Amazon just announced and then disappeared all mention of four new Kindle models heading to market in the next few weeks, or possibly months. The original reveal was via a Spanish language page that detailed the new models. It now redirects to a 2023 post on how to use a Kindle Paperwhite.
Nevertheless, the announcement was seen and recorded by the folks at The Verge who nabbed the official images, American pricing, and details about all four new devices. One of these is the first colour-screened Kindle to feature a paper-like display.
Kindle our interest
The device, the Colorsoft Signature Edition, will show images in books, covers, and highlighted text in colour. Previously these were all displayed in greyscale. It’s honestly surprising that Amazon has gone this long without offering this feature but widespread waterproofing of its reading tablets was more important.
Speaking of which, the Colorsoft Signature Edition is waterproof. It also supports wireless charging, has an eight-week battery life (we’ll see about that), and is expected to launch on 30 October. The price at launch is R5,000 ($280). That’s… not bad for an e-reader with colour support.
The other three Kindle models include revamped versions of Amazon’s Scribe note-taking slate, a speedier version of the Paperwhite, and a new entry-level model. The latter should go on sale very soon, for R2,000 ($110), and features 16GB of storage out of the box.
Read More: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2021) review – A bigger focus on reading
The new Paperwhite should also be on sale shortly, starting at R2,800 ($160). It’ll feature a new 7in screen, will be fully waterproof, and will include 16GB of storage. A Signature Edition with 32GB of storage and wireless charging should cost R3,550 ($200).
The new Scribe lets users make notes directly on their books, redistributing the text on the page to account for the new scribbles. Notes can be exported, after being rendered into a readable font, and Amazon is also adding AI summaries to the device. That kind of negates the point of… well, reading, but the Kindle Scribe will probably find a market when it launches on 4 December. At launch, it’ll cost in excess of R7,000 ($400).