Kobo's new 'whimsical' cases are gorgeous, but they aren't the hardware releases I was hoping for this year

First revealed at the 2026 BookCon event in New York last month, Kobo has announced a range of limited-edition "collector cases" with "whimsical" and colorful designs. The cases are, indeed, beautiful, going from a leafy Green Canopy option to more fun and joyful Botanical Bliss and each design is available for all three 2024 ereader releases — the Kobo Libra Colour, Clara BW and Clara Colour.

They're already listed for purchase on the Kobo websites in the US and the UK, and Aussies will be able to buy them from May 12 — the smaller cases cost $29.99 / £24.99 / AU$44.95, while a Libra Colour collector case will set you back $39.99 / £34.99 / AU$49.95.

I personally love the Botanical Bliss case and wouldn't mind it on my Kobo Libra Colour, but, in all honesty, I'm a little disappointed with this announcement. I was really keen to hear about an updated version of the Kobo Elipsa 2E that is now long in the tooth and feels dated against the likes of the latest releases of the Kindle Scribe and Boox Note series.

I remember a time when Kobo would release new hardware nearly every May, but 2025 was an exception and the Japanese-Canadian brand launched the Kobo Remote later in the year instead. With no new ereader release since the three current devices from 2024, I really thought 2026 was when we would see an updated 10-inch slate.

Analysis: the Kobo Elipsa 2E just doesn't compare any more

I make no secret of the fact that I'm partial to Kobo's user interface, and I'd been using the Kobo Elipsa 2E since its release in 2023 as my ereader and digital notebook. At the time, I liked it so much that I called it a real Kindle Scribe contender in my Kobo Elipsa 2E review, but I replaced it with the 2nd-generation Kindle Scribe in 2025 as the latter offered me a better reading and writing experience. In fact, I find the Onyx Boox Go 10.3 a better digital notebook despite not having a frontlight.

I still love Kobo's Advanced Notebooks, but the hard-nibbed Kobo Stylus 2 doesn't feel as nice to use as Amazon's Premium Pens or the many other styli that come packaged with their respective tablets. Nearly every other stylus I've tried, including those from ViWood, offers a smoother ballpoint pen-like experience that you won't get from the Kobo Stylus 2.

The ambient light sensor on the 2024 Kindle Scribe makes the display look brighter and the 300ppi resolution puts the Elipsa's 227ppi screen to shame. In fact, most 10-inch monochrome digital notebooks released in 2025 have a 300ppi display.

There have been several Boox tablets released since the Elipsa 2E and while I'm not expecting Kobo to match that frequency — I really hope not as the Boox devices aren't exactly perfect — even Amazon released new Scribe models in 2024 and 2025!

If you really want a Kobo note-taker, the Libra Colour is still my pick of the best ereader to buy (and the Kobo Sage has been discontinued), but the Kobo Stylus 2 is still not the nicest pen to write with, so a refresh of a couple of hardware items is overdue.

So c'mon, Kobo, where's the new Elipsa at?

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