Kindles are incredible little units, however I used to be staunchly towards them till lately. “How could you give up real books?” I screamed into the void. Then I attempted the Oasis, and instantly I used to be hooked. After studying with the brand new Paperwhite Signature Edition, I can confidently verify that Amazon’s newest replace to their beloved ereader continues to be nice.
Nothing compares to the texture of flipping by way of bodily pages, however I’ve spent some huge cash on books. Not all of them had been good. They sit, half-read, gathering mud on a bookshelf and getting moved from house to house. It’s good to have the ability to spend much less on ebooks or check them out for free from the library with out leaving my home.
The Paperwhite has all the time been the midlevel improve in the Kindle family—higher than the fundamental Kindle, however not as feature-packed because the dear Oasis. With its first replace since 2018, it has changed into three fashions of its personal: the usual Paperwhite ($140), the Signature Edition ($190), and a kids version ($160). I examined the Signature Edition right here, however I included info on how all three examine. Prices range relying on whether or not or not you’ve got advertisements, so learn the Amazon web page carefully earlier than trying out.
Blinding Lights
The display on the 2021 Paperwhite is bigger, at 6.8 inches over 2018’s 6 inches. The bezels are additionally smaller, lower than half an inch from the highest and sides. The display will get extra room total, and the entire thing seems just a little extra subtle. Compared to the Oasis, the Paperwhite is taller, and since it would not have the page-turn buttons, it isn’t as vast, so it is simple to palm for one-handed studying. The matte backing helps to stop slippage, too. (The Oasis nonetheless has a barely bigger, 7-inch display.)
All three of the brand new Paperwhites get adjustable heat lighting—it will get tremendous orange at its brightest—and brighter screens total (10 p.c brighter, in line with Amazon). Thankfully, e-ink screens do not damage your eyes the best way blue gentle out of your cellphone does. Side by facet, it isn’t fairly as brilliant because the Oasis, but it surely was nonetheless simple to learn, even exterior. It additionally now has darkish mode, in case you favor that.
Only the Signature Edition has the power to auto-adjust brightness to the lighting round you, so you may learn exterior with out tinkering with settings each time the solar comes out from behind the clouds. At this level, auto-adjust ought to come commonplace on all screens with out having to pay extra for it.
The Paperwhites get sooner page-turn charges, which is noticeable and appreciated. There’s even an animation you may activate that offers the slight impact of an actual web page turning. I assumed I’d hate it, however I did not. However, there’s nonetheless an infuriating lag and a few display blinks while you scroll by way of menus. There’s additionally a delay between urgent a button and it registering. I hoped by now that form of lag would not exist, but it surely’s not a dealbreaker. I simply hope it will get addressed in a future replace.
Power Up
The main upgrades that the Paperwhite will get are power-related. The Signature Edition now has wi-fi charging capabilities. If you have already got a Qi charging pad, it ought to work, however Amazon lists those that don’t. It additionally has extra storage than the bottom mannequin, with 32 gigabytes as an alternative of 8 gigabytes. That’s a major soar, particularly in case you learn audiobooks. It’s price noting, although, that you could delete books off the Kindle and nonetheless entry them in your Amazon account.
