The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite is the world hottest e-reader and the earlier era mannequin had probably the most gross sales and critiques on the Amazon web site. The e-commerce big has simply refreshed the Kindle Paperwhite every week in the past and it’s thought of their first twelfth era machine. The massive promoting factors are the brand new E INK display, which is the cloest you may get to studying a bodily ebook. There’s a 25% enhance in efficiency, which primarily applies to page-turn velocity and it has a bigger display to suit extra textual content. It additionally is available in new colors, which makes the brand new lineup distinctive.
{Hardware}
The Kindle Paperwhite twelfth era incorporates a 7-inch E INK Carta 1300 e-paper show with a decision of 1264×1680 with 300 PPI. The brand new e-paper show makes use of an oxide thin-film transistor that offers it the best distinction ratio of any Kindle, so textual content and pictures pop on the display. The machine is 25% sooner when scrolling by way of a library or zooming by way of pages. When you prefer to learn at evening, the front-light system has undergone a revision and now has 10 White LEDs and 9 Amber LEDs. When you purchase the Signature Version of this mannequin, it comes with an ambient mild sensor that can mechanically regulate the brightness of the lights primarily based in your surroundings. That is much like the iPhone with its auto brightness. On max brightness it is best to get round 24 nits.
The Kindle Paperwhite runs a Mediatek dual-core 1GHZ processor, the earlier Paperwhite solely had a single core processor. Peter and I seen that that is the quickest Kindle that Amazon has ever made. It has 512MB of RAM and 16GB of inner storage. The Signature Version has 32GB of storage. For individuals who prefer to learn within the bathtub, it’s rated IPX8, so it may be submerged in freshwater for as much as 60 minutes. You probably have it in salt water, it is very important wash it beneath recent water, equivalent to a faucet. It has Bluetooth 5.1 for listening to Audible audiobooks by way of wi-fi headphones or earbuds.
The Kindle Paperwhite twelfth gen has a revised web browser as this yr. It’s extra responsive and can load trendy web sites with ease. The previous browser actually sucked, however the brand new one will learn information web sites, tech blogs and rss feeds. You should buy and skim Kindle books and Audible audiobooks proper on the machine due to the WIFi web entry. It formally helps 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz networks with help for WEP, WPA, WPA2, WPA3, and OWE safety utilizing password authentication or Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS).
A USB-C port is obtainable for charging; it’s powered by a 1,900 mAh battery, appropriate for as much as 12 weeks of utilization. The precise battery life closely is determined by how a lot you learn per day, if the sunshine is on, is WIFI linked and so on. The earlier era Kindle Paperwhite had a smaller 1700 mAh battery and was solely good for 10 weeks. The scale are 5” x 7” x 0.3” (127.6 x 176.7 x 7.8 mm) and weighs 7.4 oz (211g)
The machine and packaging is environmentally pleasant. The Kindle is constructed from 29% recycled supplies. The inner structural body is constructed from 90% recycled magnesium. All new 100% recyclable packaging (transport packaging not included).
With a latest firmware replace for the eleventh era Kindle Paperwhite, this older mannequin is nearly as quick as the brand new one. It’s shut, however the twelfth era is a bit higher by way of total efficiency on a pure {hardware} stage. I at all times discovered that the black Paperwhites aspect by aspect, look visually similar as earlier generations, the one method for positive is to go to the machine ID, buried within the settings menu. Now, with the entire distinctive colors for this mannequin and and the Signature Version, the color schemes will actually inform the older e-readers and the brand new. This can make it simpler to promote on the secondary market.
With a brand new Kindle Paperwhite, comes a rise in worth. The brand new model is $10 greater than the bottom mannequin and the Signature Version is near $30 greater than the earlier gen. Kindle Paerpwhite twelfth Technology comes; Raspberry, Jade, and Black. Kindle Paperwhite Signature Version, is available in Metallic Raspberry, Metallic Jade, and Metallic Black.
Software program
Amazon has at all times used Linux as their working system for the Kindle, each single era has employed it, and there are just a few main explanation why. Linux is tremendous steady and you may get away with utilizing smaller batteries, since there are not any background processes and all elements of the e-reader is environment friendly at drawing much less energy. E INK doesn’t generate any energy by itself, it solely does when the state modifications. If you’re navigating across the Kindle, going to the settings menu or clicking on Goodreads, energy will probably be consumed, however when you simply are studying what’s on the display, no additional energy is being put to the display.
You probably have an older Kindle e-reader, that’s greater than 6-7 years previous, you may discover that the house display defaults to your library, which makes opening up books sooner. In 2021, a lot of the newer e-readers bought a bit replace that modified the house display expertise and this was very polarizing for longtime Kindle customers. Nonetheless, I believe most individuals are used to the brand new expertise, because it does make issues simpler.
The UI may be very easy, you’ve a house display which includes of the final three books you got or are within the technique of studying. There’s big search bar on the high, which might discover books in your library or on Amazon. Above the search bar is a downwards tab, that is the place you’ll be able to set up a WIFI connection, regulate display brightness, flip the machine into airplane mode, or sync.
Subsequent to the search bar is a buying cart icon and clicking on it brings you to the Amazon Bookstore, for those who reside in a supported nation, the bookstore could have two tabs when its opened “Bookstore” and “Audiobook Retailer.” There are three little dots subsequent the buying icon, which brings up the settings menu. That is the place the Goodreads hyperlink is, alongside many different choices such because the settings menu, organising the display timeout, screensaver, and era studying settings.
On the backside of the UI is 2 choices; dwelling and library. Between, is a small piece of canopy artwork of the final ebook you opened, clicking on it, lets you bounce proper into the ebook, making it simpler to leap right into a story. The Library menu hasn’t modified a lot through the years, it lists the books you’ve on the machine. You’ll be able to kind them and make folder collections for higher group. Some folks like cowl view, however I just like the listing view for tons of books in your assortment.
I imagine Amazon has probably the most full and greatest bookstore on this planet. They’ve direct contracts with all the most important publishers. You will discover all the identical bestsellers, by well-known authors, that will be promoted in your native Barnes and Noble, Waterstones or Chapters Indigo. There’s additionally a slew of content material from small and mid-range publishers who specialise in one style, equivalent to TOR with fantasy and science fiction. Amazon has their very own imprints, the place they spend cash and signup established and up-in-coming authors and publish the books themselves. There’s additionally Kindle Direct Publishing, which permits anybody to publish and promote books on Amazon. When you prefer to learn quite a bit, there may be the Kindle Limitless Program, the place for a low month-to-month payment, you’ll be able to learn hundreds of thousands of comics, books, and manga. When you even have a child that makes use of your machine, there may be the Youngsters+ subscription, which has household pleasant content material, from publishers like Disney. There’s literary one thing for everybody on the Amazon bookstore and all types of non-obligatory applications. You will discover extra content material on Amazon, than their rivals, equivalent to Barnes and Noble Nook or Kobo.
Audible is one in every of Amazons secret weapons and one thing they’ve been leveraging on Kindle e-readers, beginning with the tenth era sequence and transferring into the eleventh and now twelfth. All of them had secret Bluetooth performance and as soon as paired with headphones or a wi-fi speaker lets you take heed to audiobooks proper on the Kindle. The audiobook participant is admittedly polished. There are alternatives to attach your Bluetooth machine, regulate playback velocity, from a wide selection of settings. You’ll be able to skip chapters, view chapters, search for related audiobooks, see the duvet artwork and extra. You probably have ever used the Audible app for Android or iOS, it is vitally related. So, for those who frequently pay attention in your telephone, the identical choices are on the Kindle.
Studying
The Paperwhite twelfth era, helps books bought from the bookstore, however with the fitting software program and drivers you’ll be able to sideload them too. Proper out of the field, you want Android drivers in your pc and third occasion software program for the MAC. You’ll be able to learn ebooks in Kindle Format 8 (AZW3), Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; PDF, DOCX, DOC, HTML, EPUB, TXT, RTF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP by way of conversion. Audible audio format is (AAX), however you’ll be able to’t sideload audiobooks on the Kindle, you have to purchase them.
There’s a profile part of the studying app, the place it can save you your settings. This consists of traces spacing, margins font measurement, font kind. You’ll be able to share the Kindle with a number of members of the family and each can have their customized settings. One of many options I dig concerning the e-reading expertise is the power to close off issues like time remaining in a chapter or what web page you’re on. Eliminating the standing bar, or simply giving the choice to close it off utterly is really wonderful. You’ll be able to configure this within the Aa menu. Among the best new options is the brand new web page flip animation system. You’ll be able to seamlessly mix pages, when flipping the web page to a different. It is a good transitionary course of, that’s fairly completely different than the Kindle app for Android or IOS, which have peak and switch animations. Talking of web page turns, this mannequin has elevated the velocity by 20%, so they’re even sooner than the earlier era Paperwhite.
When studying a ebook, you’ll be able to merely pinch and zoom to extend the dimensions of the font. That is helpful because you not should do that completely on the Aa menu. There are some choices you are able to do whereas studying, equivalent to long-pressing on a particular phrase or physique of textual content. This can present choices, equivalent to making a be aware, highlights, or annotations. You’ll be able to lookup phrases within the built-in dictionary and checkout what Wikipedia says. The Kindle additionally makes use of Bing Translations on all their e-readers, so you’ll be able to translate a particular phrase or a physique of textual content from one language to a different. When you spotlight a block of textual content or a single phrase, as an alternative of trying them up you’ll be able to share them by way of Fb, Twitter, GoodReads or E-mail.
This mannequin has a web page flip animation system. It’s an choice you’ll be able to activate, within the Aa menu. It seamlessly transitions every web page into the following. It is extremely fascinating option to go about this on an E INK display. It blends the whole lot very well, and is kind of completely different from the Kindle app in your smartphone or pill, which has a web page curl impact, the place you’ll be able to peak on what’s on the following web page. The 25% velocity enhance actually makes this method extra sturdy than ever earlier than.
All Kindle fashions have a system known as X-Ray. You probably have by no means used it earlier than, it principally breaks down folks, locations, and issues. It should inform you the entire main and minor characters within the ebook and allow you to know on what web page they have been referenced and provides a fast character biography. The Paperwhite 6 has an choice in X-Ray known as “Photographs” which can present you the entire pictures in a ebook you’re studying. Most books simply have cowl artwork, however there are various genres equivalent to autobiographies which have dozens.
The PDF expertise is the most effective out of all of the Paperwhites launched up to now. While you load PDF recordsdata on the machine it handles them like a champ. A small mini map with a screenshot of no matter web page is displayed will probably be on the underside right-hand nook. This can assist orientate and show the precise positioning. Web page flip speeds are noticeably diminished in comparison with an e book, however Kindles actually weren’t constructed to help the format in a significant method. General, there are just a few notable options with PDF help. You’ll be able to pinch and zoom to a chunk of textual content, and you’ll spotlight it, choose particular phrases or a physique of textual content. There’s choices to translate it to a overseas language or simply lookup the definition from the dictionary. A slider bar will assist lighten or darken the doc, relying on if it a scanned PDF which may not have the fitting color correction. With the 7-inch display, they do look marginally higher than the earlier gen.
Sideloading in manga is a blended bag, since a lot of the ones downloaded from the web are CBZ/CBR, that are archives filed with pictures. Amazon sells manga in their very own proprietary format, so the manga will fill the whole display and does have added settings to extend the dimensions and fonts. Shopping for manga at all times seems to be higher on the Kindle than sideloading a scanlation or a janky PDF file.
Wrap Up
The Kindle Paperwhite twelfth era has many issues going for it. The display is a slight 0.2 inches bigger than the earlier model and this has upped the decision. The velocity is 25% sooner, because of the Carta 1300 show panel and enhance to the processor. If you’re upgrading from the Kindle Paperwhite eleventh era to the twelfth era, the whole expertise won’t be very pronounced. Nonetheless, for those who don’t improve your Kindle with every era and skim on one which doesn’t get updates anymore, you will note an evening and day distinction.
The lighting system hasn’t actually modified, the display is as vibrant as ever, a system extensive darkish mode inverts the textual content from a white background and black textual content to a black background and white textual content. I by no means learn like this, however some folks prefer to. I don’t take heed to audiobooks on my Kindle, I primarily simply use my smartphone, which is at all times in my pocket, together with the Apple Airpods Professional 2. I like strolling and listening to books I already learn, as an alternative of rereading the identical ebook once more. I discover the audio expertise provides me extra immersion. I do know some folks do take heed to audio on their Kindles, or else Amazon would simply discontinue the whole system, like they’ve in so many different methods, like their journal subscription hub.
The Kindle Paperwhite does provide another advantages from its opponents, Prime Studying, provides you entry to some thousand titles, only for being a Prime subscriber. First Reads offers customers with early first seems to be at new books popping out quickly, however most are from Amazons personal imprints, not many books or authors you’ve heard about earlier than. Kindle Limitless is the place the entire digital magazines was once as a standalone service, however the one method you’ll be able to learn them now’s to subscribe. You additionally recover from 100,000 books, comics and different digital content material. I believe its price it to do a 3 month trial when Amazon runs them, since you’ll be able to actually take a look at drive the service and see if its for you, earlier than the defaults again to the conventional worth.
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite twelfth Technology
$160.00
Execs
- E INK Carta 1300 e-paper
- 25% sooner
- Lengthy battery life
- Mild
- Nice display for studying
Cons
- $20 costlier than previous-gen
- Not sufficient house for a number of audiobooks
- No Web page-turn buttons
- I want it had 32GB of storage, as an alternative of 16GB
- Want software program to sideload content material
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the previous fifteen years. Newspapers and web sites such because the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Put up and the New York Instances have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.