Kobo Unveils 7.8-inch Waterproof Aura One E-Reader

Think of eReaders, and Amazon Kindle is likely the first name that springs to mind. Look beyond Jeff Bezos’ best, though, and there are plenty of impressive eReaders coming from smaller brands like Kobo. The Canadian company’s latest creation is the Aura One, a 7.8-inch eReader designed not to disturb the circadian rhythm of late-night bookworms who like reading in the bath.

One of the biggest things setting the Aura One apart is its size. Most eReaders come with compact 6-inch (15-cm) displays, but the Aura’s 300-ppi Carta E-Ink touchscreen measures up at 7.8-inches (20 cm). Kobo says running with the bigger screen allows for larger fonts and wider text spacing, as well as cutting down on page turns.

Even though it’s the biggest dedicated eReader on the market, the Aura One is still slim and light. It measures up at 195.1 x 138.5 x 6.9-mm (7.7 x 5.5 x 0.27-in) and weighs just 230 g (8 oz), both of which are comparable to the slightly smaller Kobo Aura H2O that launched back in 2014 with a 6.8-in display. In spite of this slim design, it’s also waterproof to the IPX8 standard, meaning it can be submerged for an hour in up to two meters (6.5 ft) of water without a problem.