What's the Best Kindle of 2026? (So Far)

2 days ago 23

Comparing Our Favorite Kindles

What About the New Kindle Scribes?

Amazon

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft and Kindle Scribe (3rd Gen)

I got to trial 2 of Amazon's caller Kindles, the Kindle Scribe ($500) and Kindle Scribe Colorsoft ($630), earlier they shipped to the public. Both person a akin look, though the Scribe Colorsoft has a colour surface and a shorter artillery beingness (only 8 weeks of speechmaking time, compared with 12 weeks for the black-and-white Scribes). Both person a new, taller plan with an 11-inch screen, somewhat slimmer signifier factor, and updated stylus. They some besides person a quad-core spot and person a caller homepage, volition enactment a assortment of AI features including AI hunt (along with immoderate AI tools for summarizing books you're speechmaking without giving spoilers, but those won't get until adjacent year). Users tin link to Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive to people up documents.

Overall, I'd accidental they're bully devices, but arsenic agelong arsenic the cheaper second-generation Kindle Scribe is available, I deliberation it's the amended buy. It besides has AI capabilities and volition get the aforesaid updated location leafage adjacent year, truthful you truly don't request to upgrade. I'm besides disappointed that these outgo truthful much; for the terms of the Scribe Colorsoft, you could get the much almighty reMarkable Paper Pro, which besides has a colour surface but tin treble arsenic an e-paper tablet and astir laptop with its keyboard accessories.

There's a basal exemplary Kindle Scribe without the beforehand airy ($430) owed retired this year, but arsenic idiosyncratic who loves to work successful the dark, I don't emotion this concept. We'll spot however I consciousness erstwhile it arrives; this usher volition beryllium updated with investigating notes erstwhile it's available.

Accessories for Easier Reading

If you've ever had a agelong speechmaking league that gives you manus cramps, these accessories mightiness help. You tin cheque retired much options successful our Best Kindle Accessories guide.

Lamicall

Tablet Pillow Stand Holder

This pillow basal holder tin basal freely connected your lap, bed, oregon immoderate adjacent aboveground portion holding up your Kindle. There are 2 receptacles built into it, 1 of which is large capable for my larger mugs. I usually driblet a snack oregon my telephone into the different one.

Lamicall

Gooseneck iPad Holder

If you're looking for thing to hold up your Kindle but volition clamp onto thing astir you, similar your furniture framework oregon a table, this gooseneck tablet holder does a large job. It's 3 feet tall, and has plentifulness of magnitude to enactment successful each kinds of spots.

Strapsicle

E-Reader Hand Strap

This brushed silicone strap hooks onto the ends of a Kindle (or different e-reader) without immoderate adhesive needed, and was bully and unafraid erstwhile I slid my manus into it. It comes with 2 straps, but a azygous strap was plentifulness of information for me.

PopSockets

PopGrips

The PopSockets PopGrips are useful to adhd to Kindles truthful you tin easy grip your device, but you volition request to usage an adhesive, adhd a MagSafe adapter, oregon drawback a MagSafe Kindle lawsuit truthful you tin connect it. There are a ton of amusive designs, and you tin adjacent customize your ain similar my customized WIRED PopGrip.

Best Kindle Cases and Covers

Amazon Kindles are, thankfully, not arsenic fragile arsenic a pricey smartphone, but you whitethorn inactive privation to adhd a screen to support the surface if you're often toting it astir successful a bag. These aren't padded for superior drops, but are immoderate of the champion Kindle cases I've recovered for regular extortion from scratches and scuffs.

Looking for much accessory ideas? Check retired my usher to each of the champion Kindle accessories. Also, don't hide that if the Kids' editions travel with cases, truthful if you're buying 1 of those, you won't request a case.

CoBak

Clear Case

This sturdy wide lawsuit has reinforced corners if you're a chronic dropper. The corners didn't support accessories from moving with the device, but they did springiness a Kindle a thicker consciousness than with the Strapsicle oregon PopSockets cases.

Strapsicle

Protective Clear Case

This sleek lawsuit is smoother and slimmer, but doesn't consciousness similar it slacks connected the extortion front.

Moko

Blue Twill Kindle Case

If you're looking for a afloat screen and a strap, this has it all. This lawsuit lone comes successful blue, but it volition afloat screen the beforehand of your Kindle, and erstwhile you unfastened it, that screen has a built-in manus strap. It besides has a small basal built into it, too, truthful it tin basal up connected its ain for you to read.

PopSockets

PopCase Kindle and PopGrip

PopSockets came retired with its ain enactment of Kindle cases that person a built-in MagSafe adapter, truthful you tin much easy adhd your PopSocket grip of prime to it. There are matching sets of cases and grips you tin shop, oregon mix-and-match arsenic you please.

About Those Older Kindles

Amazon doesn't merchandise caller Kindles often—the institution usually takes a fewer years betwixt models. Whenever a caller 1 arrives, its predecessor's banal starts to dwindle. It's not that we don't urge these per se, but we lone suggest these if you tin find them connected merchantability for the close price. Otherwise, we urge buying the latest version.

Before making your purchase, cross-check the terms with the latest exemplary to marque definite you're spending a just magnitude little connected the older device.

Kindle (2022, 11th Generation): This is the smallest of the batch astatine 6.2 inches gangly and 4.3 inches wide, with a 6-inch screen. If you find tablets excessively cumbersome to clasp with 1 hand, see this one. With this model, Amazon doubled the retention to 16 gigabytes and upgraded the show to 300 pixels per inch (PPI) solution (up from 167 PPI). It's pugnacious to find, and I usually don't spot it for little than $75 these days.

Kindle Paperwhite (2021, 11th Generation): This is the adjacent measurement up from the basal model. It has a agleam 6.8-inch surface with adjustable lukewarm lighting, a accelerated page-turn rate, a USB-C port, and 16 gigs of storage. It's waterproof too. We similar the Signature Edition, which besides includes auto-adjust brightness and 32 gigabytes of storage. Don't urge spending much than $100 if you tin find them.

Kindle Scribe (1st Generation): The archetypal Scribe is simply a large enactment for note-takers. It has a elephantine 10.2-inch surface for taking notes, marking up PDFs, oregon drawing, and galore insubstantial formats you tin choose, similar college-ruled oregon dotted. It besides comes with the Basic Pen, which feels earthy to constitute with and attaches to the broadside of the Scribe magnetically. It's lone worthy it for $230 oregon less.

Kindle Kids (2022): This is an older kid-friendly model. It comes with a cover, a year’s subscription to Amazon Kids+, parental controls, and a two-year warranty, but the information that it's lone disposable secondhand means you'll apt miss retired connected the subscription model and whitethorn oregon whitethorn not inactive person a cover. Don't walk much than $70 connected this one.

Kindle Paperwhite Kids (2021): This older Paperwhite mentation is simply a measurement up from the erstwhile basal Kids models. It has a high-resolution 300-ppi show with an adjustable lukewarm surface and is besides waterproof. You shouldn't walk much than $110 connected this one.

FAQs

What’s the Best Way to Buy oregon Sell an Older Kindle?

Have an aged Kindle lying around? Are you looking astatine a utilized 1 for sale? If you're trying to fig retired what exemplary it is, this Amazon page includes photos, specs, and merchandise years for the full lineup. Once you cognize which 1 you have, you whitethorn beryllium capable to trade it in for recognition toward a newer model.

Most aged Kindles astir apt inactive work, conscionable with less bells and whistles. It's champion to debar Kindles with keyboards oregon immoderate different carnal buttons different than page-turn buttons. Some older models mislaid the quality to browse, purchase, oregon get caller books straight from the device. However, you'll inactive beryllium capable to bash this via Amazon connected your machine oregon telephone and person it sent to your Kindle, which is simply a amended acquisition anyway. These models see the Kindle 2nd Generation (International), Kindle DX International, Kindle DX Graphite, Kindle Keyboard, Kindle 4th Generation, and Kindle 5th Generation.

How Do You Get Free Ebooks connected a Kindle?

If you bargain each azygous publication you privation to work connected a Kindle, it tin adhd up! But determination are ways to prevention immoderate wealth portion speechmaking arsenic overmuch arsenic your bosom desires. You whitethorn privation to subscribe to Kindle Unlimited for $12 a month. You tin lone take from the Unlimited catalog, but determination are millions of titles there, including audiobooks and magazines. Start retired with the 30-day escaped trial.

If you already wage for a Prime account, you're eligible for immoderate escaped ebooks done Prime Reading. There are not arsenic galore options arsenic with Kindle Unlimited, and successful a batch of cases, you'll spot some Unlimited and Prime options lumped together; you'll person to look intimately to find the escaped ebooks. It's inactive something, and determination are adjacent a fewer magazines.

If you don't privation different monthly subscription and don't privation to proceed giving your wealth to Amazon, instrumentality vantage of the ebooks disposable with your room card. Browsing a integer catalog is not arsenic magical arsenic spending an day looking implicit each support successful a library, but specified is the ebook beingness (no 1 says you can't work both!). We person a detailed how-to connected this you should cheque out, but present are immoderate of the takeaways:

  • Get a room paper for your section branch.
  • Check your branch's website for its ebook offerings. Many libraries usage a work called OverDrive.
  • Download straight to your Kindle library. They'll automatically beryllium removed erstwhile they're owed back.

If you cognize idiosyncratic other with a Kindle, you tin lend books betwixt your libraries, conscionable arsenic you would with a carnal copy. Follow these instructions from Amazon if you privation to stock an ebook, but support successful caput that not each books tin beryllium loaned.

Do All Kindles Have Dark Mode?

Dark mode is simply a large entreaty of immoderate e-reader, whether it's a Kindle oregon different brand. And conscionable astir each models person it present that astir e-readers see a beforehand light. (Older Kindles don't ever person one, truthful if you're getting an older refurbished one, double-check it.) However, 1 caller exemplary doesn't person a existent acheronian mode: the Colorsoft. The Colorsoft can't person a afloat acheronian mode owed to its surface design, according to Amazon, but alternatively you tin power the leafage colour to achromatic successful the Quick Actions menu. It's not the same, though, particularly if you are speechmaking thing that isn't a regular publication (like a record sent to your Kindle) oregon privation the paper pages to besides beryllium dark, you're retired of luck.

What Else Can a Kindle Do?

Kindles person adjuvant features you whitethorn privation to instrumentality vantage of. Long-press a connection oregon operation to spot its definition, highlight it, oregon instrumentality notes. You tin besides hunt the full publication for that peculiar connection oregon operation oregon construe it to oregon from different languages.

Word Wise shows abbreviated definitions successful tiny substance wrong the lines. Unfortunately, it's not disposable for each books, but erstwhile it is, you tin crook it connected oregon disconnected and take much and less hints. Clicking the abbreviated explanation opens a longer 1 from Word Wise and the New Oxford American Dictionary oregon Oxford Dictionary of English (you tin power betwixt the two), positive translations, and a Wikipedia page, if applicable.

While reading, pat the apical of the surface and click “Aa” to alteration font size oregon type—there's adjacent a font called OpenDyslexic that helps marque speechmaking easier for radical with dyslexia. You tin power borderline sizes and enactment spacing from that paper too.

When a Kindle is connected to a Bluetooth talker oregon headphones, VoiceView Screen Reader (accessed done Settings > Accessibility) allows you to usage gestures to navigate your instrumentality and reads aloud what you've pressed. It volition besides work a publication aloud, though it doesn't dependable astir arsenic bully arsenic an audiobook.

Amazon owns Goodreads, truthful it syncs seamlessly to Kindles (press the three-dot menu > Goodreads). If you person a Goodreads account, you tin reappraisal the Kindle books you've work oregon browse your bookshelf and recommendations. Long-pressing a connection oregon phrase, successful summation to what is mentioned above, opens up an enactment to stock quotes straight to Goodreads.

There's a web browser excessively if you're connected to the net (three-dot menu > Web Browser). It's not the best, truthful I'd reserve it for exigency searches.

How Do You Update a Kindle?

When Amazon releases a caller bundle update, it volition download and instal to your Kindle automatically erstwhile it's connected to Wi-Fi. You tin cheque if you're connected the latest bundle by going to Settings > Device Options > Advanced Options > Update Your Kindle. If it's not connected the latest bundle version, you'll spot an update disposable and the Kindle volition past punctual you to download and instal it.

Is This a Good Time to Buy a Kindle?

The champion clip to bargain a Kindle is during a large merchantability lawsuit similar Amazon Prime Day oregon Black Friday, due to the fact that Amazon often has steep discounts. Both Amazon Prime Day (and Amazon Big Deals Day, which it named the 2025 October merchantability event) has passed, on with Black Friday and Cyber Monday. We'll support an oculus retired for wintertime and outpouring sales, but these events are usually bully to purpose for if you privation an on-sale Kindle.

Amazon refreshed its enactment of Kindles conscionable past year, and already launched a fewer caller Kindle Colorsoft and Kindle Scribe models this year. While there's 1 much caller Kindle Scribe instrumentality owed retired adjacent year, the existent lineup is wide large to shop.

Power up with unlimited entree to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting and exclusive subscriber contented that's excessively important to ignore. Subscribe Today.

Read Entire Article