Kindle vs Kobo debate resurfaces
Some BookTok users are actively reconsidering Amazon’s Kindle in favor of Kobo, sparking a practical debate about device ecosystems and long‑term library control. Mashable’s recent piece walks through the pros and cons of switching, which matters if you want fewer retailer locks on your ebooks or different file/format support. (mashable.com)
A small Amazon settings change turned into a bigger argument about who really controls the books you buy. On February 26, 2025, Amazon ended “Download & Transfer via USB” for Kindle books, which had let people save purchased files to a computer and move them manually to older Kindles. (mashable.com) (the-ebook-reader.com) That change did not kill Kindle, and Amazon kept wireless delivery and its Send to Kindle service for personal documents. It did remove one of the easiest official ways to keep local copies outside Amazon’s cloud, which is why the “should I switch?” debate got louder on BookTok and in e-reader forums. (amazon.com) (mashable.com) The practical case for Kobo starts with file formats. Kobo says its e-readers support EPUB, EPUB3, PDF, MOBI, TXT, HTML, RTF, CBZ, and CBR, while Amazon’s Send to Kindle page lists EPUB among supported personal-document uploads rather than as a store format you buy directly from Amazon. (help.kobo.com) (amazon.ca) The other Kobo selling point is library borrowing on the device itself. Kobo’s help pages say many Kobo e-readers let you browse, borrow, and place holds through OverDrive with just a library card and Wi‑Fi, while noting that audiobooks through OverDrive are not supported on Kobo e-readers. (help.kobo.com 1) (help.kobo.com 2) The case for staying with Kindle is mostly about scale and convenience. Amazon says Kindle Unlimited includes over 5 million digital titles, and Kindle still has tight integration with Amazon’s store, cloud sync, and services like Send to Kindle. (amazon.com 1) (amazon.com 2) Amazon also spent late 2024 refreshing the hardware instead of retreating from e-readers. On October 16, 2024, the company announced a new Kindle lineup that included the first color Kindle, the Kindle Colorsoft, a faster Kindle Paperwhite, and a reworked Kindle Scribe. (press.aboutamazon.com) So the argument is less “which screen is better” than “which store rules do you want to live under.” Kindle is the smoother road if you buy most books from Amazon and use Kindle Unlimited, while Kobo is the easier fit if you care about EPUB files and direct public-library borrowing. (amazon.com) (help.kobo.com 1) (help.kobo.com 2) The catch is that switching does not free you from device mortality. Kobo has its own official list of products it no longer manufactures or supports, and Mashable’s warning is that every e-reader company eventually retires hardware and software. (help.kobo.com) (mashable.com) That leaves one boring question doing most of the work: where do your next 20 books come from. If the answer is Amazon exclusives and Kindle Unlimited, Kindle is still hard to beat; if the answer is library loans, EPUB-heavy stores, and less dependence on one retailer, Kobo has become the obvious alternative. (amazon.com) (help.kobo.com) (help.kobo.com)
