Amazon has refreshed its entire Kindle e-reader family in time for the holidays.
New Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Scribe models have been joined by the brand's first ever full-colour reader – the Kindle Colorsoft.
Amazon has put paid the rumours and leaks over the last couple of weeks by officially announcing the new entry-level Kindle and 2024 Paperwhite we expected. However, it has also surprisingly introduced a new version of the Kindle Scribe and its first full-colour e-reader, the Kindle Colorsoft.
That really shakes things up when it comes to choosing the best Kindle to buy this year.
As previously leaked by a major UK retailer, the new standard Kindle is lighter than ever before, weighing just 158g. It also has a 6-inch, glare-free E Ink display with 300ppi and higher contrast that comes with a 25% brighter front light for night reading.
There's a new Matcha (green) colour and it is capable of lasting for "weeks" on a single charge.
The Kindle Paperwhite, which was also accidentally posted on eBay before being officially launched, also gets an upgrade, with faster page turns and speed of use.
An oxide thin-film transistor enables higher contrast than before, while the screen itself has grown in size – up to 7-inches.
It comes in Raspberry, Jade and Black colours, while a Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition has also launched, with double the storage (32GB) and an auto-adjusting front light. It comes in Metallic Raspberry, Metallic Jade and Metallic Black.
Amazon goes all Colorsoft
Now onto the all-new entrant to the family. The Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition (as it's called) has all the best properties of its stablemates – high contrast, fast page turning, auto-adjusting front light and long battery life (up to eight weeks) but throws full-colour into the mix.
The 7-inch screen is capable of showing colour books and comics in 150ppi, while the resolution is upped to 300ppi for regular black and white text.
It comes with 32GB of on-board storage, supports dual Wi-Fi bands, Bluetooth (to connect to headphones for audiobook listening) and has USB-C for fast charging. The e-reader is also IPX8 waterproof, so is fine to use by the pool, on a beach, or even in torrential rain.
Last but certainly not least, the Kindle Scribe has had a facelift. It now comes with a flush-front display with white borders and an upgraded Premium Pen.
The screen size is the same – 10.2-inches and 300ppi – but is a touch more paper-like to draw and write on. You can now write in eBooks too, to take notes or circle passages, thanks to an Active Canvas feature.
It;s also worth pointing out that there are new Kindle Paperwhite Kids and Kindle Kids editions too.
New Amazon Kindles release dates and prices
The new Kindle family will be available on different dates, with a couple ready to buy now and others on pre-order.
The Amazon Kindle 2024 model is priced from £94.99 in the UK / $109.99 in the US and AUD$199 for Australia, in Black and Matcha and in stock now.
The Kindle Paperwhite 2024 is also available now priced from £159.99 in the UK / $159.99 in the US and AUD$329 in Australia.
The all-new Kindle Colorsoft can be pre-ordered now for delivery from 30 October 2024. It is priced at £269.99 in the UK, $279.99 in the US. Australian pricing is still to be confirmed.
And the new Kindle Scribe can be pre-ordered ahead of a 4 December 2024 release. It starts at £379.99 in the UK, $399.99 in the US and AUD$629 in Australia.
