Amazon has officially started accepting pre-orders for a new 6.8-inch Kindle Paperwhite, which comes in three different versions.
There’s the standard Kindle Paperwhite starting at $139.99, an upgraded Signature Edition for $189.99, and there’s also a kids version that’s basically the same as the standard version, except it comes with a colorful cover and an upgraded 2-year warranty since kids tend to break things. It sells for $159.99.
What sets the new Kindle Paperwhite 5 apart from earlier models is a slightly larger 6.8-inch E Ink screen instead of the standard 6-inch screen that Kindle Paperwhites have had since 2012.
This new model also adds a warm frontlight so you can adjust the tone of the frontlight color from a cool color to a warm color like the Kindle Oasis has had for the past couple years.
The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition adds more storage space (32GB vs 8GB for the standard version), along with an auto-adjusting frontlight and wireless charging. It also comes without ads so that saves $20 compared to the standard version, which is $159 without ads (the kids model is also ad-free).
The new Kindle Paperwhite has a USB-C port so that will make people happy, and it’s the first Kindle to support 5.0 GHz Wi-Fi networks. It’s also waterproof like the Paperwhite 4 and it has a flush front screen. They are advertising it as having thinner borders and 20% faster page turns.
Amazon also claims the new Paperwhite’s battery can last for up to 10 weeks. Their estimates are always a bit foggy and frankly unrealistic, but the last Paperwhite was advertised with 6 weeks so it should be a noticeable improvement either way. The wireless charging requires using a Qi wireless charger (sold separately, of course).
According to Amazon, the new model measures 4.9″ x 6.9″ x .32″ (124.6 x 174.2 x 8.1 mm) and it weighs about 205 grams. Compared that to the Paperwhite 4 at 6.6″ x 4.6″ x .3″ (116 x 167 x 8.18 mm) and 182 grams. With the smaller bezels on the new version there isn’t a big size difference overall.
The new Kindle Paperwhite can be pre-ordered from Amazon now and it’s expected to get released on October 27th, 2021.
Any hope they will be on sale during Black Friday?
Hard to say. Since it will be less than 30 days from release probably not because then people could just return ones they bought and repurchase at the lower price. Plus they often have stock shortages whenever a new model gets released that pushes back the shipping dates the closer they get to release day. I would expect the other models to be on sale, for sure, but hard to say with the new ones.
Lou Sevens here- Rod yes they typically will be on sale black friday- I was thinking the same thing.
Coming from the Oasis with the buttons, it wiill be a trade off for the 6.8 screen- however seems overpriced at $189- does one need 32gb and Qi charging is the question. Qi charging takes longer and makes the unit warmer.
Don’t forget the signature model Also eliminates those pesky disgusting Kindle advertisements ($20 value). I think it’s definitely worth it.
The auto adjusting light is why I bought the SE version.
I see the current Oasis going on a massive sale for Black Friday as this new Paperwhite completely undercuts it. Possibly even Paperwhite prices to make way for a newer model probably sometime early next year.
That’s a good start. Finally kindle USB C. Hopefully we may get a more premium model (oasis etc) with an even larger screen.
Ordered! Thanks for the post!
Qi charging: useless. USB C: I no longer need to alternate between cables.
Price: too high.
Storage: Too much for books.
Faster page turns: cool but boring
battery life: nice but pretty isignificant since the kindle lasts so long you don’t even care about the battery.
Honestly, I’m waiting until a model comes out that has better, sharper contrast. I know for many folks that the improvements such as warmlight and USB-C charging is what they were looking for; which I respectfully acknowledge. For me, give me better contrast, better looking text and I’ll upgrade.
I have an Oasis with 32GB of memory, wifi and 4G. I don’t need wireless charging and, frankly, I use 4G downloads all the time. For me there’s no reason to downgrade to the new paperwhite.
I experienced an adjustable warm front light on my Boox, which broke, and have come very close to buying the Oasis just for that. It was hard to go back to my old Paperwhite. So this new Paperwhite was an instant preorder for me. Everything aside from the warm light is (very nice) gravy.
I preordered the base $140 version, not the Signature: I’ve had Kindles since the first one and ads never have bothered me; I never have come close to filling one up (download new book, read, delete); automatic light adjustment is too often annoying; and wireless charging… why?
Yeah, wireless charging isn’t bad to have as a backup method, but I wouldn’t make it the primary method as Amazon will surely push via promotional materials and accessories. For something that sips battery like a Kindle, you’ll only diminish the long-term durability of the battery by keeping it 100% all the time and using such a hot, inefficient process all the time. USB-C is very welcome, though.
The signature model removes ads which means that you can finally view book covers. This alone changed my life. Thats a $20 value, so basically you’re getting 32 GB, Adaptive lighting, wireless charging for only $30. No brainer.
To be honest, I’ve kind of gone back to using my old Voyage. Still works great. Hasn’t been updated by Amazon yet with their annoying new stuff.
Good idea.
I may go back to my Voyage also as I don’t like the update either.
Same here, but will miss cellular connectivity. After 2 1/2 years with the Oasis, I finally sent the Oasis back for the $75 credit.
A couple of weeks ago I tried the 32GB Pagewhite side-by-side to my Voyage. The Voyage was a little faster, and had the page turn spots and auto-dimming. So the Pagewhite was returned — in anticipation that Amazon would come up with something better than the Voyage and not as clunky as the Oasis. Boy, was I wrong! No cellular on either new Pagewhite, and the auto-dimming only on the 32GB.
Then I saw that the 2018 Pagewhite were on sale. So applying the $75 from the Oasis, and the $18 trade-in, the 8GB Pagewhite and an origami stand/cover cost me $15.98. I’ll still need to pay $20 for the ad-free — but even that’s up in the air since Amazon is forcing adverts (called “suggestions”) on the home page anyway.
The Pagewhite is not as good as the Voyage (for which I’m getting a battery replacement kit), but when the only option for cellular connectivity is the Oasis there really wasn’t much choice.
You don’t pay to remove ads – just contact amazon via online chat and ask nicely.
It sounds like they’ve cracked down on that some so you might get lucky and you might not.
hopefully a new Oasis is released too, I’m on the 9th gen Oasis and the battery life is terrible compared to paperwhite
I agree with you- I had gotten a Paperwhite via trade in /black friday credit as it was only around $40.
I like reading on it but prefer my Oasis – but the battery life pales in comparison with the paperwhite.
IMO it looks like a great small reader that improves on the original Paperwhite in many areas(screen ratio, flush screen, USB-C, waterproof, light temp. control). They will sell a ton of these units.
Unfortunately, it holds none of my interest as I have an Oasis and a Kobo Forma. I just continue to be underwhelmed with the disregard of readers that want a large format reader.
Seems like, with these new models, there is no longer an option for a Kindle Paperwhite with cellular connectivity. I wonder if Amazon is going to keep this feature only for the Oasis line, going forward, to justify the higher prices.
I figured that was a mistake in the leaked comparison chart, but that’s the way the final chart looks too. I’m sure it’s a feature that many people use (although everyone I know owns the wifi-only models).
I wonder if that’s how they can make a claim to longer battery life.
My dream device is a 7.8 inch waterproof voyage so this is pretty close to that, I just wish it had some version of page turn buttons cause my favorite thing to do with Oasis is turn off touch screen and just use buttons so my thumb can rest on screen without doing anything, feels like reading a real book this way.