Amazon is revamping its whole Kindle lineup in certainly one of its greatest overhauls to this point. The Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite, and Kindle Scribe are all getting new editions, they usually’re joined by the corporate’s first colour e book reader, the Kindle Colorsoft. I had the chance to strive the entire new Kindles forward of Amazon’s announcement and have some first impressions to share.
Kindle Colorsoft (Credit score: Will Greenwald)
Kindle Colorsoft: A Complete New Sort of KindleThe Kindle Colorsoft is clearly probably the most eye-catching of the brand new Kindles due to its colour display. It shares the very same construct and 7-inch display dimension as the brand new Paperwhite, and each are waterproof. As is pretty typical for E Ink, the colour is fairly muted. The display is lit by nitride LEDs that Amazon claims enhance the visible colour efficiency of the panel. However even on the most vibrant setting, the colours of Ms. Marvel and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics look about as saturated as newsprint. The colours are positively there and discernible, however nowhere near a shiny journal or an LCD. That mentioned, the colour appears to be on par with different ereaders we have examined, just like the ReMarkable Paper Professional and the Onyx Boox Tab Extremely C, and comics look significantly better than they do when proven in grayscale.The Colorsoft’s display may be very quick. It feels possibly a hair slower than the brand new Paperwhite when exhibiting monochrome materials like textual content. Coloration is a little bit slower than that, however even then, the display adjustments quickly. It flashes on each colour web page flip to totally reset, one thing that does not occur with textual content alone.The Kindle Colorsoft ships October 30 for $279.99.
Left to proper: Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite (Credit score: Will Greenwald)
Twelfth-Technology Paperwhite: Sooner Than EverThe Twelfth-generation Paperwhite turns pages immediately, or at the least as near immediately as I can detect. The display refreshes as quickly as I faucet it. Amazon hasn’t given a particular velocity or refresh fee for the Paperwhite, but it surely’s simply sooner than another e book reader I’ve used.Eagle-eyed Kindle customers will discover that the Paperwhite’s display is barely bigger than its predecessor’s 6.8-inch show. That additional house is a pleasant bonus. The Paperwhite is obtainable now. The 16GB mannequin is $159.99 and the Paperwhite Signature Version with 32GB of storage, wi-fi charging assist, and a metallic aluminum end is $199.99.
Kindle Scribe (Credit score: Will Greenwald)
Kindle Scribe: Now With Generative AIThe Kindle Scribe has the excellence of being Amazon’s largest ereader and the one one with a stylus. The brand new model has the identical dimension display (10.2 inches), however now with white borders and a texture Amazon says feels much more like writing on paper. In any other case, the Scribe’s major adjustments appear to be software-based. The interface is rather more pleasant to handwritten annotations, with on the spot highlighting and underlining, expandable margins for notes, and an Lively Canvas function that permits you to put notes immediately in paperwork. The Scribe can even supply two generative AI options that may summarize your notes or just translate them right into a extra legible format.I took a have a look at the Scribe’s new tips. Lively Canvas appears very helpful, and within the demo I attempted, it seems to work as meant. In the event you’re studying a web page and write one thing on the display, a field breaks out holding your observe, with the textual content realigning round it. The annotation is linked to that place within the textual content, so you possibly can search for your notes and see what they’re referring to. Equally, expandable margins supply one other technique to maintain notes anchored to the textual content, although with out realigning it.There’s nonetheless no technique to write on the pages of most paperwork (and PDFs do not assist the energetic notation options in any respect). The underlining and highlighting options instantly translate to stark, rectangular highlighting and underline formatting, changing your personal handwriting. That is tremendous for highlighting textual content, however drawing a pleasant huge line beneath textual content stands out to me rather more than computerized underlining as if it is in a phrase processor.
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Then there are the generative AI options, which I did not get an opportunity to check. In response to Amazon, the Kindle Scribe can analyze your handwritten notes and put collectively summaries of them. The method entails importing your notes, encrypted, to Amazon’s cloud servers for the AI techniques there to research. After 15 to twenty seconds, the abstract is displayed in your Scribe pocket book. I am curious to see how correct it may be when coping with a considerable amount of data written in sloppy handwriting. Talking of which, the opposite generative AI function is to easily “refine” your writing by turning it right into a extra legible font that resembles handwriting. The Kindle Scribe ships December 4 for $399.99.
High row: Kindle Scribe and Kindle; Center row: Kindle Colorsoft; Backside row: Kindle Paperwhite (Credit score: Will Greenwald)
Kindle: A Matcha-Coloured MakeoverAmazon has up to date the usual Kindle, too. It is out there in a brand new matcha inexperienced colour, and its 6-inch display is brighter, sooner (however not Paperwhite quick), and has larger distinction, however that is about it for its upgrades. The entry-level Kindle is obtainable now in a 16GB mannequin for $109.99.We anticipate to check all of those fashions quickly, so keep tuned for our opinions. Within the meantime, take a look at our favourite Kindle suggestions each reader ought to know.
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About Will Greenwald
Lead Analyst, Client Electronics
I’ve been PCMag’s residence leisure knowledgeable for over 10 years, overlaying each TVs and all the things you may need to connect with them. I’ve reviewed greater than a thousand completely different client electronics merchandise together with headphones, audio system, TVs, and each main recreation system and VR headset of the final decade. I’m an ISF-certified TV calibrator and a THX-certified residence theater skilled, and I’m right here that can assist you perceive 4K, HDR, Dolby Imaginative and prescient, Dolby Atmos, and even 8K (and to reassure you that you simply don’t want to fret about 8K in any respect for at the least a couple of extra years).
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