Yesterday I posted a video review of the new 7-inch Kindle Oasis, along with some first impressions, and today I wanted to put together a comparison review between the new Oasis and the Kindle Paperwhite.
There’s no question the Kindle Paperwhite is still the best value Kindle of them all, but the Oasis adds some new features, a larger screen, and a more premium design with waterproofing.
For the most part the software features are identical on all current Kindles, and they all support the same ebook formats.
The Kindle Oasis adds a couple new accessibility features and Audible support but all the main reading features and font choices are the same.
When I first got the new Kindle Oasis I could have sworn it was faster to respond than the Kindle Paperwhite, but after doing some side-by-side tests both essentially operate at the exact same speed.
After the new Kindle Oasis was first announced, CNET said it had a dual-core processor as opposed to the single-core processor on other Kindles, but there’s been no conformation of that yet and with no noticeable speed difference between the Oasis and Paperwhite it makes you wonder.
Here’s a list of the main differences between the new Kindle Oasis and the current Kindle Paperwhite:
Kindle Oasis 2 Differences
Larger 7-inch display with flush glass front (same 300 ppi E Ink Carta as 6-inch Kindle Paperwhite’s screen).
Waterproof – IPX8 rated.
Audible audiobooks support.
Unique ergonomic design that’s thicker on one end than the other.
Page buttons.
Auto-rotation sensor to switch between left and right handed reading.
8GB of storage space, with option for 32GB (Paperwhite has 4GB; there’s a 32GB model too but it only sells in Japan).
Inverted text to use white text on a black background.
New display size setting to increase interface text size and some images.
Bluetooth for connecting speakers and headphones.
Light sensor automatically adjusts frontlight brightness based on ambient lighting conditions (can be turned off).
The frontlighting is more even with 12 LEDs compared to the Paperwhite’s 4 LEDs, and the light can be completely turned off unlike the Paperwhite’s light that remains slightly on at the lowest setting.
Nightlight mode in settings to gradually decrease screen brightness as your eyes adjust to the dark.
Despite the larger size, the Kindle Oasis weighs 11 grams lighter than the Paperwhite (194 grams vs 205 grams).
The cellular model uses 4G LTE instead of 3G (in the US).
New storage management option in settings.
Price: The Kindle Oasis 2 starts at $249 for the 8GB model with ads and the Kindle Paperwhite starts at $119 for the 4GB model with ads, and it sometimes goes on sale for under $100.
I was just looking at the “Comparisons” page and noted that while no Kindles provide for an SD Card, only the non-Kindle models of ereaders identify the lack of an SD Card reader as a Minus.
Why is the lack of an SD Card reader a Minus for all other brands of ereaders, except for Kindles?
It’s because Kindles have never had memory card slots, aside from the very first one, so there’s really no use complaining about it ten years later. But other models like Kobos and Nooks used to have memory card slots as a common feature, but when they started phasing them out it gets listed as a negative because people are expecting expandable storage since the previous model had it.
Thanks for the comparison video. Still love my PW3, but ever since getting my 1st generation Oasis, I haven’t really used it, and the Oasis has become my ereader of choice.
One thing I will say, I must have gotten somewhat of a dud with the Oasis, as the touchscreen on mine is pretty terrible. I remember when I first got it it took me 5 minutes to type in my wifi password as I keep having issues with the screen not responding and/or misreading characters.
It’s gotten better (or I’ve gotten used to it) for most day to day tasks that I need to use it for, but it still pales in comparison to how nice the touch responsiveness on my PW3 screen is to use. Luckily, the Oasis has the page turn buttons so it wasn’t a deal breaker.
Looking at the 2 videos you’ve posted so far, and other review videos I’ve seen on YouTube, it looks like the Oasis 2 has no issues with the touchscreen, so I’ll know this time if I have problems it’ll be with the particular model I have and not indicative of the Oasis 2 as a whole.
I’ve always had good luck with Kindle touchscreens. Kobo is a different story…
Thanks for the Video. I can see yours is more evenly lit Compared to the one I received but I can still see dim sepia yellowish tone in comparison to the paperwhite. Also it would’ve been nice if you done the review without The boldness on the font to see how the contrast is on the oasis because that’s the biggest gripe right now, the lack of contrast. But once again thank you for the review.
I went to the Amazon book store near me and was really impressed with the screen of the new Oasis. So much brighter and sharper than my PW1. But I won’t be buying it, and price is only one reason.
I need a bigger screen. And the best trick I know to get maximum screen size it to read in landscape mode. This just didn’t feel very convenient on the Oasis with the tiny bezels (outside of the grip area to one size).
Sure, for pics or funnybooks, overall screen area might be the most important stat. But for me, I just don’t want to read skinny little magazine column sized lines (especially since I cannot use the tiny fonts), so the most important dimension is width. And my current PW1 is wider in landscape than the Oasis is in portrait, and I think I’d be stuck with portrait because of the bezels.
I suspect I am not the usual case. But I sincerely don’t understand why everyone clamors for bigger screens but then reads in portrait mode. If I had an ebook blog, my first post would be: “The Trick that expands any eink screen by 33%.” Heck, I gather Kobo doesn’t even have a setting to rotate to landscape.
So for now, I’ll stick to my old PW1 and tablets. And if the PW1 dies, I’d probably upgrade to a new PW, or possibly roll the dice on a bigger 8 inch chinese eink tablet.
Hats off to Amazon anyhow. The Oasis is a good looking machine, and it seems like my insistence on maximizing width is likely a personal eccentricity.
Some guy on YouTube was doing a page-turn comparison with first gen Oasis and it seemed to show that Oasis 2 was noticeably faster in page turn speed than the first one. But you say you haven’t noticed an improvement compared to PW3. (So is PW3 faster than Oasis 1?)
https://youtu.be/NvLsxRl0JHo?t=9m56s
Anyhow, thanks for the video. It’ll be my Christmas present.
As shown in the video, with the same settings touchscreen page turns are pretty much the exact same with ebooks, PDFs, and comics. It might be a bit faster using the buttons.
Is the inverted white-on-black text not available on the PW3? I thought it would be possible in the latest update.
The screen on my 2015 Paperwhite is cracked (thanks, TSA). Debating on the Oasis or the PW. I’m using my iPad right now but it’s not quite the same.