Rakuten Kobo is rumored to be working on a brand-new e-reader, tentatively referred to as the Kobo Spa, which is expected to launch later in 2025, according to Good e-Reader. The name of the device has recently surfaced in FCC paperwork, confirming that the product is nearing release. Although Kobo has not yet disclosed the technical specifications, industry watchers believe that the Kobo Spa will be unveiled in the fall or winter of this year.
The Kobo Spa is launching at a time when Rakuten Kobo is making important changes to its software platform. By mid-2025, the company will discontinue support for Mozilla Pocket and instead integrate Instapaper as its read-it-later service. Apart from this, Kobo is also rolling out new accessibility features, which it said have been designed to make reading a more inclusive experience. These include support for a new read-aloud feature along with the ability to apply global font size adjustments across the interface. With the Kobo Spa likely to ship with these improvements baked in, the device could represent an important step forward in Kobo’s ongoing mission to deliver both convenience and accessibility to readers worldwide.
Meanwhile, Netronix Inc., a Taiwan-based Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), has also been active on the FCC database. On June 17, 2025, the company submitted two new filings under the IDs ‘NOIKBN367B’ and ‘NOIKBN365B’. Unfortunately, the documents do not reveal anything about the upcoming products. The filings, however, confirm that new devices are in the works and that they should be ready to enter the consumer domain sometime soon. Although the Netronix filings don’t confirm the Kobo Spa directly, they indicate that new Kobo-related hardware is in development.
Netronix has a long history of contributing to the e-reader market. It has been associated with Kobo right from when the Canadian company launched its first e-reader back in 2009. It was in 2014 that the company received FCC approval for a 6.8-inch e-book reader under the code ‘NOIKBN250’, and in 2016, it filed another device listed as ‘NOIKB-E60Q62’. These past filings should be proof enough of Netronix playing a key role in advancing e-paper technology.
Taken together, Kobo’s upcoming release and Netronix’s recent filings point to a very active year ahead for the e-reader industry. The Kobo Spa promises to expand on Kobo’s tradition of high-quality reading devices while introducing ecosystem updates that focus on accessibility and modern reading habits. At the same time, Netronix’s continued presence in FCC reports highlights the behind-the-scenes innovation that powers much of today’s e-reader technology. For readers and tech enthusiasts alike, 2025 is shaping up to be a year filled with exciting developments in digital reading.
