Amazon has unveiled several new Kindles for 2024, including a new redesigned Kindle Scribe. Oddly, they’re still referring to it as a 1st generation model on the product page, but we’ll call it the Kindle Scribe 2 to help mitigate confusion.
Most of the details appear to be 95% the same as the first Kindle Scribe, but they changed the front borders from black to white to give it a more paper-like look, and they redesigned the premium stylus pen and did away with the basic stylus.
There are some new software features that will likely get added to the first gen Kindle Scribe too, but the hardware appears to be mostly unchanged.
The Kindle Scribe 2 still has a 10.2″ E Ink screen with 300 ppi, and it has a frontlight with adjustable color temperature. Once again it’s available with 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of internal storage.
They added a new color choice for the Scribe 2 in the form of metallic jade. The stylus is that color too. The tungsten color is still an option as well, same as before.
Unlike the other new Kindles, there’s no mention of any contrast or speed improvements with the Kindle Scribe 2. It seems like all they really changed was the front borders, which seems rather odd.
The press release mostly talks about software improvements. Here’s a quote:
“The new Kindle Scribe offers new experiences for in-book writing and notetaking. With Active Canvas, you can write your thoughts directly in the book when inspiration strikes. Your note becomes part of the page, and the book text dynamically flows around it—if you increase the font size, change the font style, or the book layout changes, the note remains visible exactly where you want it so you never lose any meaning or context. Coming soon, you’ll also be able to write your notes in the side panel and easily hide them when you are done. The notetaking experience is also more powerful with the all-new, built-in AI-powered notebook, which enables you to quickly summarize pages and pages of notes into concise bullets in a script font that can be easily shared—directly within the notebook tab. You can also refine your notes into a script font, so it maintains the look and feel of handwriting while still being legible.”
The Kindle Scribe 2 is now available to pre-order from Amazon. The release date is set for December 4th, 2024. The price has gone up a bit. The 16GB model is $399, the 32GB model is $419, and the 64GB version is $449. The new metallic jade color only appears to be available with 64GB. Like before, there aren’t any ad-supported versions; they are all ad-free (in terms of lockscreen ads, at least).
Kindle Scribe 2 Specs
- 10.2″ E Ink display with 300 ppi.
- Frontlight with warm color temperature control.
- EMR touchscreen; premium stylus included.
- 16GB/32GB/64GB storage.
- Rotation sensor.
- Auto-brightness sensor.
- WiFi: Supports 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz networks.
- Bluetooth for audiobooks and VoiceView screen reader.
- USB-C port, charging cable included.
- Battery Life Estimate: up to 12 weeks for reading, 3 weeks for writing.
- Supported formats: Kindle Format 8 (AZW3), Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; PDF, DOCX, DOC, HTML, EPUB, TXT, RTF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP through conversion; Audible audio format (AAX).
- Dimensions: 196 x 230 x 5.7mm excluding feet.
- Weight: 433 grams.
- Price: $399-$449 at Amazon
Here’s what the new metallic jade color looks like:
OK…. something I’m having trouble discerning is which software updates will be available on the first Scribe. Do you think that the Summary feature may be the only feature that’s exclusive to this new version?
At first glance, I didn’t like the canvas feature….but, I think that might be a good solution to reflow issues, when moving between different sized kindles. And, I do like the Column feature… .so, I hope both of those will be added via update.
I’d expect the 1st Kindle Scribe to get all the same software features since they’re so similar.
Amazon has confirmed that it will.
I think the Scribe 1 is a decent unit IMO. Not much to grab my attention with this latest iteration. Handwriting adjustment to text is sort of cool….but sooner or later that will be on the Scribe 1.
Missed opportunity on all of the 2024 models….page buttons, actual or haptic, like the Voyage.
Still hoping Azon would reconsider customizable fonts, margins and line spacing.
I would’ve been a little upset, after purchasing the Scribe 1 in March, if the new one had a complete redesign in the form factor….maybe thinner and more compact (like Remarkable).
But, as it stands….I agree that it doesn’t look like Scribe 1 users will be missing much at all, if anything.
I’m shocked they didn’t include page buttons on at least one device in the lineup.
“…they changed the front borders from black to white to give it a more paper-like look…” Why can’t this be done on more eReaders! This frustrates me to no end! eReaders are meant to replace books that have predominantly white pages, but nearly all eReaders have black borders. I get the idea that black is chosen as it less distracting, but I want to feel as if I am reading a physical book when using an eReader, and a white border helps in this regard.
Why can’t they make the finally different and interesting color available for the 16 gb? Why force you to have to choose the $400+ version if you want something other than the blah black? Also is the cover they offer like the first Scribe’s version where you had to be careful how you moved it or the device fell out?
Maybe the added color feature takes up more storage.
Yeah, I think making the colored option the most expensive one is pretty lame too, but I’ve never had any problem with my Scribe falling out of the cover—the magnet is pretty strong, even when holding it upside down it doesn’t fall out.
Lou Sevens here- I really like the 2 Scribes I have but would not ever upgrade them if not necessary.
I have found if its not broken, don’t break it.
To me the remarkable felt a little better as a writing item but the Scribe has been a game changer
My main issue with the Kindle Scribe is: Privacy.
Notes, which are often quite personal, are not end-to-end encrypted (like how you can protect Apple Notes for example.)
Amazon can see them, and we all know how Big Tech companies handle user data nowadays… they use it for monetization in whichever way they see fit.
I might buy one and jailbreak it, when a jailbreak becomes available, to prevent the Amazon-cloud integration.