Pocketbook InkPad One E-Reader Full Review

The Pocketbook InkPad One is the first e-reader and e-notebook that the company has released in 2026, and it won’t be the last. The company released only two products in 2025 and has disclosed plans to release a few other new models this year. What is the Pocketbook InkPad One? The PocketBook InkPad One is a 10.3-inch E Ink e-reader and digital notebook, designed as an affordable, reading-first alternative to premium e-note devices. It features a large E Ink Mobius screen with an active stylus, allowing for note-taking and annotation on a “paper-like” surface. The device is positioned as a focused tool for reading, especially PDFs and technical documents, and note-taking, rather than an app-heavy, multifunctional tablet.

Hardware

The Pocketbook InkPad One features a 10.3-inch E INK Mobius e-paper display with a resolution of 1404×1872 with 226 PPI. The front bezel is grey, with a white border around the e-paper display, and the back panel is piano black. The screen is flush with the bezel and is protected by a layer of glass. The sleek aluminum design features a very slim 5.15mm profile, so the device feels clean and uncluttered, while offering up to 2 months of reading time without recharging.

InkPad One features an adaptive SMARTlight that adjusts the screen’s brightness and color temperature to match any environment. Whether reading outdoors, in a dim room, or late at night, InkPad One delivers consistent visual comfort. Unlike LCD backlighting, SMARTlight softly illuminates the E Ink screen, keeping the experience eye-friendly and natural. This makes InkPad One equally suitable for long reading sessions and focused handwriting work anywhere.

Under the hood is a 1.8 GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of internal storage. The device includes a G-sensor, cover sensor, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 5.0 for listening to music, podcasts, or audiobooks, but it lacks a speaker. It is powered by a 3,700 mAh battery, measures 244 x 173 x 5 mm, and weighs 400g.

With audio support and built-in Text-to-Speech, InkPad One extends reading beyond the screen. Users can switch from reading to listening in just a few taps, connecting wireless headphones or speakers via Bluetooth. Thanks to the Text-to-Speech function, InkPad One can read aloud any text file, starting exactly where reading left off. With natural-sounding voices and support for multiple languages, Text-to-Speech adds a new level of flexibility. It’s an ideal solution for commuting, cooking, resting the eyes, or multitasking.

The device includes the world’s most comprehensive English-language UK digital eBook library, with user-friendly LCP-protected content comprising 4.5 million eBooks and 90,000 audiobooks. Moreover, InkPad One incorporates a Libby-powered app for an effortless library borrowing experience. It is built on an open ecosystem that gives users full freedom to choose where their content comes from. However, the real power lies in sideloading your content, which supports DRM EPUB and PDF files, as well as books downloaded online. It offers extensive support for ACSM, AZW, AZW3, CBR, CBZ, CHM, DJVU, DOC, DOCX, EPUB (DRM), EPUB, FB2, FB2.ZIP, HTM, HTML, MOBI, PDF (DRM), PDF, PRC, RTF, and TXT.

InkPad One comes with a PocketBook Stylus 2 and is designed to make handwriting feel natural and effortless. The large 10.3” screen provides ample space for notes, sketches, and annotations, closely resembling the experience of writing on real paper. The device offers essential tools for active reading, allowing users to read and write directly on the same page. In Comment Mode, finger touch is used to turn pages, while the stylus is dedicated to writing, highlighting, and annotation without interrupting the reading flow. InkPad One smoothly fits into professional, educational, and personal routines, offering a large-scale digital canvas for ideas to flow freely.

Software

Open System: Supports over 25 formats, including DRM EPUB and PDF, as well as CBR, CBZ, and MOBI.
Note-Taking & Handwriting: The software includes an active stylus for hand-written notes, sketches, and highlighting, designed to feel like paper.
Active Reading & Annotation: The software allows users to make handwritten annotations directly on PDFs and EPUBs. It features a “Comment Mode” that enables stylus-based writing while allowing finger touch to turn pages.
Text-to-Speech: Features built-in Text-to-Speech, enabling the device to read text files aloud, with Bluetooth connectivity for headphones.
Library Syncing: Uses the PocketBook Cloud and the PocketBook Reader mobile app for synchronizing books, notes, and reading positions.
Interface: Features a modern, updated user interface that supports customized, user-defined home screens and application icons.

Pocketbook has always run Linux on all of its e-readers. This is the same operating system used by the Amazon Kindle and Kobo e-readers. This OS helps preserve battery life because no background processes are being run. It is also rock-stable and seldom crashes. It is super stable, although this prevents users from installing any apps on the device.

If you tap the top of the screen, you’ll see a number of quick-action settings. This is similar to Android when you tap or swipe down from the top. You can adjust the brightness of the front-lit display and color temperature settings. Establish a Wi-Fi network, pair Bluetooth headphones, enable system-wide dark mode, or activate airplane mode.

The main home screen features a widget at the top that showcases the books you are reading or have downloaded from the store but haven’t started yet. If there are a few books you are in the process of reading, there is a multi-page layout you can swipe through to see the next few books on the carousel. Underneath that are some recommended books from the Pocketbook Store; you will see around nine bestselling titles. The main navigation features icons with text, and there are three pages you can swipe through.

Your library is where all of your content is housed, and you can filter it by format, author, or date, and sort it in list view or cover art view. If some of your books still need to have cover art images because you downloaded them online, a metadata system will look at the book’s title and author and fetch metadata for it. You will likely be on this screen because you buy and load hundreds of books. You can also hit switches on a particular book to flag it as finished, making it disappear from the home screen.

Audiobooks is another home screen UI element where you can load your own audiobooks or download them from the Pocketbook Store. There is an audiobook folder in the settings menu that lets you establish where you want to store your audiobook content. The main player officially supports M4A, M4B, OGG, OGG.ZIP, MP3, and MP3.ZIP.

The Store is the next feature, and our review unit was locked to the UK bookstore, which has 4.5 million e-books and 90,000 audiobooks – including international bestsellers and beloved classics – with easy access to and purchase of any eBook from the catalog directly on the e-reader. All purchases will be stored not only on the Pocketbook InkPad One but also on all other Pocketbook e-readers and their apps.

If you want to download books for free, the Pocketbook One supports Libby out of the box.PocketBook users will now be able to log in with their library card, borrow titles through the PocketBook x Libby app, and seamlessly read or listen on their e-reader. Titles can also be sampled before borrowing. Ebooks can be downloaded for offline reading within the borrowing period. Other formats, including audiobooks, are streamed or accessed through the browser. You need a digital library card, your branch, and a 4-digit PIN code. Once that is done, you can borrow audiobooks and e-books directly on the e-reader.

Notes is where all of your freehand drawings, notes, and audio notes will be stored. It comes with the PocketBook Stylus 2. While it is not a Wacom EMR system, it supports pressure sensitivity for natural handwriting, sketching, and margin notes. Comment Mode is his specialized mode, which lets you use your finger for page navigation while the stylus remains strictly dedicated to writing and highlighting. This prevents accidental page turns while you are in the middle of a note. You can write and draw directly on top of e-books and PDFs. These notes can then be exported or synced via the PocketBook Cloud. For general journalism or meeting notes, there is a dedicated Scribble/Notes application.

Apps are the last main UI element. This is where you find the internet browser, calculator, dictionary, photo gallery, music player, Libby, RSS News Reader, Send to Pocketbook, Pocketbook Cloud, and some basic games.

Reading

This e-reader is designed for reading books, and users can access the Pocketbook Store to download thousands of books. However, the real power lies in sideloading your content, which supports DRM EPUB and PDF files, as well as books downloaded online. It offers extensive support for ACSM, AZW, AZW3, CBR, CBZ, CHM, DJVU, DOC, DOCX, EPUB (DRM), EPUB, FB2, FB2.ZIP, HTM, HTML, MOBI, PDF (DRM), PDF, PRC, RTF, and TXT.

With DRM EPUB and PDF, users can purchase ebooks from other stores such as Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Google. You can also download books from the public library, such as Overdrive. You must copy the book you bought to your computer or MAC and download Adobe Digital Editions. Create an account or log in to an existing one. Select the book you downloaded to your computer, plug your Pocketbook into your PC, and transfer the book. You need to use this software because Adobe needs to verify that you own the book.

Users can also enjoy the convenience of 11 preloaded dictionaries and explore an additional 42 language combinations, available for free download. Whether learning a new language or enhancing your language skills, PocketBook Verse Lite is the perfect companion for language enthusiasts.

Last year, Pocketbook launched a UK bookstore, and most of its new e-readers have the store built in. It offers 4.5 million e-books and 90,000 audiobooks that cover every genre. Readers gain access not only to timeless favorites but also to international premieres – with many of the world’s top bestsellers available on the same day as their global release. Regular updates, diverse genres, and works from renowned authors ensure the store remains dynamic, relevant, and full of discoveries.

With a pay-per-download model, UK readers now have direct access to millions of e-books and audiobooks. This expansion highlights PocketBook’s commitment to delivering the most advanced and user-friendly reading experiences worldwide.

“We’re proud to open this new PocketBook chapter in the UK. By adding Gardner’s rich catalog to our ecosystem, we’re making e-reading even more accessible to users across the UK,” said Enrico Mueller, Managing Director of PocketBook Readers GmbH. “We are also glad to offer content, protected by LCP DRM: with this solution, we ensure greater flexibility and fewer barriers – staying true to our mission of making reading as user-friendly as possible.”

“We are delighted to be working with PocketBook to bring our Publishers’ e-books and audiobooks to new heights, giving the UK public full access to the Gardners catalog”, stated Ali Balaban, Gardners’ Head of Digital Product. “As a trusted partner in the book business, we are excited to be working with our first e-reader brand”.

Nigel Wyman, Chief Sales Officer, commented, “This is a culmination of hard work between PocketBook and the Gardners’ team. We are pleased to be able to finally offer our full catalog of digital products to a wider audience in the UK via this collaboration”.

Writing

The writing experience is not as advanced as the Remarkable, Onyx Boox, Supernote or the Kindle Scribe. I would not buy the Pocketbook if you are a serious writer since you don’t have any advanced features such as Layers, whereas the Pocketbook EO and Pocketbook Note Color offer a better drawing experience.

Active Stylus Input: The included Stylus 2 allows for natural handwriting, sketching, and annotation directly on documents (PDFs, EPUBs).
“Comment Mode”: A specialized mode where finger touch is used for page turning, while the stylus is dedicated to writing/highlighting, allowing for uninterrupted reading and annotation.
Screen Type: It utilizes a 10.3” E Ink Mobius display, which is more flexible and durable than traditional glass-based screens, reducing the risk of damage.
Handwriting Experience: The screen offers a paper-like, glare-free, and eye-friendly surface suitable for long writing sessions.
Note Organization: It supports handwriting-to-text conversion (AI-enhanced) and provides various templates for productivity.
5 Templates to choose from when taking notes.
There are pens, brushes, pencils, and fine tip with 3 different brush sizes and shapes.
The Pen has pressure sensitivity, so lines will become thicker the more you press.

Wrap Up

The Pocketbook InkPad One makes a very solid and capable e-reader since it has a large screen and is made of Mobius e-paper, which is plastic and very light. This is the best e-reader around for the price vs the features you get. I really dig how many e-book formats it supports for those of you with existing book collections and want to sideload in their own content, in addition to the Pocketbook Store with millions of bestselling titles from major publishers.

The Note taking experience is the weakest part of the device, but still does gets the job done in a pinch, however more capable e-notes cost $200 to $300 more.