I think Amazon is going to announce the upcoming release of a Kindle Paperwhite 6 soon, a new 12th generation model, and I wanted to do a prediction post to explain why I think that’s going to happen.
First off, I have no inside knowledge about any new Kindles coming out in 2024, and there aren’t any legit rumors circulating the interwebs, but after 15 years of running this website, I have a gut feeling that a new Paperwhite is about to get released. It doesn’t take a psychic gypsy to come to this conclusion; it’s pretty obvious if you follow the history of Kindles.
The first indicator that a new Kindle Paperwhite is going to come out soon is the simple fact the current model was released in 2021. Amazon started accepting pre-orders for the Kindle Paperwhite 5 on September 21st, 2021, and it was officially released on October 27th.
The Paperwhite 5 was released almost exactly 3 years after the Paperwhite 4 was released, and the Paperwhite 4 came out 3 years and 4 months after the Paperwhite 3, so there’s a pretty clear pattern there.
There’s also the fact that Amazon didn’t release any new Kindles at all in 2023, and that was only the second calendar year without any new Kindles getting released since 2009 (2020 was the only other year, for obvious reasons).
The Kindle Paperwhite 5 is the oldest Kindle in the current lineup and is the most likely one to get replaced soon.
Another sign the Paperwhite 5 is about to get replaced, Amazon has had their official covers for the Paperwhite on sale nearly all month, and that’s just something they don’t normally do. In fact, Amazon’s covers usually only go on sale a couple of times a year at most, and they’re rarely on sale for longer than a week.
Another thing I noticed, back in June an Amazon hardware engineer from Lab126 posted an article showing how they test Kindle prototypes before they get released. One of the tests showed what appeared to be a front layer for the Kindle Paperwhite shatter like glass during a bend test. The thing is the last two Paperwhites have had plastic-based front layers, and it’s very unlikely they would shatter like that. That might be a sign they were testing a glass front layer on a new Paperwhite.
Back in June, I did a post about potential upgrades for a new Kindle Paperwhite 6, so I won’t go into that again here, but obviously a new screen is at the top of the list, and I could even see Amazon releasing a color model like Kobo did with the Kobo Clara Colour and Kobo Libra Colour.
Either way, I think the odds of Amazon releasing a new Kindle in 2024 is highly likely, and a new Paperwhite model makes the most sense. If recent history is any indication, I think Amazon will announce it in September or October at the latest.
If the new Kindle has the same firmware as the old I don’t know if we’re any further ahead. I always had to use FONT_RAMP to change font sizes rationally. And use Calibre to achieve margins and line-heights I prefer. Got tired of it. I was able to jailbreak my 11th gen Paperwhite and now use KOReader and epubs exclusively. No more messing around trying to get the “printed” page looking the way I like it.
Sounds like too much work( I will look into it…thanks!). Kobo is customizable enough for me.
I sure hope so, cause Kobo devices seem great, but without the ability to put my own books in the cloud, it’s of no use to me (research/academic books I need to get notes from on my MacBook). I’m not a fan of current Paperwhite due to the easily scratched plastic screen and so I’d be excited for a glass screen version. Color or BW, either way excites me. Please be right about this!
Pocketbook has a cloud service similar to Kindle’s, if you want an alternative.
I’d prefer an Oasis!
Same! Oasis is pretty much perfect for me. I don’t need much to change. Just give me carta 1200, cpu and ram like in paperwhite, usb-c and I’m good.
I agree, the Oasis is a great basic design.
I’d even like a upgrade Oasis 1, a 6″ kindle based on the original design but with an itegrated battery, not a removable one.
Two Kindle Oasis!
I wouldn’t mind 6″ Oasis either. It’s the sweet spot when it comes to size. I can easily take 6″ anywhere with me in a pocket, but I need to carry 7″ in a bag.
A couple of things I’d be interested in seeing in a new paperwhite.
#1. It doesn’t delete your sideloaded books..
#2. It doesn’t delete your side loaded books
#3. Indented screen instead of flush screen for better contrast and clarity
#4. A complete and massive software overhaul. One that gives you better fonts. More font sizes, line spacing, more boldness sizes, and margin options.
#5. It doesn’t delete your sideloaded books
I have had #1, #2 and #5 happen to a Paperwhite and a Scribe.
1, 2, 5 don’t happen if you use sendtokindle website.
You just described a Kobo.
They forgot ‘a battery life that lasts longer than six hours’ and ‘buttons that actually work’
I just bought PW5 after I finaly gave up on the hope for Amazon upgrading Oasis. And I hate it. Its the most uncomfortable ereader I have ever owned. It feels like it’s twice as heavy as Oasis and no matter how I hold it it doesn’t feel comfortable. Mostly because it’s too big, I had zero problem holding Paperwhite 4. So I’m returning it and we’ll see what they bring next but I’m not holding my breath, my expectations are pretty low as I don’t think they’ll go smaller or add page turn buttons :-/
In a similar vein I bought an older (smaller) Paperwhite, 10th Generation off Woot earlier this year – just in case (or when) my faithful Voyage dies.
It is still doing fine, but I like that this PW is virtually the same size even if it isn’t as nice as the Voyage is. I don’t want anything larger if I can help it.
Good choice 🙂 It’s the perfect size in my opinion. I wish they sticked to 6″ screens and didn’t go bigger. I don’t want bigger reader to travel with. I have Oasis for home reading and Paperwhite for when I’m on the go and in that case size is crucial.
Kindle lineup I would really like to see and which would make a lot of sense imho:
Kindle
– 6″ with warm light and water resistance
Kindle Colour
– 6.8″ with colour eink
– SE version with haptic page turn buttons
Kindle Scribe
– 8″ instead 10″
– colour eink
– page turn buttons
– water resistance
All should have Qi2 (basically Magsafe) and additional magents for charging and magnetic cases or PopSockets. All should also have power button on top side.
I think this way most people would be really happy… Who wants one universal reader would go for Kindle Colour, others might buy Scribe for home and Basic as travel companion…
Sorry for multiple comments, but this is interesting: The latest Kindle firmware (according to Mobile Reads) mentions new Kindle device “11th generation, Release 2024”.
That means that it should not be Paperwhite 6 as that would be 12th generation, right?
11th gen should mean one of these options:
1) Kindle Oasis 4 (Oasis 3 is 10th gen)
2) Paperwhite 5 colour
3) Scribe mini
4) Something completely different
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4448491&postcount=13
Jhowell later says it’s probably just a minor revision to an existing model, which makes sense. Any new Kindle is going to be 12th gen at this point.
Well that’s just sad then. Because the current lineup is so underwhelming, it really needs another model, not just revision.
I hope it’s a new Oasis and definitely hope it is not color. But another Paperwhite would be more like Amazon–unoriginal and unimaginative.
I also forgot to mention in the article all the problems with Kindle software updates lately could be an indication of a new model coming out. They’re probably rushing to get the software ready and are messing things up in the process.