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    Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024) evaluate: barely bigger, barely sooner, barely higher


    Three years have handed since Amazon final up to date its flagship e-reader, and whereas this 12 months’s Kindle lineup appeared targeted on Amazon’s first coloration providing, the Paperwhite nonetheless received some welcome enhancements. With a higher-contrast display screen and snappier efficiency, the Twelfth-generation Kindle Paperwhite stays the very best e-reader available on the market.

    I examined the $199.99 Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, which is $40 greater than the $159.99 fundamental Paperwhite. The display screen and internals are the identical, however the Signature Edition consists of an ambient mild sensor for automated brightness changes, 32GB of storage relatively than 16GB, no lockscreen advertisements, wi-fi charging, and a metallic end on the again. The metallic jade model I used to be despatched regarded nice (metallic black and raspberry are additionally choices) however felt barely much less grippy than the plastic of the bottom Paperwhite.

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    The new Paperwhite incorporates a 300ppi display screen with a small bump in measurement from 6.8 to seven inches — not likely sufficient to be noticeable, however sufficient to allow you to squeeze a number of further traces of textual content on a web page. Thanks to smaller bezels, the brand new Paperwhite is only a few millimeters bigger than the earlier model whereas managing to be barely thinner; in use, it feels practically equivalent. This 12 months’s mannequin additionally brings the show flush with the bezels, though it’s one other refined enchancment.

    The new Paperwhite (proper) has noticeably improved display screen distinction over the earlier model (left).

    What is noticeable is the elevated distinction. Thanks to using an oxide thin-film transistor on the display screen, the brand new Paperwhite has the best distinction ratio of any e-reader I’ve ever examined. The advantages aren’t instantly apparent whenever you’re studying plain textual content, however the deeper blacks make the display screen look nearer to an precise printed web page. It provides illustrations, footage, and guide covers extra pop and presence, and makes comics and manga panels look sharper. The new display screen sometimes made a few of the high quality textual content in Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto’s Ultimate Spider-Man: Married with Children seem bolder and simpler to learn with out zooming in.

    It’s not a function that’s as flashy as a coloration E Ink display screen, however it’s simply the brand new mannequin’s finest improve, and it’s going to make it onerous to return to my Kobo Libra 2.

    The Paperwhite launched in 2021 (left) in comparison with the brand new 2024 model (proper).

    Amazon has additionally improved the brand new Paperwhite’s lighting, giving the display screen a extra impartial tone at its default settings. The final era Paperwhite’s display screen skews somewhat cooler, however with each Paperwhite fashions’ heat sliders turned up, the variations are indistinguishable.

    This can also be the primary Paperwhite to make use of a dual-core processor (the Oasis, relaxation in peace, had a dual-core processor again in 2017). The 1GHz Mediatek CPU could be painfully gradual for a tool with an LCD display screen, however it makes an enormous distinction on an e-reader. Amazon’s claims of 25 p.c sooner web page turns weren’t noticeable once I was studying textual content — the refresh price of the E Ink display screen is the limiting issue there — however I used to be genuinely shocked at how a lot sooner it opened half-gigabyte, image-heavy PDF information I sideloaded. On the Eleventh-generation Paperwhite there’s a pause that makes me surprise if the gadget goes to choke on the information, however the brand new Paperwhite opens them instantaneously and flips by way of the pages practically as quick because it does with plain textual content.

    The consumer interface additionally feels sooner. It’s nonetheless not as quick or responsive as a smartphone or pill, and zooming out and in of comics and pictures can nonetheless really feel sluggish, however scrolling by way of guide lists, navigating Amazon’s guide retailer, and popping out and in of varied menus is satisfyingly speedy. Or no less than as speedy as it may be with the constraints of E Ink.

    Amazon claims the brand new Paperwhite can be utilized for as much as 12 weeks between fees, however that’s when limiting your studying to only half-hour a day at half display screen brightness and wi-fi options turned off. After an hour studying, leaping backwards and forwards between books and PDFs, and searching different titles on Amazon’s on-line retailer with display screen brightness set to 75 p.c, the brand new Paperwhite misplaced 5 p.c of its cost. With that each day routine I’d anticipate to squeeze about three weeks out of the Paperwhite’s battery, and doubtlessly even longer if I wasn’t so indecisive about what I used to be studying.

    If you’re a Kindle consumer who’s upgraded previously few years, the brand new Paperwhite’s performance will really feel acquainted. If you’re switching from opponents like Kobo, chances are you’ll end up working into some irritating limitations. Sideloading paperwork like PDFs or ePUB information is more durable than it must be, since Kindle units now not hook up with computer systems as exterior drives. You want to make use of Amazon’s on-line companies or desktop apps to get e-books and different paperwork onto the Paperwhite, and each choices are clunky.

    Text customization can also be restricted within the Kindle OS in comparison with Kobo units, which provide finer changes for font measurement, line spacing, and margins. Although I discover the Paperwhite’s formatting choices too simplified, I can see the attraction for these wanting a tool that’s very straightforward to make use of. I like that you may save your changes as customized themes — it’s a function I want Kobo would add — however I can’t perceive why Amazon limits every gadget to only 5 customized themes.

    Borrowing library books can also be simpler on a Kobo. The new Paperwhite nonetheless requires you to make use of the Libby app or web site on a separate gadget to browse and borrow titles. Kobo’s e-readers have Overdrive built-in, and whereas they do obfuscate the borrowing course of, you don’t want to drag out your telephone to take action.

    The Kobo Clara BW (left) launched earlier this 12 months has a smaller recessed display screen that doesn’t look pretty much as good as the brand new Paperwhite (proper).

    But Kobo appears to be specializing in coloration e-readers and bigger E Ink note-taking units nowadays, and its black-and-white e-reader choices at the moment are restricted. The $129.99 Kobo Clara BW makes use of the identical E Ink Carta 1300 display screen as the brand new Paperwhite, however it’s solely six inches, and its distinction doesn’t look pretty much as good. Its all-plastic physique and sunken display screen additionally really feel cheaper than the brand new Paperwhite’s. And whereas the $269.99 Kobo Sage has web page flip buttons and stylus help, it’s extra of a hybrid e-reader and note-taking gadget; I discover that the eight-inch display screen makes it too huge to be a take-anywhere e-reader. 

    The Kindle Colorsoft (left) subsequent to the brand new Paperwhite (proper).

    Although it’s not a big improve, the brand new Kindle Paperwhite stays the very best e-reader you should buy, with a wonderful black-and-white display screen that feels nearer to printed paper than any e-reader I’ve examined and a UI that’s sooner and extra responsive than the earlier model. If you’re on the hunt to your first e-reader, the brand new Paperwhite must be on the prime of your listing.

    Although the fundamental Amazon Kindle is cheaper at $109.99, the higher display screen, adjustable heat lighting, and waterproofing — further insurance coverage in case you learn within the bathtub or on the seaside — make the brand new Paperwhite price the additional cash.

    The new Paperwhite Signature Edition is accessible with a again panel that includes a metallic jade or raspberry end that appears nice however feels barely much less grippy.

    Is the Signature Edition price an additional $40? Wireless charging isn’t crucial given the Paperwhite’s battery life, and it may be irritating to align correctly. But the ambient mild sensor can prevent the swipe and faucet wanted to regulate display screen brightness manually in case you take your Kindle in every single place (heat settings don’t robotically alter) and further storage is all the time welcome on a tool with no reminiscence card slot. When you issue within the $20 Amazon fees to take away lockscreen advertisements from the fundamental Paperwhite, the Signature Edition is the best way to go.

    Unless you learn plenty of massive PDF information and are pissed off by laggy efficiency, the brand new Paperwhite isn’t a crucial improve over the 2021 mannequin.  But it’s a unique story in case you’ve received an excellent older Paperwhite mannequin or different growing old Kindle. When you add up the previous six years of enhancements — together with USB-C, color-temp-adjustable lighting, a bigger display screen with higher distinction, and higher efficiency —  it’s in all probability time to think about an improve.

    Photography by Andrew Liszewski / The Verge



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