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The Kobo Elipsa 2E is an E Ink tablet that’s designed for both reading and writing. It has a 10.3 inch E Ink display with support for 16 shades of gray and support for touch and pen input, allowing you to take handwritten notes, draw pictures, or annotate documents.

Up for pre-order now for $400, the Kobo Elipsa 2E will be available starting April 19th. And as expected it’s a lot like the previous-gen Kobo Elipsa that launched two years ago. But the new model has a few new tricks up its sleeve.

While both the Elipsa (2021) and Elipsa 2E (2023) have the same display, the new model has an updated front-light system with support for adjustable color temperature. By changing from cool to warm lighting you can reduce the amount of blue light that shines on the screen. The original Elipsa only allowed you to adjust the brightness of the light, not the temperature.

Kobo has also updated the stylus that ships with its E Ink tablet. The original pen was powered by a replaceable AAA battery while the new Kobo Stylus 2 has a built-in rechargeable battery and a USB-C port that lets you recharge the battery without removing it. The updated stylus also has a built-in eraser on the back and a highlighter button. And it’s magnetic, so it can snap onto the top of the Elipsa 2E when you’re not using it.

Early reports suggest the pressure-sensitive pen isn’t quite as sensitive as those available for some other tablets, but it still sounds like at least a modest improvement over the first-gen.

Finally, Kobo has upgraded the processor from an unspecified 1.8 GHz quad-core chip to an unspecified 2 GHz processor.

One other difference? The original Kobo Elipsa came with both a stylus and a sleep cover. The new model just comes with a stylus: you’ll have to pay an extra $70 if you want the official Kobo Elipsa 2E SleepCover accessory.

Most other specs remain largely unchanged, including the $400 list price and even the physical dimensions (the new model is a few grams heavier, but I suspect you’d be hard-pressed to notice the difference in real-world use).

Kobo Elipsa 2EKobo Elipsa
Display10.3 inches
E Ink Carta 1200
1404 x 1872 pixels
227 ppi
Touchscreen
Front-lightComfortLight Pro
(adjustable brightness and color temperature)
ComfortLight
(adjustable brightness)
StylusKobo Stylus 2
(with eraser, rechargeable battery and USB-C connector)
Kobo Stylus
(with AAA battery)
Processor2 GHz1.8 GHz quad-core
Storage32GB
WirelessWiFi 5
Bluetooth
PortsUSB Type-C
Dimensions193 x 227 x 7.5mm193 x 227.5 x 7.5mm
Weight390 grams383 grams
Price$400

Kobo is hardly the only company making E Ink tablets these days. The Kobo Elipsa 2E will compete with Amazon’s Kindle Scribe, the reMarkable 2, and a whole bunch of other products from companies including Xiaomi, Onyx BOOX, and Bigme. Even Lenovo is getting in on the action.

press release

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  1. Any idea if this would work with Bluetooth page turning footswitches? The tablet seems usable for sheet music.

  2. I have the original Elipsa and feel no need to upgrade. That said, I wouldn’t mind getting the new pen if it’s compatible with the older model (I also wouldn’t mind the faster processor but am not gonna shell out 500 CAD for the surely slight upgrade). One really good thing is that Kobo is very good about updating their older models’ firmware so most if not all new features should be inherited by all devices with compatible hardware.