Kobo Libra H20 Review – Affordable & Feature Packed eReader

kobo Libra h20 eReader Review

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They say readers are leaders, the Kobo Libra H20 can help make that a reality. While many people love a real book in their hands, some books are just too big or have an unreadable font. Will an eBook reader help with that? For many, it might. While not scientifically proven, some people find using a good e-reader makes their reading experience more pleasurable and less of a chore.

Editor’s Pick
kobo Libra h20 eReader

Kobo Libra h20 eReader

The kobo Libra h20 is a waterproof, well designed and easy to read on eReader. With a great screen resolution, nice to hold bevel and easy to navigate software it’s an easy choice. The price makes it even more attractive with competitors charging more for the same quality.

The Kobo Libra H20 makes reading more enjoyable. But why choose the Kobo Libra h20 over other e-readers? Let’s take a look at the specs.

This Kobo reader comes in two colors. You get to choose between white and black. It has a 7 inch, 300 PPI screen. In layman’s terms, that means the screen has lots of dots that are going to give it great resolution compared to some of the cheaper models. The higher resolution makes the screen clearer and gives a more comfortable reading experience, similar to when you go from a standard TV to an HD model.

Kobo Libra H20 sleep screen
Looks good even when it’s asleep | Make Life Click

The H20 in the name is perfect as this e-reader is waterproof. It can be submerged in up to 2 meters of water for up to 2 hours. However, unless you somehow drop it in a swimming pool and forget about it, it is highly unlikely it is going to be submerged for that long.

Along with being waterproof, it has something called Comfortlight Pro which makes the e-ink display on the reader a little more yellow, so it takes the edge off any bit of blue light that might exist. It is a big improvement over trying to read on a tablet or phone. The downfall of phones and tablets is the constant distraction of notifications while you are trying to read. The ability to ignore other things coming in while focusing on a book can be problematic.

The other issue is the shine on personal devices can be a drawback compared to the e-ink on e-readers. E-readers adapt to daylight and don’t have reflections that make reading difficult.

The Kobo Libra H20 has a comfortable ergonomic design that makes it easy to hold onto for long periods of reading. There are no issues for people who have finger and wrist problems as it has a good side-bevel that makes it superbly comfortable to hold. The H20 is bent slightly up which is great when it comes to holding it as it mimics the flexibility of a book. It isn’t flat and feels natural in your hand.

Kobo Libra H20 side view with bevel
Nice and thin with a small angled bevel to hold | Make Life Click

This e-reader lets you read in portrait or landscape mode, whichever you prefer, and it has a lock mode so the reader can set it. This is great if you read in bed as the lock makes sure the screen doesn’t shift if you change positions.

eReader with portrait and landscape reading positions on a 7" screen
Offering portrait and landscape reading positions on the 7″ 300ppi screen

The H20 also has LEDs built into the back of the screen so it is simple to control the brightness of the screen by scrolling up and down the side. This illumination is good for nighttime reading or if you are in bright daytime situations. The Kobo Libra H20 makes illumination easier to deal with than the Kindle e-reader. The H20’s ability to simply tap and drag your finger on the left-hand side is great compared to having to use a virtual button to change the brightness setting.

Showing how to run your finger up and down the screen to adjust the brightness on the kobo eReader.
Running your finger up and down the left side increases and reduces the brightness | Make Life Click

Along with the bevel on the side of the H20, there are page turn buttons that just need a click to move the pages forward or back. You can also tap the left or right of the screen or swipe to turn pages. These options are great depending on where you are reading. If you are sitting on the couch and only using one hand, then just a click on the buttons to turn pages is simple compared to laying in bed when you just want to quickly touch the page and have it turn.

Demonstrating how to tap the screen left and right to turn pages on the Kobo Libra H20
Tap left and flip the page left, Tap right and flip the page right | Make Life Click

The screen configuration is quite good with the H20, a tap to the left it goes back a page, tap on the right, it goes forward. Tap in the middle brings up the settings. The Home screen is simple and shows books the reader currently has available as well as the top 50 books available in the Kobo ebookstore. The Kobo store is well stocked, and readers can buy anything they need at any time. There is good categorization of the books on the device and more can be added as needed.

A big benefit of this e-reader is the Overdrive feature. If the local library has Overdrive, then you can sync the reader and borrow library books with this. Once you are done reading them, simply return them digitally.

Basic settings have brightness, natural light feature, and a bedtime feature that allows you to set when you want it to come on.

Showing the Kobo Libra H20 settings screen
The settings are easy to access from anywhere | Make Life Click

The top of the screen shows Wi-Fi signal, battery indicator, notifications, sync option for updates, and the search icon.

Once you are reading a book, the top changes a bit as it has the lock feature, brightness, font size settings and statistics. The statistics are fascinating as it tells you what chapter you’re on, what the next chapter is, how long it will take you to read it, how far through you are and how many hours left to go.   

Kobo Libra H20
kobo Libra h20 data it shows about how long you have to read is really cool | Make Life Click

Another great feature that is similar to the Kindle is that the reader can press and hold on a word that will pop up a dialogue box asking if you want a definition, to bring up the definition, do a search, or add a highlight to that section. You can use the annotations feature to take notes as needed, too.

The H20 is about $100 cheaper than the Amazon Kindle Oasis but has very similar specs and offers a great reading experience. Why pay more when the H20 does what you need it to? The set up is simple with three basic steps. The screen goes into sleep mode easily and has the book cover of what you are reading as its screen. It’s the little things!

Kobo Libra H20
ShoWhen the unit is asleep it still shows the book cover you’re reading. This is optional though. | Make Life Click

For e-book availability, the Kobo Libra H20 is straightforward. Using epub files is simple. Just plug it into the computer and drag the files. Overdrive is available along with the Kobo files too.

Overall, this e-reader is reliable and does what it says it will.

It is a 5 out of 5 stars. That being said, if you are listening to audiobooks, it doesn’t support them. But there is also no advertising anywhere on it and it makes reading a breeze.

Questions? Just fire them in the comments below.

Rakuten Kobo Libra H20 in Black and White
Kobo Libra H20 Review
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4.9

Endless hours of experimentation, professional work, and personal investment in Home Theatre, Hi-Fi, Smart Home Automation and Headphones have come to this.

Former owner of Headphones Canada, a high-end headphone specialty retailer.

This post was last updated on 2024-03-27 / Some images from Amazon Product API & some links may be affiliate links which may earn us a commission from purchases.


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