Assessment Date: November 2024 – Assessment unit bought from Amazon
Overview
The Kindle Colorsoft was launched on October thirtieth, 2024. It’s the primary Kindle to make use of a colour E Ink display screen, however different corporations have been utilizing comparable colour E Ink screens since 2020; Amazon is among the final ereader corporations to leap on the colour E Ink bandwagon.
The Kindle Colorsoft shares the very same design because the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Version, and it consists of all the identical options and upgrades because the Signature Version mannequin (wi-fi charging, auto brightness, no screensaver adverts, 32GB of inner storage).
One distinction with the Colorsoft mannequin, Amazon just isn’t providing three colour decisions just like the Paperwhite; it’s solely obtainable in black.
The Kindle Colorsoft sells for $279.99 and there isn’t a less expensive ad-supported model like with different Kindles, and there’s no children bundle bundle both (however it does help children mode).
Kindle Colorsoft Fast Assessment
Execs
- The colour display screen seems to be higher than comparable fashions with colour E Ink screens, with extra saturated colours and fewer ghosting, and total the display screen has a clearer look to it.
- Extra colour content material obtainable than different ereader manufacturers.
- Quick, easy efficiency for E Ink.
Cons
- The frontlight has a delicate yellow band that Amazon is hopefully going to repair.
- Greater value than comparable comparable fashions.
- All colour E Ink screens have some drawbacks in comparison with common E Ink screens due to the added colour filter layer (darker with the frontlight off, barely decrease distinction).
- Amazon’s walled backyard method and mindless limitations.
Verdict
The Kindle Colorsoft is sort of presumably the most effective colour ereader on the present market, however you’ll by no means realize it primarily based on all of the adverse critiques.
The factor that shocked me essentially the most is how a lot better the display screen seems to be in comparison with comparable colour fashions. Amazon did a extremely good job of minimizing the shortcomings of colour E Ink and maximizing the colour high quality. It’s an evening and day distinction in comparison with the Boox Go 7 (for each colour and BW textual content), and Onyx has been making colour ereaders since 2020.
The display screen is sweet however I’m not an enormous fan of how they reused the Kindle Paperwhite’s design. For the value, I feel it ought to’ve had a premium construct just like the Kindle Oasis or the Kindle Voyage. $280 is some huge cash for what is actually a Kindle Paperwhite with a colour filter layer, particularly when you may get the bottom Paperwhite for under $159, and the Paperwhite gives a greater studying expertise in terms of common textual content with out the added filter layer. Colour is sweet to have for covers and comics and such, however it’s actually not price an additional $120 for those who solely learn text-based ebooks.
Kindle Colorosft Video Assessment
The Colour Display screen
The Kindle Colorsoft has a 7″ colour E Ink display screen, and it makes use of a Kaleido 3 display screen like most different colour ereaders in the marketplace, with 300 ppi for black and white content material and 150 ppi for colour. However Amazon did one thing to make the Colorsoft’s display screen look extra colourful and clear.
E Ink’s Kaleido screens are actually simply common black and white screens with a passive colour filter utilized excessive. That’s why colour decision is decrease, and is what provides the display screen a darker look when the frontlight is off as a result of it doesn’t let as a lot gentle by way of. You may truly see the filter layer for those who look intently—it’s a lot much less noticeable than it was on earlier generations of colour E Ink—however it does add a slight grainy texture to the display screen, which lowers the distinction barely and makes the display screen look rather less clear.
That’s why colour E Ink doesn’t look fairly pretty much as good as common E Ink in terms of displaying black and white textual content—it’s at all times been that method—so for those who’re new to paint E Ink you would possibly need to take a look at this Colorsoft vs Paperwhite comparability overview for a better look.
The Frontlight
Actually, I can’t consider how individuals are turning the delicate yellow band on the backside of the display screen into such an enormous deal that they’re principally forcing Amazon to cease promoting the Colorsoft for a number of weeks. Yeah, it’s not perfect, however after utilizing the Colorsoft for a pair weeks it’s barely even noticeable, and I’m often explicit about that type of factor (a variety of gadgets have had comparable points through the years; in actual fact, older Kobos typically had uneven frontlights and I not often heard anybody complain about them).
Regardless of the yellow band, the frontlight seems to be higher than the frontlights on comparable colour fashions I personal. Aspect-by-side with the Kobo Libra Color and the Boox Go 7, the Colorsoft’s gentle has a extra impartial colour temperature, giving the display screen a whiter look. The Libra Color’s gentle is so much yellower by comparability, with some brighter areas, and the Go 7 has a bizarre pink tinge. On their very own they appear high-quality, however subsequent to the Colorsoft they appear inferior.
I assume it’s all only a matter of perspective, and a variety of early Kindle Colorsoft customers appear to lack that.
Software program
The Kindle Colorsoft runs the identical software program as different Kindles so it has all the identical options, simply with colour.
There are a few delicate variations, nevertheless. First off, the Colorsoft lacks full Darkish Mode help. It may well invert the textual content whereas studying for white textual content on a black background, however it doesn’t invert the complete interface like different Kindles. The menus, the library, and the homescreen at all times stay in gentle mode.
The Colorsoft provides the choice so as to add multicolored highlights to ebooks. There are 4 colour decisions to select from, and the coloured highlights additionally present up when utilizing inverted mode.
One wierd factor concerning the Colorsoft is the truth that it doesn’t present colour on PDFs which can be sideloaded by way of USB. It’s important to use Ship to Kindle to get colour on PDFs.
Amazon additionally eliminated the Obtain and Switch Possibility from newer Kindles, together with the Colorsoft. Kindles additionally use MTP now as a substitute of USB mass storage.
Extra Kindle Evaluations
Kindle Colorsoft vs Paperwhite 6 Comparability
Kindle Paperwhite 6 Assessment
2024 Kindle Assessment
Kindle Colorsoft Specs
- 7″ Kaleido 3 Colour E Ink display screen.
- Frontlight with colour temperature management.
- 32GB inner storage.
- Wi-fi charging (charger bought individually).
- Auto-brightness sensor.
- Waterproof: IPX8 rated: examined to resist immersion in 2 meters of contemporary water for 60 minutes.
- No screensaver adverts.
- WiFi: Helps 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz networks.
- Bluetooth for audiobooks and VoiceView display screen reader.
- USB-C port, charging cable included.
- Battery Life Estimate: as much as 8 weeks.
- Supported codecs: Kindle Format 8 (AZW3), Kindle (AZW), KFX, TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; PDF, DOCX, DOC, HTML, EPUB, TXT, RTF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP by way of conversion; Audible audio format (AAX).
- Dimensions: 127.6 x 176.7 x 7.8 mm.
- Weight: 219 grams.
- Value: $279 at Amazon
