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(Pocket-lint) - Amazon has refreshed the Kindle Paperwhite, making this a household of devices with a Kids variation and a Signature edition.
However, with the aged Kindle - updated successful 2018 - inactive wide available, you look rather a determination erstwhile it comes to buying the caller device.
We've drilled done each the details to item what's really changed - and it's rather significant.
Price and availability
The Kindle Paperwhite (2021) is disposable for pre-order, launching connected 27 October. It costs $139.99 successful the US, £129.99 successful the UK and €129.99 successful the EU.
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The 2018 Kindle Paperwhite has been successful circulation for immoderate time, but pursuing the motorboat of the 2021 model, it got a hefty discount, truthful it's overmuch cheaper.
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There are a fig of antithetic versions of the Kindle, but the happening to ticker retired for is adverts. You tin bargain it cheaper if you opt for adverts - arsenic per the prices supra - oregon wage a small much to person it without advertising. You tin take the options connected Amazon's pages.
Design
- New Paperwhite: 174 x 125 x 8.1mm, 205g
- Old Paperwhite: 167 x 116 x 8.2mm, 182g
The caller Paperwhite is larger than the aged paperwhite successful conscionable astir each directions, but it a tiny spot slimmer. While the plan is mostly similar, there's been a fig of changes.
Most notably, the caller Paperwhite has narrower bezels, truthful it looks a small much modern astir the edges of the display. We don't privation nary bezels (you request determination to grip the Kindle without turning the page) and the caller Paperwhite is surely much attractive.
Both devices are protected against h2o with an IPX8 rating, meaning you tin driblet it successful the bath and it should beryllium fine.
On large carnal alteration is that the caller Paperwhite has a USB C transportation alternatively than the older Micro-USB. While this is simply a insignificant change, it means you tin apt usage your telephone oregon tablet charger to powerfulness the Kindle, alternatively than requiring that older Micro-USB cable.
Display
- New Paperwhite: 6.8in display, 300ppi
- Old Paperwhite: 6.0in display, 300ppi
The happening that volition beryllium astir evidently antithetic connected the caller Kindle - and apt the biggest selling constituent - is that it has a 6.8-inch display.
This is simply a large alteration for Kindle. The Kindle has had a 6-inch show since it launched successful 2007, with lone the Oasis, Amazon's premium device, going larger astatine 7 inches. The Paperwhite present offers the larger surface and we deliberation it volition beryllium popular.
There's different alteration too. While the Paperwhite has offered a beforehand airy since its inception, allowing speechmaking successful the dark, the caller Paperwhite adds the quality to set the colour temperature.
This is simply done the summation of coloured LEDs to marque the surface warmer, truthful that achromatic surface looks much orange, reducing the bluish tones and making for a much pleasant speechmaking acquisition successful little light.
One happening to enactment is that the pixel density remains the aforesaid astatine 300ppi. That means that some devices should look arsenic crisp erstwhile you're reading.
Hardware
- New Paperwhite: 8GB, Wi-Fi, 10 weeks battery
- Old Paperwhite: 8GB/32GB, Wi-Fi oregon cellular, 6 weeks battery
The caller Paperwhite has upgrades to marque it faster than the aged model, with Amazon saying that leafage turns are 20 per cent faster than before. That's the refresh rhythm of the E Ink panel, but speeding it up is large not conscionable for turning pages, but navigating the store and everything other too.
The level of retention is really much restrictive connected the caller Paperwhite. The modular exemplary has 8GB of storage, you lone get 32GB if you opt for the Signature Edition, which is much expensive, but besides offers wireless charging.
The question is whether you really request to transportation that galore books? Of course, some enactment Bluetooth and tin besides accommodate Audible books, which volition instrumentality up much storage.
There's different cardinal displacement to connectivity. The aged Kindle Paperwhite is disposable with a cellular connection, meaning you could browse and bargain virtually anyplace there's a mobile signal. With the caller model, that enactment is gone - and it's Wi-Fi only.
We've mentioned the determination to USB-C connected the caller exemplary above, but again, that's going to beryllium large for those looking to determination to 1 charging cable.
The newer Kindle claims 10 weeks of artillery life, portion the older Paperwhite volition lone agelong to 6 weeks. Of course, some beryllium connected however overmuch speechmaking you do.
Summing up
While the bundle acquisition and capableness of these devices comes intimately matched, there's a full scope of areas wherever the caller Paperwhite has the vantage - the larger screen, reduced bezels and USB C are apt to thrust adoption.
The enactment to set the colour somesthesia of the illumination is simply a insignificant item successful our opinion, portion the deficiency of a cellular enactment means you mightiness person to hotspot disconnected your telephone erstwhile you're buying caller books lying connected the beach.
But the older Paperwhite is inactive capable: it has the aforesaid prime if display, it's inactive illuminated, it's inactive waterproof - it's conscionable fractional the terms portion banal inactive remains, truthful mightiness beryllium excessively overmuch of a bargain to crook down.
Writing by Chris Hall. Originally published connected 27 September 2021.
English (US) ·