Kindle rival gets a big free update that has Amazon beaten - is it time to switch?

The Kindle may be the go-to e-reader range for millions of readers but its main rival Kobo has a few tricks up its sleeve, including a major new software update that introduces a feature that helps differentiate its products from Amazon’s.

Amazon Kindles have access to the Kindle Store for buying books, but there is no way to save and read web pages and online articles to read on the go. Kobos have long had this option thanks to close integration with Pocket, a service that uses a browser extension to save articles for reading later in the Pocket app.

Simply sign in to Pocket on your Kobo and you’d have all those articles there ready for distraction-free reading. But Pocket has recently been shut down by its owner Mozilla, briefly leaving Kobo owners without this portable reading fix.

Thankfully Kobo has moved very quickly to plug this gap. The firm has just announced a huge free software update that’s rolling out now to all its e-readers that adds support for Instapaper, one of Pocket’s main competitors. Like Pocket, you can use your desktop web browser or smartphone to save articles you see online to read later in the app, which now links to Kobos to offer a way to read up later in glorious E Ink.

“For readers who still want to read articles on their Kobos (i.e. a heck of a lot of readers) we have you covered—with Instapaper!”, Kobo announced in a blog post.

"If you're a former Pocket user who's new to Instapaper, visit instapaper.com/user. But be sure to export your Pocket data from getpocket.com/export before October 8, 2025!"

That means if you were a keen Pocket user on Kobo you can move all your saved reads over to a new or existing free Instapaper account to keep the functionality going.

The update is available for all Kobo models. Express.co.uk has tested it out, and it works just as advertised. Kindles offer no such comparable tool.

Along with Instapaper, Kobo also offers integration with OverDrive, the international e-book library service via the Libby app. If you have a library card from your local library, you can sign in using your card on your Kobo to access free e-book loans. This is available on Kindles in the US but not in the UK. Paired with the Instapaper functionality, OverDrive access makes Kobos very compelling over Kindles for British bookworms.

The latest Kobo models include the impressive Kobo Libra Colour, which Express.co.uk reviewed upon its launch last year. The device costs £209.99, a chunk cheaper than the Kindle Colorsoft, Amazon’s colour Kindle that starts at £239.99.

The Libra Colour has page turn buttons and stylus support for writing directly onto e-book both bought and loaned, and allows you to create on-device notebooks.