What do you look for in a premium e-reader? Maybe very high refresh rates for e-ink, enough storage for thousands of titles, or built-in speakers to play audiobooks. Personally, I like to see integrations that make it easier to use, no e-ink ghosting when turning pages at least (I don’t complain about ghosting when I use the volume slider or type quickly on the keyboard), and a battery that I don’t have to think about charging more than once or twice a month.
Kobo’s long history of impressing me meant I went into the Sage with high hopes. It’s not the brand’s highest-end e-reader, but as a member of the upper-midrange range, the Sage has its strengths and weaknesses.
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The Kobo Sage is a dynamic and versatile e-reader. The 8-inch display provides a generous yet portable form factor. You can use it for simple everyday reading indoors and outdoors, thanks to the glare-resistant E Ink Carta 1200 display. You can also purchase the Kobo Pen and jot down notes or annotate your favorite titles.
- Dual-band Wi-Fi for faster connectivity
- Flat screen prevents dust build-up
- The pen is a separate purchase.
- No built-in speakers
Price, availability and specifications
The Kobo Sage is priced at $270 and is widely available at Kobo, Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. It’s currently on sale for $240 through Kobo.
What’s good about Kobo Sage?
Integrated Libby app, wireless audiobook listening, and plenty of screen space
The Sage supports dual-band Wi-Fi, a feature I appreciate for faster book downloads. The e-ink pixel density is 300 ppi, which is the best you can get right now. Sage modestly improves the resolution of the Kobo Libra 2, resulting in richer, sharper e-ink output. The new flat screen refreshes the Sage’s look and protects it from crumbs and dust buildup along the edges.
The physical flip buttons are responsive, and the refresh rate leaves little to be desired – no complaints about slow e-ink or ghosting, thanks to the improved processor in the Sage, which is now about twice as powerful as the Libra 2’s.
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The Kobo Sage is lightweight and easy to carry, and its 8-inch screen puts it on the edge of where a laptop might not be. This is an easy to carry e-reader, And This is the complete notebook I try to fit in my pocket. I like that the Sage switches to landscape mode, but the page turning buttons are a little hard to reach in landscape mode at this size.
As with any Kobo e-reader, I’m a big fan of the Sage’s built-in access to Overdrive/Libby, the popular e-book lending service at public libraries. You can log into Libby directly on your Kobo without a computer or smartphone, and you can upload borrowed e-books directly to your library.
What’s bad about Kobo Sage?
Front lighting and battery life
The Kobo Sage is visually and physically indistinguishable from its less expensive sibling, the Libra 2, except for the size of its screen. (I consider the Libra 2 to be the Sage’s closest competitor.) Kobo has applied the form factor formula that found success with the Libra to the Sage—slim bezel, wide bezel, and tactile buttons for turning pages—but the cheap, plasticky feel prevents the Sage from moving forward as a “premium” e-reader. The Kindle and Boox, on the other hand, differentiate some of their models as top-of-the-line models by adding a metal backing and/or metal chassis.
Then again, Kobo probably doesn’t care about providing us with a “premium” e-reader with a metal back. The textured plastic backs of most Kobo products make them lighter and more portable, and you can’t deny the brand’s environmental awareness with its e-readers made from recycled plastic.
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With the success of the Elipsa 2E, a $400 plastic-cased e-reader, it’s probably clear that Kobo doesn’t need to fix what isn’t broken right now.
However, I wasn’t a huge fan of the Sage compared to the Libra 2. I like the gradient from recessed to flat screen, but the Libra 2 outperforms its mid-range sibling in battery life, lasting an extra week or two on average. The Sage’s front light is less even than the Libra 2’s, with a pronounced brightness around the edges that diminishes as you get closer to the center of the screen.
Should you buy it?
I would recommend buying the Kobo, but I probably wouldn’t recommend buying this device.
I don’t see much reason to recommend the Sage over other Kobo devices, unless pen support and a convenient form factor are important. The Sage is an excellent mid-range form factor for shoppers who need a pen. If the Elipsa 2E is too big and unmanageable but the new Clara and Libra Colors are too small, the Sage is a great choice.
I think the Sage deserves a revitalization—or perhaps retirement if Kobo doesn’t find a way to expand this model and differentiate it from its siblings, especially the new color models in the Libra and Clara line. Comic book readers and cookbook enthusiasts will likely get a lot of use out of the color Sage, and with the larger screen and pen support, it’s a great recipe for taking notes and annotating these forms of media.
Or maybe Kobo could add some built-in speakers and a metal chassis to freshen up the Sage — and that might appeal to some users who are mourning the demise of the high-end Kindle Oasis. In any case, I find the current and only generation of the Sage to be the most “boring” member of Kobo’s lineup. Looking to get away from the bells and whistles? The Libra 2 is a simple e-reader that closely competes with, and in some ways, outperforms, the Sage’s specs. It’s not as fast at clearing away the lingering ghosts of e-ink and doesn’t support dual-band Wi-Fi, but the Libra 2 is a better or equal option in battery life, water resistance rating, and internal storage — at a cheaper price.
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While the Kobo Sage may not be perfect, it’s still a solid e-reader option for users who read a lot on the go but want to annotate without having to carry around a 10-inch or larger E ink tablet.
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