Amazon has now officially announced the new Kindle Colorsoft, the first Kindle with a full-color display, alongside three more new Kindle products, after an earlier leaked press release spilled the beans on the news. And you can read our early impressions in our hands-on Amazon Kindle Colorsoft review.
The Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition was prematurely announced earlier in a Spanish-language announcement through an official Amazon blog (spotted by The Verge). But the full release has now been posted – and our first look calls it "a significant step forward for ereader technology".
The Kindle Colorsoft was announced alongside a new AI-powered Kindle Scribe, an updated Kindle Paperwhite, and a refreshed entry-level Kindle.
First, that Kindle Colorsoft news. Amazon claims it offers “rich, paper-like color” in either standard or vibrant styles, a “custom-designed oxide backing layer”, new algorithms to enhance color and increase brightness, eight weeks of battery life, and the fast page-turns and high contrast that Kindle users have come to expect.
It's available for pre-order now for $279.99 / £269.99, with the first units shipping on October 30. That translates to around AU$420 in Australia at the time of writing, but we've only been told by Amazon AU that the color Kindle will be available Down Under "in 2025", with exact date and price TBC.
The leaked release (which has now been confirmed as the official one) also says that you'll be able to “search for color covers in your Library or Kindle Store, view photos and images of books in color, or highlight text that you can easily search for later” thanks to the custom Colorsoft display, new light guide, and nitride LEDs. You'll also be able to “zoom in on images without worrying about pixelation”.
As mentioned, the Kindle Colorsoft also boasts eight weeks of battery life with support for wireless charging, and is waterproof.
AI comes to Kindles
The new Kindle Scribe, meanwhile, refreshes the design of Amazon’s writing tablet, with new white borders, a 300ppi display with a "smooth, paper-like texture", and all-new AI tools. You can read our first impressions at our hands-on Amazon Kindle Scribe 2024 review.
The new Scribe's AI capabilities include summarizing “pages and pages” of notes into bullet points and converting handwritten notes into font, though the latter feature is currently only available in English.
The Kindle Scribe also brings the new Active Canvas feature that keeps book notes in place when you change the layout or font size. The ereader will ship with the Premium Pen stylus, which comes with a "soft-tip eraser". The Kindle Scribe's prices start from $399.99 / £359.99 / AU$649, with the first units shipping on December 4.
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The new Kindle Paperwhite will be available at $159.99 / £159.99 / AU$299 for 16GB of storage in the Raspberry, Jade Green, and Charcoal color options, and the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition at $199.99 / £179.99 / AU$329 for 32GB of storage in the Raspberry Metallic, Jade Green Metallic, and Charcoal Metallic color options.
Amazon has also released a new base-model Kindle, which comes equipped with a 300ppi display with a 25% brighter front light on the max setting, matching the brightness of the Kindle Paperwhite. It comes in the new Matcha color and has “weeks” of battery life, with prices starting at $109.99 / £104.99 / AU$199.
If you're looking for a child-friendly ereader, two new Kindle Kids models have landed too – a new entry-level Kindle Kids ($129.99 / £114.99) and new Kindle Paperwhite Kids ($179.99 / £159.99). As GoodEReader reported earlier, UK retailer John Lewis began listing the new Kindle 12 Gen Kids Edition, with a 6-inch display, higher contrast ratio, glare-free display, and faster page turn than its predecessor.
The two Kindle Kids ereaders come with a free cover with either an original design or branded design based on popular kids books. We're not expecting the Kids edition Kindles to be available in Australia as these have previously not been sold Down Under.
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