Which New Kindle Is Best For You
After about three years, Amazon finally has a new lineup of Kindles. This time, we have four models in total, starting from the $110 basic Kindle, to the $400 Kindle Scribe. And in the middle, we finally have a model with a color e-ink screen. Some of these devices are shipping now, but you'll have to wait a bit for Scribe.
The question is, though, which model is right for you? From $100 to $400, there's a Kindle for everyone, and it can be perplexing to keep track of models, especially now that Amazon has premium Signature Editions too. Here's your guide to all the Amazon Kindle models launched in 2024, and how to choose the best one for you.
The base Kindle edges closer to the Paperwhite
The latest Kindle launches with a new Matcha Green color, and comes with a $10 price bump, now starting at $110. The Kindle keeps the 300 PPI 6-inch E Ink display from the previous generation. With an updated processor, Amazon is promising faster page turns and a front light that is 25% brighter at max settings, making it as bright as the Kindle Paperwhite. This Kindle offers the same 6 week long battery life as the previous generation.
The Paperwhite is for the bookworms
The Paperwhite gets a more substantial upgrade with an updated body design, making the bezels slightly smaller. The screen also now sits completely flush with the bezels, giving it a tablet-like look.
The screen is now 7-inches across instead of the 6.8-inches from the previous model. It's also 25% faster, and according to Amazon, it's the fastest Kindle yet.
The Kindle Paperwhite now uses an oxide thin-film transistor display that gives it the highest contrast ratio of any Kindle yet. This should make the black text really pop on the screen. The front-light system now has 10 white LEDs and 9 Amber LEDs. The Signature Edition comes with an ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts the brightness based on your environment (kind of like your smartphone).
Speaking of the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, it comes with 32GB storage instead of the 16GB for the standard model, and has an option for a wireless charging dock. Plus, it comes in three exclusive colors: Metallic Raspberry, Metallic Jade, and Metallic Black. The regular Kindle Paperwhite instead comes in Raspberry, Jade, and Black colors.
Like with the base Kindle, there's a $10 bump in the price tag. The Paperwhite starts at $159.99, while the Signature edition is now $199.99.
Kindle Colorsoft finally brings color to Kindle
Amazon finally has a brand new type of Kindle. It's called the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition, and it is built on the foundation of the new Paperwhite. The big difference, though, is the new color E Ink display.
The color screen is designed to view book covers, graphic novels, and certain manga. The book reading experience is still very much black and white, but you can highlight with multiple colors (like you can in the Kindle app for smartphones and tablets).
The E-ink display is built on E Ink's Kaleido technology, but it uses a whole new display stack designed for Kindles. There's a newly designed oxide backplate with a custom designed waveform that leads to fast performance and high contrast for both black-and-white and color content. The display also features custom designed nitride LEDs that enhance color and increase the brightness, supposedly without washing out the details. The black-and-white content is still displayed at the 300 PPI resolution like the Paperwhite, but switching to color drops it to 150 PPI.
The Kindle Colorsoft comes with wireless charging, eight weeks of battery life (compared to three months on the regular Paperwhite), and is waterproof. The Kindle Colorsoft starts at $289.99.
Kindle Scribe goes AI
The 2nd Generation Kindle Scribe is a small upgrade over the previous Kindle Scribe. The big 10.2-inch and 300 PPI E Ink black and white display is still the same. But now, the device has white borders. The screen also now has a paper-like coating, and the screen sits flush with the bezels.
The big feature here is AI. You can't mark up on books or PDFs yet, but the Scribe has a new feature where you can highlight or annotate on a page, and attach handwritten notes that are then saved to the margin. Kindle's AI can also help you summarize a couple of pages of handwritten notes. And lastly, a new feature can help you clean up your handwritten notes, making them more legible.
The new Kindle Scribe will cost $399, $20 more than the previous model, and it won't ship until December 2024. Amazon will be adding these AI features to the older Scribe as well.
Which Kindle is right for you?
For the vast majority of users, the Kindle Paperwhite is still the best option. It now has the fastest screen on any Kindle, features high contrast rate, and adjustable warm lighting.
The $199 Kindle Paperwhite Signature edition might not be worth the extra $40, though it has the extra bells and whistles like better LEDs, ambient lighting, and metallic colors.
The Kindle Colorsoft is a great pick for fans of graphic novels and manga. The fast screen should make reading illustrated stories an ease. The competition, though, is cheaper. You can get a Kobo Libra Color for $220 on Amazon.
The Kindle Scribe works best for people who really want to annotate and take notes on their ebooks.
The base Kindle is a viable option if you're on a budget. The $110 Kindle comes quite close to the Paperwhite, but misses out on key features like a flush-front design, adjustable warm light, waterproofing, and the new performance upgrade.