Let’s face it. Kindles don’t evolve at a rapid pace, especially compared to other consumer electronics. They get minimal updates every few years, with minor differences between models.
Take the latest Kindle Oasis 3, for instance. It looks and feels exactly the same as the previous model. The only real difference is they added the option to use a frontlight with a warm color tone, allowing users to customize the frontlight color from a warm color to a cool tone.
For a lot of people that was enough to justify an upgrade, especially with Kindles being the last brand of ebook readers to offer that feature.
But not everybody likes the unusual shape of the Kindle Oasis, nor the high price.
Some folks are still holding out hope for a larger Kindle. Others would like to see the Kindle Paperwhite or a newer Kindle Voyage with a warm frontlight.
Now that color E Ink is making a comeback, some would like to see a color Kindle take off.
What would it take for you to seriously consider getting a new Kindle?
A warm frontlight with a non-Oasis design?
Color E Ink?
A larger 10-inch E Ink screen?
Longer battery life?
A higher resolution screen with better contrast?
Or something else…
Kindle Fire HDR 8.9″ – that’s what is really needed. The right size, the right resolution, the right reading screen real estate for magazines, and the right power. Many of us are sticking to our old models – I have 2 of them.
I also own the 8″ (too small for magazines), and the 10″ is too ungainly and heavy = both are going to eBay.
No thanks. LED screens hurt my eyes.
A Paperwhite 3 Model in a 7” version with comfort light. Not a big fan of flush screens (smudges, glare) and I don’t need buttons. They can keep it at 4gb without bluetooth and all the extra gimmicks so as not to compete with the Oasis.
This. Exactly.
1. Make it feel like a 2020 device. My old smartphone from 2005 felt a lot quicker than the current Paperwhite. I’m not sure why, probably due to e-ink display, but it feels like it takes forever to turn pages and highlight text. Not to mention that it tend to reboot (crash) multiple times a week. I’ve tried resetting and updating with no difference.
2. A larger screen and real support for pdf. I mainly read nonfiction and scientific studies. The Kindle is just awful for those things and I’m forced to use my tablet in bed which I bought the Kindle to avoid. Naturally I knew what I was buying and I’m using my Kindle for fiction, but I still wish I could read full format pdfs with it.
If the Kindle would fix either of those, then I would buy a new instantly.
Onyx Boox is the way to go for PDFs.
Hardware like the current Nook Glowlight Plus.
I would love 7 inch paperwhite with page turn buttons on both sides.
Honestly, I don’t think color would move me. I have the Kindle Oasis 3, and when I need a bigger screen the Kindle app works on my Nova Pro and Boox Max 2.
I think I’m all Kindled out for the moment.
Almost the same setup. I feel that, even if Amazon launch bigger device, it would not be as good as Box Max is. So, for no picture, flowable reading Oasis (2) is more than enough. However, for big pdf reading and note taking Max is device of choice. Most tempting would be front light for Max 13.
So, Kindled is very good description of current state of affairs with Amazon ;).
Being book store agnostic.
Seriously. When my current Kindle dies, I’m going to pick up an Android eink device and be done with Amazon’s hardware. I want a Roku of ebooks, and if Amazon won’t deliver it, then someone else will.
That is an excellent description: “A Roku for ebooks”. Count me in.
Color screen, or a large screen that doesn’t cost $300.
Color is not important for a Kindle since you can get all the color you need from Kindle apps which run on Fire and Android tablets and iPads.
Larger size is what I want: either or both 8″ or 10″ book readers — flat from and back, preferably with page buttons.
The 8″ size is just right for reading in portrait mode. With a 10″ reader, you can hold it in landscape mode with the text displayed in two columns, which makes for faster reading speed — like with newspapers and textbooks.
If Amazon brought an updated Kindle DX configured like the gone-but-not-forgotten Voyage (love those haptic switches), gave it the warm frontlight of the new Oasis, and a baseline 32GB of storage, I would totally sell a kidney to get it — maybe even my own…
I’m ready for color.
A larger screen and page turn buttons
The same things I would look for in any e-reader, large screen, lighting, open operating system (currently android).
Optional bonus features: sdxc card slot, color screen.
I would not spend my money on a reader that will give me inferior specifications or limit usability.
7-8 inch Kindle Voyage (flush, buttons, same supercrispy text) with comfort light
a new model of voyage. same size with libby and a more efficient experimental browser
If Kindles supported epubs & were less costly than Kobos, I might consider buying one. Probably not though, I love my Kobo Aura One.
Looking for an Oasis-like color 9″ or 10″ device. I sometimes seem to be one of the few on The Ebook Reader that prefer this form and function. An improved 9″ or 10″ color Voyage with real page buttons would also be ok.
One really good quality device. I tend to prefer the Kindle system of indexing…helps finding things in a huge library.
I might consider an Onyx color also.
Color would be lovely, but I would replace my working Oasis with a Paperwhite if it just had a USB-C charging port.
I’m not looking for hardware improvements at the moment as I’m currently satisfied with my Oasis 3 (minus usb-c). As for changes, Amazon needs to drastically improve the software. That’s the culprit, not the hardware.
Improve the severely limited font sizes, line spacing, and margins; which IMO are more important than anything. I have beautiful fonts that are useless due to awkward and limited font size options on Kindles.
8 inches because of my poor eyesight…!
Backlight
Note taking is a plus but not a must.
I would like oasis small 6’ with buttons, with the covers on the screen when i turn off. And a little pen as same sony ereader had to write or highlight my readings.
I only change models when a feature worth paying for comes out. I swapped my first model, a Kindle 4 for a Paperwhite to get the frontlight. I swapped the Paperwhite for an Oasis 2 for the larger screen and page turn buttons.
The warm frontlight on the Oasis 3 isn’t worth the price of admission.
I would be on the fence on buying a 8″ Oasis as it would be a marginal improvement, but I’d certainly buy a 10″.
I own an Oasis and a Kobo Forma…8″ is actually a big difference…I am with you on a 10″ though.
9 inch size in a refined body format of the current larger Nook. Flush screen or not flush does not matter to me. I really like the current Nook but the software is just too clunky. I really like the Kobo Aura One but would like the page turn buttons on both sides. The Forma is just too big to hold comfortably in that weird shape.
My husband says he’s holding out on an upgrade until one has USB-C. Every one of his other devices is USB-C, and he wants to be able to use a single cord type for everything.
1. Software improvement
2. Larger screen with page turn buttons
3. Higher resolution
4. USB-C
5. More RAM and storage capacity
I find it easier to read on my iPad Mini for size, resolution and response time. The Kindle software is definitely showing its age. Using Collections is not my preferred way to keep a series collection (e.g., lacks series order). Odd that no default standard categorization option is available despite books being listed as mystery, biography, fiction, children’s, etc. on Amazon.
For me the software is the primary limitation for upgrading.
Much larger screen in colour. Especially if it can be used as a monitor.
A warm color display option and USB C charging point for around $100-$150 would do it.
One thing to consider is resale value. While Kindles are more popular in the states, Kobo has excellent resale value and have a higher demand IMO. Example, I can’t sell a Voyage with 3G and no ads for $70 after a week but sold my 2016 Kobo Aura edition 2 with lesser specs for $75 within a day and a Kobo Clara at $120 within 3 days. Kindles while good are everywhere like roaches, so if you are one to upgrade devices every year, it might be wiser to go Kobo.
Large screen–8 inch or larger, physical buttons, comfort light. I don’t care about color, USB ports, or PDFs. And, yes, the new(ish) Nook is good.
A slightly larger screen with colour e-ink. I miss book covers in colour but don’t like LED screens. Also the battery life seems to be getting worse. My original 3rd gen kindle lasted a couple of weeks with me using it 3-4 hours a day. Based on the same usage on the latest kindle which I upgraded to it last a few days at the best and with wifi turned off. I also had a Voyage which started out great but with every update it seemed the battery life got shorter and shorter.
I just hope it’s not another rehashed model. Amazon is notorious for repeating the same devices. That’s what I love about Kobo, their innovation. No model is a repeat of the previous version.
I agree. Reviewing the same thing over and over again gets painful!
I would love a color e-ink kindle!!! I don’t like reading long periods of time on anything other than e-ink or actual book. Believe it or not, I now prefer e-ink over a paper book. This would be great for comic books and anime if you are into that. Maybe a coloring book for kids as well!!
P.S. UPDATED Software!!
I like that I’m not tied in to an annual upgrade cycle. I’m still using a voyage. It’s great for my needs. I like the form factor and the glass screen seems a little crisper than the paperwhites that my kids use. I’d be happy to get something with less blue light for reading at night, and USB-C would be great, but the thing I’d really love is library access in Canada.
Any of these:
1. Unlimited 4G web surfing (their servers could block videos, reduce image quality) (Use Amazon’s Silk?)
2. Global satellite instead of (or backing up) 3G (for push ebooks, wikipedia, translate)
3. A battery that lasts a whole year (if not using the frontlight)
4. e-ink with embossed letters (or another way to get a 3D effect)
5. A VR headset laser DLP Kindle, using foveated rendering, a foveated lens to redistribute pixel density, and obviously foveated aiming
Said differently: nothing