If you’re one of those people that really likes the Kobo Libra 2 and missed out on getting one before Kobo discontinued it, or if you just want to get a backup, you’re in luck, sort of.
Kobo is selling the Kobo Libra 2 directly from their website again, but it’s listed as certified refurbished, so it’s not new. It’s selling for $159 with free shipping. That’s $30 less than what it sold for new.
This is the second time Kobo has stocked refurbished units for the Libra 2 since it was discontinued, and last time they didn’t last long so you might want to make it a priority to get one if you really like the Libra 2.
There’s also a listing on Amazon where you can get new ones for $196.09, but they’re being sold by a third-party seller. BlueProton, Kobo’s official reseller in the US, is also selling refurbished units on Amazon, but they are $199, which is $10 above the retail price when they sold them new.
Soon after Kobo released the Kobo Libra Colour, they phased out the Kobo Libra 2 without replacing it with a new black and white version (which is weird considering they did release a new BW Clara at the same time they released the color version). Some people are still holding out hope for a new Libra BW model in the future, but so far there’s been zero indication of that happening.
Some people prefer the superior contrast and clarity of black and white E Ink screens and don’t care for the look of color E Ink on the Libra Colour, so some were disappointed by the discontinuation of the black and white Libra model.
The Libra 2 is still a nice ereader and it really isn’t outdated even though it’s over three years old now, but Kobo is good about continuing to support older models, and E Ink products evolve very slowly. Even with the older Carta 1200 screen, the Kobo Libra 2 still has one of the best screens on the market as far as clarity and contrast are concerned, and the Libra models tend to have a more even frontlight than other Kobos for some reason. Plus the page turn buttons are nice to have.
Check out my comparison between the Libra 2 and the Libra Colour if you want to see how they stack up against each other: Kobo Libra Colour vs Libra 2 comparison review. Other than the screens, they’re the same in a lot of ways, but the Libra Colour adds support for using a stylus to take notes so that’s one advantage it has over the Libra 2. Here’s the link to my Kobo Libra 2 review if you want to learn more about it.
Welp, it went fast. The Libra 2s are already gone again.
How would you say that the Libra 2 compares to the Clara BW? I checked your reviews on here & on YouTube but did not see any kind of comparison between the two. I assume this is due to the Libra 2 being an older model, I was just curious to see what you guys had to say about it and your thoughts on the matter.
I don’t know if I had a bad Clara BW or what, but the screen wasn’t better than the previous model with a Carta 1200 screen, and the Libra 2 had better contrast as well. The newer Kindles have better contrast than the previous gen models so I don’t understand why the Clara BW didn’t. That said, it was fine and I didn’t have a problem reading on it, but the claims of better contrast just weren’t true when I compared it to the Clara 2E and Libra 2.
Hmm.. that’s really interesting to hear! I wanted to ask you as I trust your work here with all the reviews you’ve done over the years & I trust your judgement. I knew you had experience with both so I wanted to see what you thought of them. I’ve been hoping to get a Clara BW but previously I had really wanted to get a Libra 2 and then they were abruptly discontinued. I suppose I’ll just wait a bit longer and keep trucking with my Aura One until either the clara BW goes on sale or possibly Kobo has the Libra 2 refurbs back in stock or I can find a good deal on a 2nd hand device.
I recently upgraded my Kindle (yes, I’m one of those ‘dual ownership’ people 😄) to a 12th gen signature edition & it really is such an amazing device & a huge step up from my old kindle paperwhite. I had hoped to pair it with a Kobo Clara BW especially after hearing the screen & ‘snappiness’ of the OS seems to be pretty comparable to the newest Kindle line up. I personally feel like the regular ‘black & white’ e-readers are going to start getting phased out (in time) and the color e-readers are going to be the only thing we have available to us. It’s one of the main reasons I wanted to get a new or newer BW Kobo to replace my old Aura One. Hearing your thoughts on the Libra 2 and Clara 2E I will be sure to keep my eye out for either of those models too. Thanks so much Nathan!
You’re probably right. Good BW models will probably start becoming more scarce as color E Ink becomes more popular. I thought about selling my Libra 2, but I think I’ll hold onto it for now in case they never release another comparable BW version.