When Amazon announced the Kindle Colorsoft last week, I was immediately interested – adding colour to Kindle seemed like the sort of slam-dunk feature that Kindle updates have been lacking for years. That's not to say they've been underwhelming, but there's rarely been anything truly new about Amazon's e-readers.
Now I've had my hands on the Colorsoft for a couple of days, and it's been an incredibly interesting experience – one that feels extremely familiar, yet offers the chance to reframe how you can use a Kindle entirely. That is, so long as you're into comics...
Colour me interested
The Colorsoft is a heck of a lot like the new 2024 model of the Kindle Paperwhite, for anyone checking out its specs. It has the same 300ppi pixel density when displaying in black and white, the same faster page-turning, and is almost the exact same size – with a 7-inch display to match.
The biggest difference is the most obvious, in the form of that colour display, which now lets you check out your library of book covers in all their vivid glory. Interestingly, much of Amazon's marketing about the tablet has focussed on this side of things, rather than the obvious benefit to comic-readers (which I'll come onto).
It's touting the Colorsoft as perfect for travel books, where images play a big part in what you're reading, and that's fair. Either way, it so far does exactly what it says on the tin – with nice, pastely colours that indeed make illustrations or coloured highlights stand out way better.
Can Colorsoft compete with a tablet?
I'm a little torn on how impressed I am by this tech, though. On the one hand, it's still fairly magical to suddenly be able to read graphic novels and whatever else in full colour, after years of compromise and accepting that Kindles are mostly for text. The stride forward that a colour e-Ink display represents is pretty significant.
However, it's also immediately apparent to me why Amazon has focused on travel books, rather than comics and graphic novels. While the Colorsoft is far, far more colourful than any other Kindle, obviously, its colours are still noticeably muted compared to one of the best tablets out there.
That comparison might feel unfair, but I've found that colours on the Colorsoft are as soft as the name implies, and crucially the pixel density also goes down by half when displaying in colour, to 150ppi.
That means you'll find yourself zooming in a lot to read smaller text panels. To be clear, though, that's no terrible thing – the software makes doing so easy, and it's responsive and smooth.
Is the Colorsoft worth buying?
So, it's a toss-up for me, at this stage. I'm using what feels like the most versatile Kindle ever, on the one hand. On the other, I'm viewing comics and colourful content in a way that does feel like it retains some friction compared to simple novels.
Of course, this all comes in the context of price, too. The Colorsoft is a premium new option, and it's priced to match that, at $279.99 / £269.99. You could save yourself £100 / $100 and get a brand-new Paperwhite, and there's no doubt many people will do so.
If you're into comics at all, though, or you want the most adaptable Kindle available, you'll want to check back for my full Kindle Colorsoft review very soon. There, I'll dive into more detail on the all-colour experience.
