Summary
- Right-to-repair is becoming a trend, with Kobo offering spare parts for e-readers to empower consumers.
- Kobo’s repair kits will include displays, batteries, motherboards, and covers, showing commitment to repairability.
- Embracing repairability may lead to selling upgraded parts like bigger batteries or faster processors.
There is a growing sense of awareness among tech enthusiasts that our devices shouldn’t be disposable. Just this week, the European Union passed sweeping right-to-repair legislation ensuring that manufacturers offer spare parts and other repair options to European consumers. The trend is also catching on among e-reader manufacturers. The Supernote Nomad was made with repairability in mind, and earlier this month Kobo announced it was partnering with iFixit to offer repair parts for its new line of e-readers. Those repair kits aren’t available yet, but we do know what will be available when they arrive.
Supernote Nomad tablet review: Say goodbye to paper for good
A note-taking experience that feels just right
What parts are on the way
Kobo has told us that its official repair page for its new e-readers will update with more information this Tuesday, although parts won’t be available to ship just yet (and no word on when they will). Although that bit of news is interesting, what really captured our attention was what parts Kobo will make available. Kobo owners willing to undertake a repair themselves will be able to buy replacement displays, batteries, motherboards, and front and back covers for their e-readers.
This is great news from a consumer-rights perspective. Seeing the battery and screen replacements is welcome, but not too surprising because those are some of the most common parts to be replaced on any portable device. What is surprising to see is that Kobo is making replacement motherboards available, and it speaks to Kobo’s commitment to repairability.
What’s particularly exciting about Kobo embracing repairability for its devices, is it opens the door to selling not just replacements, but selling upgraded parts as well. For instance, we know the Kobo Nia uses a microSD card for its internal memory, and daring hardware hackers have managed to upgrade its memory, so why not sell a bigger battery or a Carta 1300 screen for the Libra. Heck, why not sell a motherboard with a faster processor, or more RAM, or an M.2 port for SSD memory?
Kobo’s new color e-readers add some saturation to your reading
Plus a new black and white e-reader with the freshest Carta 1300 technology
Repair your world
Right-to-repair is definitely having a moment. Like Kobo, Samsung makes repair kits available and works with iFixit to provide details on how to get the job done yourself. Top phone makers are also outfitting their phones with maintenance modes, ensuring that your data stays safe when you start digging into the components. We’ll know more about Kobo’s plans when its page goes live on Tuesday.
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