When Amazon announced the Kindle Oasis 2, a lot of people were surprised by the fact that Amazon finally released a Kindle with a screen larger than the usual 6-inch standard.
For years people have been wishing for a larger Kindle. It’s the single most requested feature people have commented about on this blog, along with the return of audio support, and Amazon accommodated on both accounts with the release of the Kindle Oasis 2.
However, both aspects were only partially fulfilled.
The Oasis supports Audible audiobooks and VoiceView to read the contents of the screen aloud, but there’s no MP3 support or regular text-to-speech like with older Kindles, so some folks are disappointed by that.
And when it comes to the larger 7-inch screen, it’s only slightly larger than a typical 6-inch Kindle.
Some folks were hoping for an 8-inch Kindle or even a larger 9.7-inch Kindle similar to the old Kindle DX.
It was kind of surprising that they didn’t choose to use a 7.8-inch screen since a few other models use that size and it’s already been in production for over a year. Instead Amazon went with a unique 7-inch size that no other E Ink ereaders use.
Personally I really like how text lays out on larger screens. It doesn’t feel as cramped, especially when using medium to larger font sizes.
The weird thing about the Kindle Oasis 2 is that once you get used to it it doesn’t seem like it’s very large at all; it doesn’t feel much different in size than the 6-inch Kindle Paperwhite. Overall it’s a bit wider with the buttons on the side, but it doesn’t feel like a “large” ereader. See the Kindle Oasis 2 vs Kindle Paperwhite 3 comparison for a closer look at the differences.
By comparison the 7.8-inch Kobo Aura One seems much larger than a 6-inch device. It’s funny how much of a difference an extra 0.8-inches makes. It doesn’t sound like a lot but in person there’s a big difference between a 6-inch screen and a 7.8-inch screen.
What do you think? Is the 7-inch screen on the Kindle Oasis 2 large enough?
Gotta agree it doesn’t seem much bigger than a Paperwhite. And a lot smaller than the Kobo Aura One. Would like it to have been that size, but not in the Oasis form — either like Voyage with real buttons or just a larger Paperwhite.
I am perfectly happy with the Oasis.
Yeap! I agree, for me Kodo with 7.8″ works much much better than this. However no doubt that kindle software is much decent on that side.
kodo pdf support is awful in terms of functionality.
I prefer the existing smaller screens, so it’s weird to me that they bothered to enlarge the screen, but not very much.
I agree with you for standard reading. I like how small the paperwhite is because it is so easy to hold and whip out of my purse when I’m out and about.
Not enough for me. Sometimes 6″ for .mobi. It’s important other screen sizes: 7,8 or 8″. 9,7. 10,3. Or 13,3″. For this reason kobo, onix boox, boyue, Sony dot rp1 offers other e-ink screen size options.
For to read PDF.
You can definitely see the difference inn the screen capacity…even though you may not notice when you’re used to it.
That being said….i don’t think that anyone is buying the Oasis only for the larger screen.
It’s the larger screen with, the waterproofing, flush bezel, physical buttons, light sensor and audio support.
Everything together makes it worth buying over other kindles.
The only reason I bought it was for the larger screen. Otherwise, I would have stuck with a Paperwhite. The other features are nice, but without a larger screen — no sale. And the larger screen was enough to get me to buy in spite of the Oasis form.
In addition to the small(ish) screen, the Oasis 2 (as with all Kindles) is saddled with a crippled LR margin selection which wastes a *lot* of space even at the smallest setting.
Kobo, OTOH, allows full control over margins. It’s not really needed with the Aura One but it’s a nice feature that shows concern for users.
Unlike Amazon.
Agreed. Important to let users use all the screen that’s there if needs be, whatever the size.
I’m happy with the screensize on the Oasis 2. I never really had a problem with the prior 6 inch size of previous Kindle models however, so this seems like a nice jump in size to me.
Not sure how much larger I’d want to go to be honest. For things like manga or comics I use my 10.5 inch iPad Pro, but for regular novels, I like the smaller screen on my Kindle. A 7.8 inch screen like on the Kobo Aura One might be okay, but never even having seen one in person, it’s hard to tell if that might be a bit big for my comfort level.
I think 7” is good enough although I absolutely hate the oasis design. I’m also not a big fan of flush bezels as the lighting is never even.
I would love for Amazon to release a 7” Kindle Paperwhite. I don’t need 32 gigs, I don’t need audio or BT support, I don’t need physical page buttons, and I don’t need waterproof. Just keep the same design, make it 7 inches, 8gb, slim down the bezels a bit and keep it at $159 and we’re good.
I totally agree with everything you said. I would love to see a new 7″ Paperwhite. Just a little thinner and with slightly slimmer bezels.
Can’t agree more. Hope Amazon 7” paperwhite in next years.
I strongly agree kindle needs to be in larger sizes. They also need to improve pdf support by removing margins and keeping the zoom level across pages.
The new oasis is great in almost every way, apart from the still slightly limited screen size. I would kill for a slightly larger one.
I still have to read most pdfs (which constitute most of my reading) in landscape mode with 2 and a bit clicks per page. With an inch or 2 more on the screen I could get away with portrait mode on one page.
Please please please make a larger 7.8/9.7 inch one amazon!!! Please.
I will promise to buy lots of ebooks off amazon if you do!!
I bought the Oasis 2 and returned it after reading three books on it. In my opinion this kindle does not measure up in any way to the Kobo Aura One. I wish they had gone with 7.8 for a screen size and also used either the Voyage or Paperwhite form factor. I also wish they had designed a comfort light like Kobo and Barnes and Noble have done. The inverted color scheme on the Oasis I received made the print appear blurry. I had the kindle DX and really wish they would have just kept that size and updated it to a touch screen.
Words cannot express how much I loathe the Oasis design. I also tried the O2 and sent it back immediately, no hesitation. Everything about it screamed Tablet and not eReader. It also didn’t have a natural feel with that “Handle”
Also, while slightly larger, it didn’t feel massive like the Aura One.
I think 7” is good and as mentioned because it gives you both size and portability. I never lugged the Aura One when I had it because while nice and large and beautiful, it was just too big for on the Go.
prefer a 8 inch or even 9 inch, the size of a hardcopy would be great.
I notice the difference and I like the size. I hate the battery life. I don’t see how anyone can say they can’t tell the difference. It’s very noticeable
Until Amazon adds a color temperature setting (like the new Nook or Kobo H2O2) I won’t get a O2. The question I have for Amazon is – is this in the cards? Is it even possible to do for the O2 with a firmware update or would it require new hardware?
It would require different LEDs to change color.
I am happy with 6″ screen for normal books but it’s awkward to read PDF file that are intended to be printed at A4 size where you have a problem. Landscapes a bit better to enlarge the width of a line but would be nice to see the whole page with bigger text. I’m not hard of sight either.