I’ve been testing e-readers for about seven years now, so it’s safe to say I’ve tried most models from mainstream brands, including Amazon Kindle, Kobo, reMarkable, Onyx Boox, and PocketBook. While these companies make some of the best e-readers and writing tablets, I love the user interface and the fact that I can borrow e-books from the public library in Sydney, Australia (where I’m based). , I love Kobo. I also have a Kobo Plus subscription.
Currently, the e-ink device I use every day is the Kobo Elipsa 2E. I like the writing feature better than Kindle Scribe, and its interface is much more streamlined than any Onyx Boox device I’ve tested. It also has a screen light, which the reMarkable 2 doesn’t have, so you can read in bed at night or jot down ideas without having to turn on the light at 2am.
However, if you were asked to recommend an e-paper writing tablet, you’d probably recommend something other than the Elipsa 2E. There’s one reason. That’s how the Kobo Stylus 2 feels on screen. If Kobo could fix one piece of hardware, all of the Japanese-Canadian brand’s writing tablets (Libra Color, Kobo Sage, Elipsa 2E) would be my top recommended devices.
This small piece of hardware is the tip or nib of the stylus.
I’ll do it quietly
Most brands use plastic for the tip of their stylus, but the Kobo Stylus 2 has a harder tip than those of Amazon’s Basic and Premium Pens, Onyx Boox’s Pen Plus, and reMarkable’s Markers. The softer plastic makes each writing tablet glide much more smoothly on the various E Ink screens, and this is especially true for the 2022 Kindle Scribe (the new 2024 Kindle Scribe has not been fully tested yet) .
The Kobo Stylus 2, on the other hand, creates far more friction than other brands I’ve tested. It feels like you’re actually writing on a sheet of plastic, so it’s not reminiscent of a pen (fountain pen or ballpoint pen) on paper. But let me be clear: the overall writing experience on the Elipsa 2E, Kobo Libra Color, and even Sage isn’t that bad. It’s just that other brands are better.
That being said, I think a harder nib means it may not experience as much wear and tear as a softer nib. When I first started using the Elipsa 2E, the tip of the Stylus 2 started showing signs of wear very quickly (within a few days), but then plateaued and continued to show signs of wear for the first year of use. I didn’t. It got worse than that.
That may be because I don’t write with as much pen pressure as other people. Let me give you an example of my colleague’s experience. Philip uses reMarkable 2 for notes, but “the plastic pen nub burned out.” [sic] So he turned to third-party titanium replacements, but unfortunately it turned out to be a “pen-destroying mistake.” Another friend of mine wore out his reMarkable Marker Plus tip in about two months and it was almost flat. This may sound surprising, but I’ve seen similar situations with Kindle Scribe pens.
The pen is stronger
It’s not unusual for Kobo to redesign its digital pens. The first version of the Kobo Stylus was an AAAA battery-powered pen, so it was a little heavy. Additionally, most people probably have spare AA or AAA batteries, but they don’t necessarily have to be AAA batteries. So not only did I have to consider the ongoing cost of replacing nibs, but I also had to consider the battery.
This old pen didn’t have an eraser on the top, but it did have a button on the side (perhaps the “length” of the cylindrical object?) near where the thumb would rest. There was also a second button nearby to use as a highlight.
Debuting in April 2023 with the Elipsa 2E, the Kobo Stylus 2 is a huge improvement over its predecessor. My battery is dead. Instead, the USB-C port helps keep it charged, making it lighter and slightly thinner by comparison. The top of the Stylus 2 has an eraser and only one button for highlighting. I also like the touch of white on the eraser. I think it adds a little something to the aesthetic of the design.
If Kobo is still keen on innovation, one change I’d really like to see is a softer tip on the Stylus 3, potentially offering a smoother writing experience. Although I hope I don’t have to replace it often.
