E-readers are supposed to replace physical books, but they strangely come mostly in black or gray, unlike colorful and distinctive book covers. Although not a complete design overhaul, Pocketbook’s new Verta and Verta Color e-readers offer a simple fix, and no, it doesn’t require slapping on a case. You can change the color of the e-reader by swapping the back panel while maintaining its slim shape and keeping the screen and page-turn buttons uncovered.
That’s a rather different approach to personalization than slipping on a protective cover. The interchangeable panels are sold separately, so you can keep a few colors around and switch when your taste changes. More importantly, they replace the back rather than wrapping over the front. There’s no extra flap to fold behind the reader when you settle into a chair with a book.
Designer: PocketBook
The front stays familiar in the best way. Both readers have a 6-inch touchscreen and enlarged page-turn buttons beneath it, giving your thumb another way forward when the screen is smudged or your hands are occupied. Each measures just 0.28 inches thick and weighs about 4.9 ounces, a size that suits a jacket pocket or an overstuffed bag on the commute.
Choose the regular Verta, and you get a 6-inch E Ink Carta 1300 display at 300 pixels per inch, built for the sort of long novel that makes you miss your stop. SMARTlight lets you adjust brightness and warmth as daylight disappears. It also offers Dark Mode, so you can keep reading in bed without a bright white page facing the person beside you.
The Verta Color is for readers who want their covers, illustrated pages, and comics to retain some color. Its E Ink Kaleido 3 screen renders monochrome text at 300 pixels per inch, but color drops to 150 pixels per inch. Those numbers matter if you read fine print in graphic novels; the color option gives illustrations some life, not the punch of a tablet.
Both have 16GB of storage, Wi-Fi for downloading books, and Bluetooth audio for audiobooks or text-to-speech, though you’ll need headphones or another compatible listening device. PocketBook also supports a broad range of file formats and borrowing through library apps. That flexibility comes in handy when the next book you want isn’t sitting in a single company’s store waiting for you.
An IPX4 rating gives the pair protection against splashes, not an invitation to use them in the bath. Their 1,500mAh batteries are meant to last up to two months, depending on how you read, although that figure comes from PocketBook rather than an independent test. The removable backs add personality, but they’re not a replacement for a protective case if the reader needs one.
PocketBook plans to release both in November 2026, pricing the Verta at €169 (about $198) and the Verta Color at €179 (about $209). Both are marked as coming soon on its storefront. The cleverest trick, though, is letting you change the color of something you hold for hours on end without asking a protective case to do the decorating for you.
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