Kobo’s winter 2024 update on new features and fixes

Kobo Web Reader

If you prefer browsers to apps, appreciate a bigger screen or just want to get in some reading when your Kobo isn’t at hand, we’d like to direct you to the Kobo Web Reader. For users in select regions we've recently added some new features that make it an irresistibly easy way to squeeze in some quality time with a great book.

If you haven’t tried it yet, using the Kobo Web Reader is as easy as

1. logging into your Kobo account,
2. heading to your Books section,
3. and clicking any of your books

Illustration appreciation

We’re always working towards pixel-perfect display for every eBook, and lately we’ve dug into some of the trickier cases of manga and other illustrated titles. We’ve tamed tables of contents, itemized internal links, and slain outdated CSS code to make everything sit a little nicer on the screen. All your eBooks should display as intended across mobile and desktop versions of Chrome, Safari, Edge, and Firefox.

Faster loading for image-heavy eBooks

Now when you open a comic, manga or other illustrated content in the Kobo Web Reader, you’re in it in an instant. That’s because rather than loading the whole book before showing you the first page, we only download the pages you needk as you need them. We’re just so proud of how good illustrated eBooks look now, we couldn’t wait to show you every page—and we figured you couldn’t either.

Faster everything

We kind of got on a roll with speed improvements and cleaned up some old code to make everything in the Kobo Web Reader a bit snappier.

Speaking of being “on a roll”... introducing scrolling

If you want the books you read in your web browser to feel more like all the other things you read in your browser, we are happy to offer vertical scrolling for all text-based eBooks. Toggle between vertical and horizontal reading progress in the Reading Settings menu.

Limbering up page layouts

We’ve taken text customization to a whole new level with controls for adjusting font weight, letter spacing, line spacing, word spacing and alignment. Because with everyone reading on different screens in different conditions (with different eyes!) it’s important for every reader to be able to get their page looking just right for them.

You get a font! You get a font! Everybody gets a font!

While you’re customizing your page layout, check out our new fonts: Atkinson Hyperlegible, Bitter, Noto Sans, Texurina, Ubuntu, and Vollkorn are available now. Please use responsibly.

Bookmarks

We’ve always synced your reading location across apps and devices but now you can bookmark specific pages in your books. And you can pick up right where those bookmarks left off on Kobo’s mobile apps and eReaders.

Charcoal is here

We love Dark Mode, but sometimes it’s just a little too dark. So we’ve added a gentler Charcoal theme to join our menu of eye-pleasing Light, Sepia, and Dark modes.

Coming soon

All of the aforementioned new features are rolling out first to select regions, so keep an eye out for them wherever you are.

Meanwhile, we’ve been hard at work leveling up our web reading experience up to the same set of features you'll find on our eReaders and apps. That means you’ll soon be able to:

• View your bookmarks in our new Annotations List

• Highlight text in four colors and sync the highlights you've made on Kobo apps and eReaders

Kobo Plus Live in Switzerland & Spain

Kobo+ is now live in Spain & Switzerland. Happy reading!

Try Quick Buy checkout

Once you’ve picked a book, the fewer clicks between you and settling in to read it the better. That’s why we’ve implemented a fast-moving Quick Buy flow in the checkout for customers in the United States and Canada.

Refined Search Filters

Because finding the right book starts with searching for it in the right language, you’ll now find the Language filter at the top of all search results. Now you’ll know at a glance what language you’ve been searching in, with the option to choose another sitting right where you want it.

Kobo eReaders

Kobo Stylus 2 – now in white!

While we personally think the black stylus / white eReader combo is a very classy look (those in the know call it “The literary penguin”), we understand sometimes folks just want their stuff to match. So now Kobo Stylus 2 is available in white. (In the spirit of the holidays we’re thinking of calling the white stylus / black eReader combo, “frosted fruit cake,” but let us know if you’ve got a better name.)

Wake with page-turn buttons

We love how our Kobos wake up when we open their SleepCovers. That initial screen flash feels like a little yawn as we untuck it from its cozy bed. (Sidenote: if you dream about what you were reading when you fall asleep, what does your Kobo dream about when it’s asleep?)

For those reading on a Kobo Libra Colour, if you put down your eReader and it falls asleep with its sleepcover open, you can wake it by pressing either of the page turn buttons.

Enable or disable this feature in Settings > Energy saving and privacy

Sync improvements

Some Kobos were getting stuck “syncing annotations.” We made note of that annoying problem, and now it’s fixed.

Parental controls

If your Kobo finds its way into the hands of a young reader, we’ve refreshed our parental controls to provide additional clarity so you can be sure about what you’re locking down. Find parental controls in More > Settings > Accounts

While parental controls are enabled, your Kobo will now prevent sideloaded books and documents from being added to the My Books section of your library.

For more information on parental controls, visit kobo.com/families

OverDrive (available on recent Kobo eReader models in select countries)

OverDrive is the service that powers the popular Libby app that library users just love. We’ve made setting up access to Libby/OverDrive on your Kobo eReader a little bit easier.

Dictionary

We’ve updated the built-in English language dictionary to the English Dictionary to Oxford Dictionary of English 2024 edition. May frequent use of your Kobo help you forever stave off brain rot (Oxford’s 2024 word of the year).

Kobo Apps

New Reading Experience on Android

We’ve polished up the reading experience inside the Kobo Books app for Android. Check out the following improvements:

• Improved reading settings and full book navigation

• Customizable margins and line spacing

• Ability to zoom in on images

• Ability to copy and paste text

• Ability to sort and filter annotations

• More dictionary options