E-Book Reader Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2021-2031

The Global E-Book Reader Market is projected to expand from USD 8.24 billion in 2025 to USD 11.58 billion by 2031, registering a compound annual growth rate of 5.84%. These specialized portable devices utilize E Ink technology to mimic the appearance of printed paper, thereby reducing eye strain and facilitating the reading of digital periodicals and books. The market is primarily propelled by the portability of these devices, which enable users to transport vast libraries in one lightweight unit, alongside the increasing digitization of educational and professional materials. Furthermore, a rising global awareness regarding environmental sustainability and paper consumption is accelerating the adoption of these paperless reading solutions.

According to the Association of American Publishers' StatShot Annual report released in 2025, eBook revenues in the United States rose by 1.5 percent to reach 2.1 billion dollars during the 2024 calendar year. Despite this consistent demand for digital text, the hardware sector faces substantial hurdles due to fierce competition from multifunctional devices like tablets and smartphones. These ubiquitous alternatives provide integrated reading applications along with multimedia features, often diminishing the consumer's perceived need to invest in a standalone device dedicated solely to reading.

Market Drivers

Technological advancements in display and E-Ink capabilities are fundamentally transforming the market by bridging the divide between monochrome efficiency and the vibrant visuals required for modern media. The transition toward mass production of color e-paper allows manufacturers to introduce devices capable of rendering complex graphics, textbooks, and magazines with high fidelity, which stimulates replacement demand among current users. This innovation is driving financial growth; as reported by the Taipei Times in November 2025, E Ink Holdings saw a 29 percent year-on-year revenue increase to 29.1 billion New Taiwan dollars in the first three quarters of 2025. This surge underscores the sector's successful pivot to color displays that retain the energy efficiency and battery life consumers expect from dedicated readers.

Simultaneously, the widespread adoption of e-book subscription services is stabilizing the market by shifting the consumption model from individual purchases to continuous access. These platforms offer unlimited libraries for a set fee, incentivizing hardware ownership and anchoring consumers within the digital reading ecosystem through daily usage. For instance, Storytel AB’s October 2025 interim report noted that streaming revenue grew by 4 percent to 884 million Swedish kronor in the third quarter alone. This recurring revenue model contributes to broader industry success, with Publishers Weekly noting in March 2025 that Penguin Random House achieved an 8.5 percent increase in global sales to 4.9 billion euros in 2024, a growth driven partly by the resilience of audio and digital formats.

Market Challenges

The Global E-Book Reader Market faces significant restrictions due to intense competition from multifunctional electronics, specifically smartphones and tablets. As mobile technology evolves, these devices offer high-resolution screens and sophisticated reading apps that replicate the utility of dedicated e-readers without requiring a separate hardware purchase. This convergence creates redundancy for the average consumer, as the convenience of accessing communication tools, media, and literature on a single device often outweighs the ergonomic benefits of E Ink screens, making single-purpose readers difficult to justify for non-enthusiasts.

This challenge is intensified by shifting content consumption preferences that favor formats native to multifunctional hardware. Data from the Association of American Publishers in 2025 for the 2024 calendar year indicated that digital audio revenue surged by 22.5 percent to 2.4 billion dollars, effectively surpassing eBook revenue. This growth in audio formats, which are typically consumed via smartphones while multitasking, demonstrates how versatile mobile devices are capturing market attention. By satisfying the demand for digital storytelling through audio rather than visual text, smartphones reduce the necessity for dedicated reading devices, directly impacting hardware shipment volumes.

Market Trends

The convergence of digital note-taking and e-reading is expanding the sector's utility beyond passive consumption, creating hybrid devices tailored for professionals who need distraction-free environments. By integrating low-latency styluses and textured screen layers, manufacturers are merging the tactile experience of paper with digital organization, capturing users who previously relied on physical notebooks or general-purpose tablets. This shift toward productivity is increasing the hardware's value; reMarkable Invest Group’s May 2024 Annual Report FY23 highlighted that total revenue grew by 27 percent year-on-year to 338 million US dollars, driven largely by the scaling of these dedicated writing tablets.

Concurrently, the integration of Artificial Intelligence for handwriting refinement and content summarization is emerging as a vital differentiator for premium e-paper devices. Manufacturers are embedding large language models to instantly summarize long documents and convert scribbled notes into formal text, transforming e-readers from static displays into dynamic business tools. The commercial impact of these features is verifiable; iFLYTEK Co., Ltd. reported in September 2024 that sales of their Smart Office Notebooks, which utilize the Spark AI model for semantic processing, increased by 40 percent year-on-year in the first half of the year.

Key Players Profiled in the E-Book Reader Market

• Amazon.com Inc.
• Onyx International Inc.
• Barnes & Noble Inc.
• Hanvon Technology Co. Ltd.
• Rakuten Kobo Inc.
• Sony Electronics Inc.
• PocketBook International SA
• ECTACO, Inc.
• Aluratek, Inc.
• Tolino media GmbH & Co. KG

Report Scope

In this report, the Global E-Book Reader Market has been segmented into the following categories:

E-Book Reader Market, by Screen Size:

• Below 6 Inch
• 6-8 Inch
• 8-10 inch
• Above 10 Inch

E-Book Reader Market, by End User:

• Students
• Professionals
• Others

E-Book Reader Market, by Distribution Channel:

• Specialty Stores
• Online

E-Book Reader Market, by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• South America
• Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global E-Book Reader Market.

Available Customization

The analyst offers customization according to your specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:

• Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

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