Jalen Sigh Tech

Verdict

It might be the basic, most affordable reading device from Amazon, but the Kindle 2024 is just as easy to recommend as its predecessor. Even though there’s a distinct lack of luxury features like a warm light and wireless charging, this still gets the job done and remains perfect for those who just want to read books without distraction.

Introduction

Just in time for Black Friday and the Christmas shopping season, Amazon has refreshed its most affordable e-reader. Is the Kindle 2024 the one to buy?

While the Colorsoft is the headline addition to the Kindle family in 2024 with its colour display, the basic Kindle is likely to sell in far higher volumes.

This is the cheapest new Kindle sold by Amazon, and this refreshed model brings it a little closer to the pricer Paperwhite – the current best Kindle – with improvements to the display and more.

Do the new features make this the best e-reader around? I’ve been testing it out since launch to find out.

Pricing

The Kindle 2024 starts at £94.99/$109.99 – however, this is with ads. These appear when the device is put to sleep and can be a little annoying, not to mention quite ugly. If the ads bother you, there’s a £104.99/$129.99 option that eschews them completely.

There’s only one 16GB storage size available, which is plenty for loads of books and a few audiobooks too. If you’re buying for a child, there’s a Kids version too which includes a case and some other goodies. That one goes for £114.99 and doesn’t include the ads when it is set to Kid Mode.

Compared to the other Kindle models, this is the cheapest – unless you’re looking at refurbished models. The Paperwhite (2024) is £159.99/$159.99 for the standard model and £189.99/$199.99 for the Signature Edition. The Colorsoft is £269.99/$279.99 and essentially replaced the high-end Oasis.

Screen

• Greyscale display
• Sharp and bright, with good contrast
• Light for night reading

Many of the upgrades for this Kindle 2024 refresh are centred around the display – and considering this is a device with a singular focus, it makes sense to focus on probably the most important feature.

The 6-inch panel is now brighter when the light is enabled, hitting the same levels as the pricier Paperwhite. I put the two readers next to each other and can confirm this claim is true, with the cheaper model getting noticeably brighter than the outgoing model.

Of course, you can turn the light off and read without it – something I would usually do during the day. Annoyingly, Amazon hasn’t thought to trickle down the warmer light options from the Paperwhite and Colorsoft – so you’re stuck with the more blue hue.

Having used a Paperwhite almost exclusively for the past few years, not having this warmer light option is a loss as I find it so much more comfortable to read with. Still, I can understand why Amazon doesn’t want to bring all the higher-end features to this entry-level model.

What sets Kindles apart from standard tablets, like the iPad Mini 7, is the glare-free e-ink panel that looks far more like real paper rather than the LCD or OLED elsewhere. There’s very little eye strain and I can read for hours without issue – something just not possible on phones or tablets.

It’s a sharp screen too – 300 PPI to be exact – and this makes for text that really looks like it’s been printed. The panel is greyscale, with the only colour Kindle being the very expensive Colorsoft. I’d expect it to take a good few years for the colour panels to trickle down to the Paperwhite range and then become commonplace across the whole Kindle range. 

I’ve been using the Colorsoft alongside the Kindle 2024 and aside from having colourful covers, there’s not a huge benefit to the added hue. Readers of graphic novels or travel guides might disagree, but I’d say those sort of titles look better on a tablet anyway.

Design

• The most compact Kindle
• The new colour is very nice
• No waterproofing

Amazon sells various Kindle models in 2024, and as you pay more the size of the screen starts to grow. This basic Kindle has the smallest panel at 6 inches, with the Paperwhite and Colorsoft upping it to 7 inches and the Scribe moving up to 10.2 inches. None of the options have buttons to turn the pages, since the discontinuation of the Oasis.

Depending on your needs, how you plan to use this reader and general personal preferences, the fact this is the smallest Kindle will either be a benefit or a reason in itself to spend the extra and go for the Paperwhite.

I can see it from both sides, and I appreciate having a choice of sizes across the range. Being the smallest Kindle, this is the most portable – fitting in smaller bags and even some larger coat pockets. It’s incredibly light at 158g and a pleasure to hold for longer reading sessions.

However, the smaller screen is, naturally, more cramped than the one on the Paperwhite/Colorsoft and the overall reading experience isn’t quite as comfortable. I prefer the slightly roomier 7-inch panel of the Paperwhite, as it just feels a size more akin to a paperback book.

The Kindle 2024 also lacks some of the smarter design choices of the Paperwhite and Colorsoft. The plastic body is rougher, while the screen isn’t flush with the bezel – so debris can get stuck and it doesn’t look as modern. There’s no IP rating either, so this Kindle isn’t waterproof and isn’t the best pick for those who read a lot in the bath or around a swimming pool.

I really like the new Matcha colour option, which sits alongside the standard black. Unlike the coloured Paperwhite options, this minty green hue wraps around the whole reader – coating the front and back.

One design choice I really wish wasn’t plucked from the Paperwhite is the placement of the power button on the bottom of the reader, making it far too easy to press or knock when you’re reading accidentally. I’ve also found it turns on far too easily in a bag. Move it to the top, or have it on the back like the discontinued Kindle Voyage.

Features

• Multi-week battery
• Excellent book store
• Prime benefits

The Kindle 2024 is a device with a single focus – getting you quickly to your books, ideally those purchased from Amazon, or via one of its subscription services. This isn’t trying to replace a tablet, and it doesn’t have a myriad of functions. There are no apps, no cameras, no notifications and only a very basic browser.

The budget Kindle is, predictably, the least feature-rich of the range. There’s no wireless charging, no sensor for automatically altering the brightness and no included pen for notes. It’s still more than fast enough, with pages flipping quickly and the store loading up without too much waiting around.

There is Bluetooth, for connecting a speaker or earbuds, to stream Audible audiobooks and 16GB of onboard storage (plenty for thousands of books) but this is very much a reading device and it does that job exceptionally well.

The reason to plump for a Kindle over rivals from Boox and Kobo is the store. Amazon’s ebook store is grand, full of independent and mass-market titles that are priced generally more temptingly than elsewhere.

Daily sales are common, and syncing old buys is easy. Once you’ve logged in all your previous purchases will fill the library. In fact, setting up the device is simply a case of opening up the Kindle app on a phone and letting that do everything for you.

There are a few missing features here you do get on Kobo’s rival readers, like the excellent Libra Colour. The lack of Libby – the ability to borrow books digitally from local libraries – is a shame and it’s harder to import your own ePub book files to a Kindle. Amazon really wants you to get your books from its own store.

Amazon has a few different subscription options if you’d rather not buy titles individually. There’s Kindle Unlimited, which has various titles available to read and some audiobooks for a monthly fee and if you’re a Prime member some books can be borrowed for free. Having used readers from all the big brands, Amazon’s bookstore is the best and for many that’ll be reason enough solely to consider a Kindle.

Battery life is hard to judge on a Kindle because it’s measured in weeks rather than days and it varies widely depending on use. 

Amazon claims this model will last for six weeks, with around 30 minutes of reading a day and the brightness set to just above half. When I first unboxed the Kindle, I charged it to 100% with the included USB-C cable and after four days of use including about an hour of reading per day I was only down 5%.

The battery life isn’t as strong as the Paperwhite though, which Amazon claims will last 12 weeks per charge.

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