolineata. Ha una grande memoria. É molto bello! Appare leggermente satinato (la copertura del Kobo Clara 2E era più liscia e lucida e più sensibile a subire graffi). Il processore é veloce. Kobo offre molta libertà di utilizzo e anche la possibilità di prendere in prestito degli e-book dal sistema Media library on-line delle biblioteche pubbliche (MLOL). Il catalogo di Kobo offre offerte interessanti! Sono davvero soddisfatta e adoro leggere con il mio Kobo Clara BW.

Un petit bijou qui me suit partout , j'aime les sacs plutôt petits et ma petite liseuse y trouve sa place. L'écran est de bonne qualité et l'affichage est rapide. Je n'ai pas pris la couleur , ce n'est pas utile si on lit surtout des livres sans illustrations.

I was debating between the Kindle Paperwhite and the Kobo Clara BW, but I decided to buy the Kobo after a friend recommended it. After using it for a few days, I can confidently say it was the right choice. I’ve been getting back into reading, but it can become an expensive hobby if you want to own books instead of borrowing from the library or reading PDF versions online. One of the main reasons I wanted an e-reader was the E Ink display. Compared to reading on a phone or tablet, it significantly reduces eye strain and fatigue. So when I’m really invested in a story, I can keep reading for much longer without my eyes feeling tired. The biggest reason I chose the Kobo Clara BW over the Kindle Paperwhite was the ability to easily upload my own EPUB files. I liked that I would not have to rely only on a monthly subscription which can cost upwards of $15 a month. While downloading and transferring files takes a little extra effort, Kobo makes the process very simple. You can transfer books through a USB connection or use the web upload option, both of which are straightforward. One feature that pleasantly surprised me was the built-in dictionary. I know Kindle devices also have this feature, but I did not realize it was included on the Kobo until I went through the tutorial. It is incredibly useful because I can quickly look up unfamiliar words without having to pick up my phone or search on my computer. One concern I had before buying it was the screen refresh rate. When I tried my friend’s device, it was not as smooth as a typical phone or tablet screen. However, after using it for a while, I realized that this does not really matter for reading. Since you are only turning the page every so often, the slower refresh rate is barely noticeable. It only really comes up when setting up the device or organizing books. A few tips for new buyers: turning off Wi-Fi can dramatically extend the battery life, since Wi-Fi is only needed for accessing the Kobo store, audiobooks, or transferring files through the web. I also recommend downloading Calibre, a free program that lets you edit book titles, authors, and other metadata so your library looks more organized on the device. It is easy to set up and especially helpful for fixing messy file information. Overall, I am already very happy with this purchase. Even though I have only had it for a few days, it has made reading feel more convenient, comfortable, and enjoyable. For anyone who is trying to get back into reading or wants a simple and great alternative to reading on a phone or tablet, I think the Kobo Clara BW is definitely worth the price.