The Best Kindle of 2025: Paperwhite, Scribe, or Colorsoft?
For Simpler Studying
{Photograph}: Nena Farrell
When you’ve ever had a protracted studying session that provides you hand cramps, these equipment would possibly assist. You’ll be able to take a look at extra choices in our Best Kindle Accessories guide.
Strapsicle E-Reader Hand Straps for $21: Connect one or each of those to the again of your Kindle—one is angled in your proper hand and the opposite in your left—and slide your hand in. Your fingers will not cramp, you will not by accident hit the display screen and flip pages, and the reader will not slip out of your fingers. There are three sizes meant to carry several types of e-readers. You need to see precisely which fashions they work with on the Amazon pages, in addition to on this page on the Strapsicle website.
Lamicall Gooseneck Tablet Holder for $19: I love this device. Whereas I would not name it utterly hands-free, it’s an excellent handy and comfy expertise, significantly you probably have persistent ache in your wrists. The clamp is simple to connect to mattress frames and aspect tables (there’s additionally a floor stand version for $70). It’s light-weight to deploy wherever and has sufficient resistance to the neck that it doesn’t fall ahead or out of the place you place it in. It did wobble a bit after I touched it to show the web page (or it obtained bumped by a curious cat), so I often maintain a relaxation hand on it to carry it regular. If you wish to go totally hands-free, add a page-turner remote so you’ll be able to learn with out lifting a finger.
PopSocket for $10: PopSockets aren’t simply in your cellphone; additionally they work nice on e-readers. Whether or not you’ve got a Paperwhite or a fundamental Kindle, it is one other nice resolution for decreasing hand cramps.
Hello Clio the Original Kindle Belt Bag for $58: When you’re at all times touring together with your Kindle however do not need to carry a bigger bag, it is a nice accent. It has a gentle inside to maintain your display screen secure, together with further pockets in your cellphone, keys, and pockets. It might match the essential Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Oasis, and Kindle Colorsoft.
The Bookish Goods Bookish Crossbody for $50: Want a bag in your Kindle Scribe? The Bookish Crossbody from Bookish Items matches the Kindle Scribe in its most important massive crossbody pocket, and matches a smaller Kindle or Kindle Paperwhite within the entrance pocket. It is an important dimension to carry just a few issues with you together with a Kindle Scribe—catch me with this bag and my Kindle within the park this summer time with my kiddo.
Nomad 65W Slim Power Adapter for $49: Kindles have lengthy battery life, however former WIRED reviewer Brenda Stolyar nonetheless likes to hold a charger together with her on the go simply in case. This one from Nomad is her favourite. It is tremendous skinny and comes with two USB-C ports, so she makes use of it to cost her e-reader and cellphone concurrently (the left aspect delivers 45 watts and the proper delivers 20 watts when charging two units on the similar time). The prongs additionally fold up, so it matches properly within the aspect pocket of a bag.
Do You Want a Cowl?
{Photograph}: Amazon
Kindles are, fortunately, not as fragile as our expensive smartphones, however you should still need to add a canopy to guard the display screen in the event you’re often toting it round in a bag. These aren’t padded for severe drops. The Children’ editions include circumstances.
Fabric Covers for Kindle for $32 and Paperwhite for $37: These open like a ebook and are available in some variation of black, blue, pink, or inexperienced. They’re created from postconsumer recycled cloth.
Fabric Cover for Scribe for $60: This one flips up and over like a notepad, and you may place it right into a stand too. There’s additionally a slot for the pen if you do not need it to connect magnetically on a regular basis. It is also made with recycled supplies.
The Bookish Kindle Cases for $36: I actually like that this cowl additionally has a built-in strap, so you’ll be able to benefit from the safety of a hand strap whereas studying and have the safety of a canopy while you’re not. There are a bunch of enjoyable colours too.
The Quirky Cup Collective E-Reader Sleeve for $29: Our staff loves these attractive sleeves, significantly the Sun and Moon version. They’re lovely and can shield your machine while you aren’t utilizing it, so you’ll be able to throw it in your bag with out fear. The surface is velvet and the within is satin, with some padding in between and a zipper closure. On the again is a small zip pocket. On every product web page, you will see which units match, however seek the advice of the measurements. There are additionally separate, bigger book and iPad sleeves ($35).
CoBak Clear Case for $8: The most effective half about having a transparent case is that it protects the again of your Kindle and permits you to embellish it with stickers beneath. We advocate this fun sticker pack ($5).
Nice Studying Lights
{Photograph}: Simon Hill
When you learn earlier than mattress however do not need to disturb sleeping companion, youngsters, or roommates, spend money on a studying gentle. All of the Kindles now have a entrance gentle, so you do not want one, however these can nonetheless be useful, particularly in the event you change between your Kindle and bodily books. Under are just a few of our favorites. You will discover extra in our Best Reading Lights guide.
Vekkia 14 LED Book Light for $16: That is our high decide. It is a clip-on gentle with an adjustable gooseneck and two swiveling gentle bars that pack seven LEDs every. You’ll be able to cycle by means of 5 ranges of brightness and three heat colours. It is comparatively massive, although, so it is not nice for small paperbacks. The clamp opens as huge as 2.1 inches and serves as a steady base to put on a nightstand.
Glocusent LED Neck Reading Light for $22: This studying gentle wraps round your neck, so it seems foolish. Nevertheless it’s a wonderful different to a clip-on studying gentle whereas remaining hands-free. It is light-weight, adjustable, and comes with three colour temperature modes in addition to six brightness settings. It is rechargeable and presents as much as 80 hours of battery life at dimmer settings.
Black Diamond Wiz Headlamp for $28: That is our favourite headlamp for teenagers. It is comfy, and the adjustable straps are available in varied colours. It has three brightness settings and an IPX4 water-resistance rating, so you do not have to fret about splashes. It turns itself off mechanically after two hours, in case they go to sleep with it on. It takes two AAA batteries.
About These Older Kindles
Amazon would not launch new Kindles typically—the corporate often takes just a few years between fashions. Each time a brand new one arrives, its predecessor’s inventory begins to dwindle. It is not that we do not advocate these per se, however we solely counsel these if you’ll find them on sale for the proper value. In any other case, we advocate shopping for the most recent model.
Earlier than making your buy, cross-check the value with the most recent mannequin to be sure you’re spending a good quantity much less on the older machine.
- Kindle (2022, 11th Generation): That is the smallest of the lot at 6.2 inches tall and 4.3 inches huge, with a 6-inch display screen. When you discover tablets too cumbersome to carry with one hand, contemplate this one. With this mannequin, Amazon doubled the storage to 16 gigabytes and upgraded the show to 300 pixels per inch (PPI) decision (up from 167 PPI). It is robust to seek out, however in the event you handle to snag one, you should not spend greater than $50.
- Kindle Paperwhite (2021, 11th Generation): That is the subsequent step up from the essential mannequin. It has a vivid 6.8-inch display screen with adjustable heat lighting, a quick page-turn charge, a USB-C port, and 16 gigs of storage. It is waterproof too. I just like the Signature Version (8/10, WIRED Recommends), which additionally consists of auto-adjust brightness and 32 gigabytes of storage. I do not advocate spending greater than $100 if you’ll find them.
- Kindle Scribe (1st Generation): The Scribe (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is a superb possibility for note-takers. It has an enormous 10.2-inch display screen for taking notes, marking up PDFs, or drawing, and quite a few paper codecs you’ll be able to select, like college-ruled or dotted. It additionally comes with the Primary Pen, which feels pure to put in writing with and attaches to the aspect of the Kindle magnetically. I solely advocate it for $230 or much less.
- Kindle Kids (2022): That is the kid-friendly model of the entry-level Kindle. It comes with a canopy, a yr’s subscription to Amazon Children+, parental controls, and a two-year guarantee. I do not counsel spending greater than $70 on this one.
- Kindle Paperwhite Kids (2021): The Paperwhite model is a step up from the Kindle Children. It has a high-resolution 300-ppi show with an adjustable heat display screen and can also be waterproof. You should not spend greater than $110 on this one.
What’s the Finest Option to Purchase or Promote an Older Kindle?
Have an outdated Kindle mendacity round? Are you taking a look at a used one on the market? When you’re making an attempt to determine what mannequin it’s, this Amazon page consists of pictures, specs, and launch years for your entire lineup. As soon as you recognize which one you’ve got, you could possibly trade it in for credit score towards a more moderen mannequin.
Most aged Kindles in all probability nonetheless work, simply with fewer bells and whistles. It is best to keep away from Kindles with keyboards or every other bodily buttons apart from page-turn buttons. Some older Kindles misplaced the power to browse, buy, or borrow new books instantly from the machine. Nevertheless, you will nonetheless have the ability to do that through Amazon.com in your laptop or cellphone and have it despatched to your Kindle, which is a greater expertise anyway. These fashions embody the Kindle 2nd Era (Worldwide), Kindle DX Worldwide, Kindle DX Graphite, Kindle Keyboard, Kindle 4th Era, and Kindle fifth Era.
How Do You Get Free Ebooks on a Kindle?
When you purchase each single ebook you need to learn on a Kindle, it will possibly add up! However there are methods to avoid wasting cash whereas studying as a lot as your coronary heart wishes. You could need to subscribe to Kindle Unlimited for $12 a month. You’ll be able to solely select from the Limitless catalog, however there are thousands and thousands of titles there, together with audiobooks and magazines. Begin out with the 30-day free trial.
When you already pay for a Prime account, you are eligible for some free ebooks by means of Prime Reading. There usually are not as many choices as with Kindle Limitless, and in plenty of circumstances, you will see each Limitless and Prime choices lumped collectively; you will need to look intently to seek out the free ebooks. It is nonetheless one thing, and there are even just a few magazines.
If you do not need one other month-to-month subscription and do not need to proceed giving your cash to Amazon, make the most of the ebooks accessible together with your library card. Searching a digital catalog is just not as magical as spending a day wanting over each shelf in a library, however such is the e book life (nobody says you’ll be able to’t learn each!). We’ve a detailed how-to on this it is best to take a look at, however listed below are a few of the takeaways:
- Get a library card in your native department.
- Examine your department’s web site for its e book choices. Many libraries use a service known as OverDrive.
- Obtain on to your Kindle library. They’re going to mechanically be eliminated once they’re due again.
If you recognize another person with a Kindle, you’ll be able to lend books between your libraries, simply as you’d with a bodily copy. Follow these instructions from Amazon if you wish to share an e book, however needless to say not all books might be loaned.
What Else Can a Kindle Do?
Kindles have useful options it’s possible you’ll need to make the most of. Lengthy-press a phrase or phrase to see its definition, spotlight it, or take notes. You may as well search your entire ebook for that specific phrase or phrase or translate it to or from different languages.
Phrase Clever exhibits brief definitions in small textual content inside the traces. Sadly, it is not accessible for all books, however when it’s, you’ll be able to flip it on or off and select extra and fewer hints. Clicking the brief definition opens an extended one from Phrase Clever and the New Oxford American Dictionary or Oxford Dictionary of English (you’ll be able to change between the 2), plus translations, and a Wikipedia web page, if relevant.
Whereas studying, faucet the highest of the display screen and click on “Aa” to vary font dimension or kind—there’s even a font known as OpenDyslexic that helps make studying simpler for individuals with dyslexia. You’ll be able to management margin sizes and line spacing from that menu too.
When a Kindle is related to a Bluetooth speaker or headphones, VoiceView Screen Reader (accessed by means of Settings > Accessibility) permits you to use gestures to navigate your machine and reads aloud what you’ve got pressed. It can additionally learn a ebook aloud, although it would not sound practically as good as an audiobook.
Amazon owns Goodreads, so it syncs seamlessly to Kindles (press the three-dot menu > Goodreads). In case you have a Goodreads account, you’ll be able to assessment the Kindle books you’ve got learn or browse your bookshelf and proposals. Lengthy-pressing a phrase or phrase, along with what’s talked about above, opens up an choice to share quotes on to Goodreads.
There is a internet browser too in the event you’re related to the web (three-dot menu > Net Browser). It is not the perfect, so I might reserve it for emergency searches.
How Do You Replace a Kindle?
When Amazon releases a brand new software program replace, it’ll obtain and set up to your Kindle mechanically when it is related to Wi-Fi. You’ll be able to verify in the event you’re on the most recent software program by going to Settings > Machine Choices > Superior Choices > Replace Your Kindle. If it is not on the most recent software program model, you will see an replace accessible and the Kindle will then immediate you to obtain and set up it.
Is This a Good Time to Purchase a Kindle?
Sure. Amazon refreshed all of its Kindles across the board in October 2024, with a brand new Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Scribe, and Kindle Children editions. The corporate additionally launched the Kindle Colorsoft, its first-ever colour Kindle, and in July 2025 Amazon added two more color Kindles to its collection. Nevertheless, the perfect time to purchase a Kindle is throughout a significant sale occasion like Amazon Prime Day or Black Friday, as a result of Amazon typically has steep reductions.
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2025-07-30 12:04:00
