All categories/Tech & Smart Home/E-Readers/Kobo/Kobo Clara BW
Kobo Clara BW

Kobo Clara BW

Based on 342 comments across 1 community
TL;DR
Owners overwhelmingly love the Clara BW for its crisp, high-contrast text, its tiny pocketable size, and how light it is for late-night reading, and most find sideloading and library borrowing dead simple. The recurring gripes are an uneven frontlight (several got a yellow-top/white-bottom or yellow-on-one-side tint), a plasticky build that feels cheap next to a Kindle, and occasional sluggishness or freezing on epubs and page turns. A handful also wish it had physical page-turn buttons and worry about how easily it scratches or breaks.
What 342 owners say
1,369 comments reviewed · scored on the 342 clearest verdicts
75%
Recommend
258 owners
17%
Neutral
57 owners
8%
Don't recommend
27 owners
Source
Breakdown
Score
N
Counted in the score
Reddit
75%
342
What owners like
  • Crisp, sharp text with excellent black-and-white contrast that owners say looks like real paper · 78 · 23%
  • Light and compact 6-inch size that fits in a pocket and is comfortable to hold for hours · 71 · 21%
  • Easy sideloading plus smooth library borrowing through Libby/Overdrive · 44 · 13%
  • Warm front light and night mode that's easy on the eyes for reading in bed · 34 · 10%
  • Long battery life that stretches for weeks on a single charge · 26 · 8%
What owners flag
  • Uneven front light, with several owners getting a yellow-top/white-bottom or yellow-on-one-side tint · 9 · 3%
  • Plasticky build that feels cheap compared to a Kindle · 9 · 3%
  • Sluggishness or freezing on some epubs and page turns, with the device occasionally going unresponsive · 7 · 2%
  • Feels fragile, with reports of cracked screens, scratches, or pixel/build defects · 5 · 1%
  • No physical page-turn buttons, which some owners miss · 4 · 1%

Top quotes, sourced

1,369 reviewed · 234 shown
Sentiment
Sort
Reddit▲ recommend

My Kobo works really well with Libby here in the UK. I got the Kobo Clara BW - no advertising and unlike the Kindle Basic, it's water resistant.

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

the screen lighting is too uneven to work for me when in any kind of the night mode warm color. I am loving going back to such a smaller size device though.

Reddit— neutral

I have a Kobo Clara BW, but I'd like a bigger one for reading manga. I'd like something in the Clara style, but without a button, I can't find anything interesting right now.

Reddit— neutral

I bought a Kobo Clara BW a couple months ago and have converted all my Kindle books. I'm kind of balancing between the two, mostly using the Oasis still

Reddit▲ recommend

Kobo Clara BW that replaced my Libra H2O that replaced the Clara HD I had before it. No shade, but I've never understood having more than one of anything. I carry my Clara with me wherever I go

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

The reason I'm sticking with the KPW though is that the UI for reading is more adaptable and better. For instance, when zooming in text it can take forever to readjust on the Kobo.

Reddit▲ recommend

Aš pirkau Kobo Clara BW. Pats geriausias sprendimas.

Reddit— neutral

Got a Kobo Clara BW recently. **Most** epubs I bought work like shit. It takes 5-10s to open where the reader is unresponsive.

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

Here at home we have a Kindle (Paperwhite 12) and a Kobo (Clara BW). Personally, I far prefer the Kindle's user experience and operating system, it's much faster.

Translated from Portuguese

Reddit— neutral

I have a Kindle Paperwhite & a Kobo Clara bw. I got the Kobo with the intention of switching over completely, but I just can quit my Paperwhite screen! It’s sooooo good! So now I switch between the two but only purchase books from the Kobo ecosystem.

Reddit▲ recommend

Kobo Clara BW is way easier to read on than a phone, text is super sharp, it's my on the go ereader because of the size, fits perfectly in my back pocket (in a proper case to protect it).

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

I found the quality of the KC BW screen similar, but didn't care for the cheap feeling of its build and lack of buttons (besides, it crashed when I was trying it... never a good sign).

Reddit— neutral

i got my kobo clara bw a few weeks ago & i had this problem. i’m very anal about my products, & mine was bothering me so i had to do 2 exchanges before i got a perfect one.

Reddit▲ recommend

LOVE the Kobo Clara BW for exactly what you said. It ticks all the boxes for size and portability while also maintaining features like warm light.

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

I’m having the exact same issue on my Kobo Clara BW I purchased recently. Sometimes when tapping to turn the page it’ll become unresponsive. When tapping it again it’ll skip two pages.

Reddit▲ recommend

I went from my 11inch iPad Pro to the 6inch Kobo Clara BW and couldn’t be happier. the screen is crisp, clear and easy on the eyes, indoors and out. The size is soooo comfortable to hold and lightweight.

Reddit— neutral

the difference from 1200 seems marginal. response time I can’t test well but I see the 1300 is sharper (comparing kobo libra 2 with 1200 and kobo clara bw), dpi is the same at 300.

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

Now I'm based in the US tried kobo clara BW and KLC and I had some personal flaws about them, and so I went back to kindle. (they were accessibility issues regarding vision).

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

I bought Kobo Clara BW recently, after day 2 it broke. I didn't even drop it, I put it between the bed and bed frame, which really isn't a lot of pressure. Even had the cover on. What a bullshit.

Reddit▲ recommend

I bought my Kobo Clara BW a few weeks ago. I’m now using it on a trip. It’s not quite as good as printed paper. But close. It fits in my pocket, my printed books don’t, and I can read it a night, without disturbing my partner who sleeps next to me. I rarely take detours from my reading; I have been successfully absorbed into my books. I am happy, sometimes h

Reddit— neutral

My original kindle touch is still going strong ~15 years later and honestly? It's not an appreciably worse reading experience than my kobo clara bw except that the kobo has a light.

Reddit— neutral

kobo clara BW has a nicer screen, compared to the boox go 6, but both are carta 1300. one factor is a glass cover flush screen vs the kobo having that frame around their screens.

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

I like my pocketbook verse a lot, I returned a kobo Clara bw for it. I like pocketbooks UX and app, especially that it will sync side loaded content to their cloud.

Reddit▲ recommend

I just got a Kobo clara BW and I love it! This one also has a yellow to white light gradient from top to bottom but it doesn’t bug me as much because at least the text is clear.

Showing 124 of 234