Amazon has quietly blanket-discounted its Kindle lineup, putting prices on almost every model down in the dirt, giving you a perfect opportunity to upgrade or give the gift of an e-reader. The schlubby base Kindle is $89.99 (save $20), the Kindle Paperwhite is down to $159.99 ($40 off), the new Colorsoft version is now $189.99 ($60 off), and finally, but surely not lastly, there’s the luxe-y premium Kindle Scribe at long last deflated to a much enterprise-margin-friendlier $279.99 ($140 price cut). All of the available colors are discounted, except for one new addition, the Scribe Colorsoft.
If you’re the type who made a resolution to spend more time with books this year, ICYMI: This is about as painless as it gets in terms of proven hardware, long battery life, and direct access to an enormous bookstore at some of the most aggressive price points we’ve seen outside of major shopping events.
Who the Kindle is for and which model suits you
Kindle (current-generation) is the budget pick that gets the fundamentals right at $89.99. Text comes through sharper than ever on a 6-inch anti-glare screen at 300 ppi; the reader’s storage space can hold thousands of titles, and Bluetooth capability lets you easily switch to audiobooks. Amazon claims up to six weeks of battery life, which should be plenty for a monthlong vacation or a commute-heavy month.
Kindle Paperwhite at $159.99 is the Goldilocks device for most folks. You also get a larger 7-inch, 300 ppi display, faster page turns, and the flush-front design so the screen is easier to wipe clean. It’s rated IPX8 for resistance to water, a useful feature for reading at the poolside, and the warm front light is adjustable when reading in bed. And battery life goes up to 12 weeks, a best-in-class figure among e-readers.
Kindle Colorsoft, at $189.99, is for those who hate to settle for monochrome readers. The Color E Ink makes magazines, children’s books, and comics come alive while maintaining all the paper-like reading benefits. Resolution for color content falls to 150 ppi instead of the 300 purely black-and-white content gets, but that’s a real improvement for graphic-happy titles. It retains the 7-inch form factor, adjustable warm light temperature, IPX8 rating, and up to eight weeks of battery life.
Kindle Scribe at $279.99 is the productivity workhorse. Its 10.2″ screen has 300 ppi for a paper-like reading experience and comfortable side note-taking with the included Premium Pen or by using your finger to jot words on the new dedicated handwriting, reading- and writing-friendly display. With its 32GB of storage (on this configuration) and battery life of up to 12 weeks, it’s a good fit for students, research-heavy readers, and meeting note-takers. The Scribe isn’t rated for water resistance, so take that into account if you like to read outside.
How Color E Ink works and its real-world tradeoffs
“The displays use an added layer to the standard monochrome E Ink display that provides the color, and this filter maintains a comparable level of power efficiency.” Color E Ink displays overlay a color filter on top of a base monochrome panel, offering a broad palette while conserving energy. The tradeoff is that color images display at a lower effective resolution, which you’ll see in fine lines or small text in illustrations. With comics, cookbooks, and magazines, however, color is often useful for helping read the text and understanding content. The maker of E Ink displays is keen to point out that the screens sip current, pulling the most power when a page refreshes rather than when it’s static, which supports the “weeks-long” battery claims.
Battery life and durability considerations for Kindles
E-readers are stingy with power, and Kindles can be some of the stingiest, on account of E Ink. Real-world endurance is dependent on front-light brightness, how often you turn pages, and if you’re using Bluetooth audio, but performance in the multi-week range for text-heavy reading should be a fair expectation. (If you plan to read by the water, look for an IPX8 rating like the Paperwhite and Colorsoft; they’re designed to hold up in a poolside dousing.) The Scribe is really more about screen size and pen input than it is ruggedization, so a nice cover is going to be a good accessory.
Are these Kindle discounts worth it right now?
The current markdowns are notable. At $140 off, the Scribe is one of the deepest mainstream discounts I’ve seen for a premium e-reader with an active stylus. A $40 discount on the Paperwhite puts the most popular model firmly in easy impulse-buy range, and a $60 price break for the Colorsoft meaningfully reduces that color E Ink barrier. The $89.99 entry Kindle is still the budget champ and an attractive tablet for first-time e-reader buyers.
Context matters: Pew Research Center has reported that about a third of U.S. adults read an e-book over the past year, and library borrowing through services like Libby continues to climb. Kindles play nicely with that ecosystem in some places, allowing you to send compatible books from the library directly to your device — a key value multiplier if you’re investing in hardware you hope will inspire you to read more for less.
Before you check out: tips for buying a Kindle
Opt for storage depending on your combination of books and audiobooks. Text titles are small; 16GB is more than enough unless you have a big collection of Audible books and need the space for those larger files. Most models also have an ad-supported lockscreen function to knock the price down further; paying to remove those ads keeps your experience ad-free. If you read in different lighting conditions, look for models with adjustable warm light — it reduces eye strain when the sun goes down and is truer to paper during daylight.
Finally, it should be noted that all discounted colorways cost the same during this promotion, so make sure you grab the finish you really want. Considering nearly the whole range is on sale, with one standout exception in the Scribe Colorsoft, it represents a great time to get a Kindle that fits with how you read, and save some cash in the process.