Kobo Sage: In-Depth Review
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- čas přidán 9. 07. 2024
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"MY DAILY ORGANIZER" PLAYLIST: • My Daily Organizer
0:00:00 - Intro
0:00:21 - Unboxing
0:01:13 - Design And Build Quality
0:05:14 - Specifications
0:09:30 - Screen
0:12:23 - Screen: Frontlight
0:13:25 - Screen: Surface
0:14:50 - Battery
0:22:21 - General UI
0:32:18 - Reader Experience
0:39:41 - Writing Experience
0:48:16 - D.E.S.T.A. Test (Writing Latency)
0:50:13 - Conclusion: Cons
0:57:11 - Conclusion: Pros
1:02:09 - Conclusion: Summary
#mydeepguide #kobo #sage
KOBO SAGE AMAZON ASSOCIATES LINK: amzn.to/3BKxOa6
OFFICIAL PRODUCT PAGE: us.kobobooks.com/products/kob...
Kobo Sage is the latest addition to the Kobo family of devices and the second model from them that has writing capabilities. Let's see how does it perform and what it brings to the table :)
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On my Sage, I'm seeing about 5% per hour when reading with the brightness at 30%, WiFi and Bluetooth off. That puts it at about 20 hours of reading time which is way higher than what you're seeing. I don't know if it's because of the WiFi and Bluetooth being on, or because you got a lemon, but something seems off.
Thank you for checking and sharing :)
The minuscule battery was flagged immediately by reviewers before they even got their hands on the device. It was obvious that a 1200mah battery for a device that was adding both note-taking and audio-book capabilities was going to be much too small. The fact that the smaller Libra 2 without the handwriting feature has a larger battery is ridiculous. There is no way that Kobo, through their extensive product testing, were not fully aware of this before the launch. The only explanation is that they wanted to squeeze as much money as possible out of customers by forcing them to buy the accompanying power-case.
Some people are complaining about the weight on mobileread as it is now. A bigger battery would have convinced me to buy the device especially because I had liked to use the note-taking functions. In the end still chances would've been high that I ended up with a power case, because I doubt that a 1500mha would solve the problem (but of course damped it a bit) and 2000mha or so would have made the sage to heavy for even more costumers. So I do not think the accusation holds in that way. Rather: Sage has serious OS problems and the note-taking function is barely out of beta in the current state (which doesn't mean that it is bad per se). Maybe there is even a "lemon" problem around. Voja is not the only one with those problems and it is still open if it is Software or Hardware issue. 20h reading with backlight seem to be the normal while some are claiming having better results. Unfortunately no exact infos apart from Voja from professional reviews yet.
In the end Elipsa and Sage are great approaches imho (they could've lost the audio function though because any low end smartphone has a greater functionality and portability when it comes to audio:D) but both on the hardware and on the software side it is an early adopter device...They just haven't figured out a good working optimum yet that holds up to the all-in-one marketing that they used to advertise the sage. Further the stylus is low end and the software full of plot stopping bugs as a gamer would say: Notes disappearing, annoying freezes and slowdowns...With updates and lower prices for everything I will probably buy it. I have already seen a discount on the sage in a Swiss online shop and the regular price for the pen has also dropped half since release on the Swiss market. Both things are still a little high regarding the problems. If the power case is good quality I could in that case live with a higher price. The power case is not available anywhere. The release of the sage is quite a mess unfortunately.
BTW: The Goodreader Channel is saying that comparing note-function of the sage with f.ex. an onyx 7.8 deceives is like apple and oranges...Understandable argument from a merchant but from consumer perspective it is not. The argument works if you expect the sage to have apps like an android deceive but other than that: It can take notes and it is advertised as a e reader with note taking function/all-in-one device, so here we are:).
yeap and that is why I ma waiting for the sage but going to send it back.....
You can write on kobo Libra 2 in the beta features .. kobo sketch ✍️
Thank you for the great review Voja! Looking forward to the Libra 2 review :) cheers!
Thank you for the informative review; this was incredibly helpful.
My go-to for all things eink! Another great video, I've been waiting for your review before buying the Sage. I will definitely hold off until the battery life issue is sorted. Looking forward to the Libre 2 review.
Thanks for excellent reviews of those E- reader!
Since I'm considering buy a reader I've watched several reviews ,lots of reviews is obviously paid or lacking in details. Your videos really help me alot!(btw I decided to buy boox nova air)
With sincere appreciation from Taiwan.
Great review! I am glad that you addressed the battery, because I received a kobo sage as a gift and i am also experiencing poor battery life. Otherwise the sage is amazing. Because I am pleased with the screen clarity, comfort light, and the larger inch screen, Ive decided to keep the sage and order the Powercover to make up for the poor battery life.
Many thanks. I was going to update to this model Kobo. Not now. So thank you again for saving me not only the money but the stress
Thank you for the great honest review!
Thanks for this really useful review. I was very interested in the Kobo Sage as a possible next device. My last but one ereader was a Kobo Aura HD which I very much liked and the Sage seemed like a good next device option on the basis of the published specs. The very poor battery life and the software issues are very disappointing. I don't need note-taking on an ereader, too many years on a keyboard have left me with terrible handwriting, but it would have been a nice option to have. Looking forward to your Libra 2 review.
Thank you Voja. I just received my Kobo Sage and tested the battery: I read for an hour with a brightness between 20 and 30. I think the wifi wasn't on, but I didn't check that. One hour of reading including underlining and highlighting cost 7 per cent of the battery.
Thank you for checking and sharing :)
Thank you for this excellent review. My Sage does seem to drain at about 30% per hour when note taking thus far. I am hoping the power cover will help, but the covers for the Sage are heavy and make it hard to read with one hand for long periods. Also, the buttons are not high enough to press easily, and removing the slanted bezel of the Forma makes it harder to hold. It does freeze from time to time just like it did in the video. I still really like it, but it is a bit finicky. I am currently having a hard time deciding whether or not it is actually better than the Forma. The screen is crisper and more uniformly lit (no dark bars), which is great.
I have only had my Sage for about 5 days now and so far my battery life isn't as bad as you saw in your testing but it certainly isn't what I get on the Kobo Forma which lasts me for weeks of reading (much like you seem to get with your Libra). I estimate I am currently getting about 12 hours of reading on a full charge on my Sage, this is with Wifi enabled but brightness at 15% during the day time and 8% at night when I also switch to dark mode.
One thing that I have seen mentioned elsewhere is the bluetooth draining the battery. If you even go look at the bluetooth setting it turns it on automatically and if you do not manually turn it off it is going to be on all the time draining the battery in the background.
Forma FTW. Such a great eReader. It's my go to eReader. I have the RM2 I read academic PDFs on but for everything else I always find myself drawn to my Forma
I really wish Kindle would follow up with allowing hand written annotations. I was reading a physical book and taking marginalia and it really is such a great way to anchor and mind map the text. Kobo should be applauded for moving in that direction, but they have a lot of work to fix bugs and latency.
Love your deep reviews :),
When can I expect max lumi2 & mira review ?
Thanks for this thorough review! Cannot wait the Kobe’s Libra2 review.
(I was already decided to get a Kobo Sage because of its 8” screen. Have to reconsider it now.)
I had a Libra 2 but got Sage. I do see battery life not as good as Libra 2 but not too bad. I do not use at 30% light. I find that too bright. I keep at warm light and 5 to 10% brightness and it lasts for 2 full days with no Bluetooth on (I don't need e-reader to listen to audio) and 2 to 3 hours of reading per day. I haven't taken any notes using pen yet. I love the 8" screen and no regrets moving from Libra 2 to Sage.
Repeated your reading test: backlight 30%, wifi on, no active sync, page turn every 20s for 30 mins. Lost 4% battery life (98% to 94%)
File format was kobo epub
Thank you very much. Just to be absolutely sure, the device you tested on was Sage, not Libra 2, correct? Also were you hooked up on 5GHz or 2.4GHz wifi?
@@MyDeepGuide Yep on the sage, connected to 2.4GHz wifi with the most recent software update installed.
Just starting work! It’s going to be an amazing hour I tell you what!
Since the original review, I have done extensive battery testing after multiple battery cycles and firmware upgrades and the battery life clarification video and Sage conclusion can be found here: czcams.com/video/Ufd7CjhNkfI/video.html
I am using the oasis gen 2 its a great device and I ve built my amazon library already but i always want a bigger screen; thinking shd i switch over to sage it seems attractive!
(0:49) I believe the reason why Kobo doesn't include a pen with it is that some users wouldn't use its note-taking features, instead just using it to read, so they wouldn't need the pen anyway.
(23:55) The option to switch between shop listings for digital text (or print-replica) and audio isn't present on Kobo's website and Android tablet app as far as I know, but is present on Play Books and OverDrive Libby, and Kindle too but labelled as "Audible Narration".
(23:15) I think that's a bug that will be fixed in a firmware update.
Yeah I would only read with it
Thank you, Mr. Voja!!
How nice it is to ask for help from others to confirm some of the results of your valuable review of the device.
I am still waiting for my Sage, so I can't verify but I read many posts about the battery problem, and some have fixed it with a factory reset (manual or with a PC) and a full charging cycle. Might be worth a try.
Sweettt, thanks for the tips!
Waiting for kobo sage 2 with a good battery !
Accompanies me everywhere!
I enjoy Kobos but skimping out on the battery wasn’t the right move here.
I’m looking forward to your Boox review. I was wondering if you could discuss the new firmware 3.2 (whether in the same or a separate video) as I’ve discovered from people online that it appears as if the ‘app optimizations settings’ is gone and no-one can find equivalents to a lot of the previous settings they had access to in 3.1 (like page turn animations and whiten apps).
could you (or somebody) please tell me if is there any ereader with a better screen? I mean, one with even better contrast (blacks being as black as possible I mean) or at least similar
Thank you for the great review. I recently purchased the kobo sage with the pen and battery cover. All up $700. Pricer than the Elipsa which is $600 which includes the pen and a normal cover. I am more of a reader than notetaker but would like to highlight etc. i can still change to another device. Money is not an issue. What device do you suggest i purchase?
Thank you, because of your review I've bought myself a Libra 2 instead of a Sage. I cannot have a battery life so miserable in comparison when I won't be doing so much actually usage of the pen anyhow. I've heard from others on Reddit, etc that the findings were the same as what you have indicated.
Monte-Cristo, one of my favourites ! (Will take lots of charges to complete, though, considering the thickness :o)
Hello Voja. I love your reviews but am confused! I was going to get Remarkable 2 having read all your guides, UNTIL , the dreaded subscription arrived. I need to get something similar soon. Voja, what would you recommend for note taking, organising them, and sketching. Would supernote A5X be a good alternative to Remarkable? Does it transcribe handwriting to text? Your advice would be most appreciated. Thank you. Amanda
@MyDeepGuide Thank you for your work ! You did help me on some points about ereaders :)
However, english isn't my native langage and i'm not sure i did get it all right, so quick question : is it possible to hightlight and take notes on a PDF (free from right) on a Kobo Sage or Elipsa 2E without pen?
Thank you again :)
Thank you for the review. I was waiting for it to make a decision 😌 I love my Kobo H2O and I thought it would be good to upgrade. The battery issue is a huge concern. I have been using Kobo for years and one of the best things is not having to worry about charging for weeks. Kobo devices always have been very strong regarding battery life and this does not make any sense. I will stick to my H2O and wait for new releases in the future.
Yeah, I come from the same experience, my Libra H2O battery just lasts and lasts, so the only way this made any sense is if something is wrong. This is why I asked for existing users to do the test and send in the results, so that we can get a better understanding of what's really going on.
Ditto
In the notebook, if you have the slider for light turned on, you can slide on the side opposite the buttons and it will adjust the front light.
Thank you for the clarification :)
@@MyDeepGuide He is referring to "Swipe left edge to adjust brightness" next to last setting at the bottom of the second page of reading settings. It doesn't have to be the side opposite the buttons, the slider for the light level is always on the left of the screen, no matter what side the buttons are on.
Love your reviews Voja , you go into such great depth on them, way better than anyone else's reviews on these e-ink devices. Not surprising you might miss a detail like this considering how many different devices you review, you can't know everything! :)
@@jihenrygmail Thank you Jim for correcting me on that.
Have they fixed the battery? Edit: I see there is another video, I will watch that too.
Hope you are having a good time.
I have recently purchased Kobo Sage 8 plus it`s pen (Kobo Stylus). but the problem is that I can`t add any note in that note sign section that pops up along the line that you want to add some note. I have seen that people easily do that in review videos on CZcams but I really can`t do it.
plus people will easily highlight anything they want quite easily with a very clean and sharped highlighting ability but mine is like using shade brush, I don`t know what is exactly wrong with it.
I`d be grateful if you could help me out.
Btw I am sure that the pen is quite alright
it looks like a nice replacement for my H2O (if we consider the battery issues would be solved), but the space where the buttons seat is preventing me to buy it. I would like to keep putting it in my backpocket when I walk between metro stations. I don't care about the buttons, I don't need a brick, I want something light and with just the screen width and a small bezel, not the useless buttons.
i am looking at libra 2 and sage, and i know one of them doesn't show the percentage of your reading, on the progress bar, is this true ? for example if you want to read 5% every session and then take a break, both of them show the pages but only one i heard shows the procentage .
Love the channel! Would be interested to see a quick update video after a few software updates have been released for this. Assuming the battery issues aren’t hardware related seems like most of the issues could be fixed in software.
(Edit) just noticed there is one from a month ago! Watching now
Voya, I just did a battery test on mine. There was another update today. I've had my Sage 2 days, and now 2 updates. Anyway, I wrote for 30 minutes, and my battery life started at 78 %, and went down to 61 %. I did make a mistake, I left my brightness level at 17 %, forgot to change to 30 %, but still 78 % to 61 % is very bad. I was constantly writing, and had to take 2 minor breaks because my device froze up, so I had to back out, then in. Only takes about 10 seconds or so. They obviously have problems. I did notice when I backed out of notes, the wireless connection turned off, then back on again when you go to the main menu. I'm going to keep my wireless connection off, until I need to synch, then I'll turn it off again. It will help a little. I'm beginning to think I made a mistake with this Sage. Also, I used a Dell pen, not as " clackety ", but still NOT a good writing experience, just okay.
Thank you very much for doing the test as well. More test results we get, better and more objective picture we will get to understand what is the real situation with the battery on the Sage, is it a consistent problem, or is it affecting only some devices.
I've had the Sage for over a week and absolutely love it! I don't use it for note taking though
ça donne quoi niveau batterie?
@@royzevisionneur2045 Etonnamment, c'est plutôt bien ! Après quelques heures de lecture, la batterie est à 96%.
@@MathieuLLF ah étrange, j'aimerais l'acheter sur leboncoin mais j'ai peur que le vendeur s'en débarrasse justement pour des problèmes de batterie
@@royzevisionneur2045 au pire, il suffit de le réinitialiser.
Bonjour, je me pose la même question, est ce que la batterie tient à peu près correctement après des mois d’ usage ( lecture uniquement , je n’ai pas besoin de prendre des notes, j ai un iPad)
At 13.30 you say it is plastic. I've read other reviews which say it's glass? I bought the Forma on sale because I don't need notes or audiobooks and the Sage is heavier and issues with the power drain. Apart from this it seems the same as the Forma. Sage power button is much better though. I think they should have made a Forma 2 with the better screen, faster firmware, USB-C, power button and audio but no notes and made the Elipsa with buttons and notes.
I wished they focused more on improving reading and dictionary experience, for an example, adding audio pronunciation of words in the word/dictionary look up feature. It's been available in my Webster app on my iphone for years now. Why cant they add small speakers which will do that, and can also be used for audiobooks.
Pronunciation support would be really welcome!
I want a flush screen. I have a speck of something stuck into the edge of the screen on my Kobo Libra H2O and I can't remove it
You say in the review that obviously this is not the type of device where you expect a good Internet browser. I just wonder, are there e-ink/e-paper type of devices that offer a usable browser? Does the Onyx Nova Color have a good usable browser, or any of the 10" / 13" devices? Thanks for such a great in-depth review.
Any of the Onyx devices have the ability to install any Android based browser and work quite well.
@@MyDeepGuide, Thank you, Voya, your guides are amazing. Thanks for having such deep tests.
Waiting for your libra 2 review
My battery life is similar to yours. I've read 4.1 hours (according to onboard stats) with mostly WiFi off and the frontlight at 10-15%. I had charged it to 100% before reading over the last couple of days. It is now at 12%.
Thank you for checking and sharing, you and others sharing really helps get a better understanding of what is going on, because the numbers you get and I got really seem like an anomaly, and I am happy to hear that some parts have normal performance. However, it's still something worth checking to understand how to fix it.
Too bad, I'll keep looking, thought this was it
Do you see any marks or small scratches on the Kobo screen after using the pen for a while or does it stay crisp with no pen markings at all?
I can see normal nib residue that can be simply wiped off with a dry cloth, but that is seen on any device. But no, no scratches.
Too much issue ( battery life), i Keep my good H2O and wait .
Question: Kobo has synchronisation with dropbox, but not with other cloud service as (thé excellent ) pCloud ?
I agree. I was really interested in upgrading from my H2O….but the poor battery on the Sage is a complete deal breaker! No way am I prepared to charge an e-ink device as often as an iPhone!! 😡
58:27 You can't change the brightness on the Sage but you can change it on the Libra 2 ?? I'm confused.
Brightness and contrast of the displayed image, not the frontlight. That's what I am talking about.
Best battery results is a 5% brightness... but of course why been restricted to this when they could have put a bigger battery? Going to send my sage back as here in Japan cannot be trialed and sent back.... Disappointed to say the least.
Elipsa had weird battery issues I didn't doubt for a second this would be worse. 10.3 inch 2400mah vs 8 inch 1200 mah
Ciscle make good 3rd party stylus that work great with the sage.
Teoh on his Teoh on Tech channel also complained about the battery life of the Sage.
Hello will your Daily Organizer work on the Sage please and if so which version is most compatible? Thanks
Yes it will, Supernote version would fit it the best, to avoid accidental bookmarking :)
@@MyDeepGuide thank you so much for responding.
It looks like I will save my money for a better device, what a shame, I thought this was a nice shot, I really thank you for this review.
Can you do notes only to kepub and pdf or also to epub?
Hi :) As you seem to read and take notes on PDF, may you help me, please, i'm lost : is it possible to hightlight and take notes on a PDF (free from right) on a Kobo ? (sorry for my english btw)
Thank you Voja for this review. I really want an eink tablet for reading PDFs as I have a lot of industry reading to do that is only available in PDF format. I'd like something that can load the PDFs easily, and I would like to export and save my notes in PDF format off the device. What device would you recommend? Papyr, Remarkable 2, Kobo Elipsa, Kobo Sage? Or should I wait until the new Sony DPTs? I lean towards the Papyr but would like to also read epub documents easily, and Kobo has a bookstore to do so. Thank you for any input!
Any idea when the new Sony DPT is released?
@@egaga- Last I heard was it was supposed to be out already, but that was back in Spring. I haven't heard an update since.
Hi :) As you seem to read and take notes on PDF, and since your post was one year ago, may you help me, please, i'm lost : is it possible to hightlight and take notes on a PDF (free from right) on a Kobo ? Thank you for your help !
Great review. I hope Kobo sees your review and responds publicly to the battery concerns. My guess is that they already know about this problem, and their answer, at least for now, is the $100 PowerCover :-(
Which is crazy, right? Their product page should say "days of battery life" instead of weeks if this is the realistic battery use.
@@ChristianBullock Or more like days of use when you don’t use it.
Yes my Sage has very poor battery life.
I love the device, and hopefully it is a software issue but it needs to be addressed by KOBO ASAP
Are you turning off your bluetooth when not and using airline mode? I thought the same but after I turned off all the unnecessary or unused features I will put it down for a week and it is still fully charged....This is a tip I learned from another channel.
The battery life issue scared me but reading up on the issue almost everyone is agreeing that it is new battery quirkiness. After 2-3 full charges the battery life vastly improves to eink reader status. This was seen on many previous kobo and kindle models, so many kobo faithful were not surprised and knew what was happening. Kinda of concerning it was mentioned/ beaten into the viewer so much in the video without long term testing.
Yeah, but this is true only for reader application. While that performance is improving, and I can see that as well, the writing performance remains the same, no matter what. I had a conversation with Kobo themselves, and their own internal testing also gives the number at 2.7 hours of consistent writing, mine was 2.5 hours. Either way you look at it, the writing battery life is very low. They have some explanations why it's like that, and that's fine, but the fact remains that it is the same exact stress test methodology and other devices perform significantly better in that regard, so if you want the Sage just for writing notes, then this is, most likely, a deal breaker. If you want to primarily read and mark up documents and maybe a take a little note here and there on a meeting, then it will work just fine.
The reason why it was "beaten into the viewer" is because this is, so far, the only device I have ever encountered that has such a low battery life expectancy when doing consistent writing, and this is unusual. Maybe not so, considering it has a 1200mAh battery, but it is important for potential customers to know exactly where the device shines and what it's not that good for.
Do it have googleplay
for only reading epub which one do you prefer libra2 or sage?
Despite it's objectively bad battery life, I really love the Sage. But you need to be aware that it can't do a week worth of reading on a single charge, of let's say 4 hours per day, and the recharge time is also not as fast as I'd like it to be. But despite all of that, I always gravitate back to it, and always carry it with me when travelling, for reading.
hi really thanks for replying@@MyDeepGuide
do you find its more comfortable to read on 8 inch display than 7 inch?
It’s just sad that kobo doesn’t care about the software issues; I want to buy this device but after seeing the charts and the latency and the lack of effort in regards of updates to improve the experience make thing that Kobo is only for books and I need to find another company for my note taking
Just order mine - got a nice price - battery not too critical me - as not a note taker - do have a surface pen already . I wonder if can turn off writing ability - think a software update will probably help . Kobo may have to reduce price of battery cover . Price not too bad in NZ - only twice price of sleepcover - coming in at $93 USD - so was waiting to see how my battery will go . In reality if you are going to buy the sleep cover ( plastic scratches more ) - then the cost for just the battery for me at least is about US$47 .
My guess is the power drain is partially related to the ready state for writing - ie yours must be in a high state . If you have a toggle - to enter writing mode - then if would save a lot of power - for someone like me who may never use a pen - then I definitely want to turn if off
in mobileread, one of the techy members there said writing uses three of the chip's cores and one at 100% that probably drains the battery
@@elvinventucillo4501 Thanks - I'm new to Kobo - a software update should fix some of this - The battery is small - given phones often have 3000 mah plus. I have a quick look at guide - haven't received my one yet . Personally I not likely to go into notebook -often - though maybe to document my reading . I mean in reading mode they could have pen sensor off - until pressure sensor goes off - is it a finger or pen - maybe I'm wrong - but I'm sure they can at least build in a slider for responsive of sensing pen.
Damn! I was almost sold until I saw the batter only lasts 4 hours when reading, too bad, I was about to quit the Kindle camp, I'll keep looking.
Please check the pinned comment and the battery test update, as the reading performance has been improved, somewhat, after several updates.
Hmm Sage has a flush screen, Libra 2 has a sunken screen.
I think I will go for Libra 2. I dont like flush screen and have 0 interest is note taking.
Can someone please tell me /point me to the channel of the JB person that gets mentioned ? Thanks
JB person's CZcams channel is
Morning Coach.
czcams.com/channels/BieDycFNxFmCGVWwwdCexw.html
@@bluriver28 Thanks!
I have the libre2 and the Elispsa and as far increasing and decreasing the light in notebook mode on the Elispsa all you have to do is slide your finger up and down the side of the note and the light will increase and decrease. Kinda Simple!
Thank you for your deep review. Battery performance is so bad. I will cancel my order for this device.
Good thing i cancelled my Sage order and ordered the Libra 2. The 'bit better' contrast of the libra versus the Sage led me to do it
Really thanks for sharing, I won't buy it because of the 🔋.
Definitely think there's something up with the device you received. People reporting close to twenty hours of reading time on the subreddit. Others have had devices with poor battery life like you. Apparently they need a few charge cycles to stabilize, but I'm no expert.
They're actually saying the opposite on the subreddit.
2.0 h that s bad too
Slowly web browser -not enough for me!
that pen clicking noise is very annoying
Yes, it really is...
The battery life really is that bad. I've experienced it. People are talking. Do not buy this.
The battery so terrible 🙈🙈
My Sage has very poor battery life!