After UPS delivered the new 12th gen Kindle Paperwhite last week, the first thing I wanted to do was compare it to the 11th gen Kindle Paperwhite 5 from 2021 to see if Amazon’s claims of improved contrast and the new Paperwhite being the fastest Kindle ever were true.
After getting the rather annoying setup process over with, I could immediately confirm the better contrast claim was legit after seeing some dark covers load on the home screen; I didn’t even need to directly compare both Paperwhites side-by-side. The black images have a darker, inkier black quality to them than what I’m used to seeing on the Paperwhite 5.
When I did compare both units next to each other, three things jumped out. One, the new Paperwhite is almost exactly the same as the old Paperwhite in terms of the overall design and how it feels in your hand; two, the contrast definitely is better on the new model; and three, the frontlights are very different, especially at the cooler end of the color spectrum.
The frontlight combined with the darker ink makes the screen look subtly nicer on the new Paperwhite. It’s not a huge difference by any means (it never is with E Ink), but it is noticeable, especially when using Dark Mode, and the text seems to cut through better in lower lighting when using regular mode.
Amazon claims the new Paperwhite has 25% faster page turns, and at first that seemed to be true, but then I updated my 11th gen Paperwhite to the latest 5.17.1 software update that was just released, and the page turn speed magically increased to match the 12th gen model. Most actions are a little bit faster on the new Paperwhite, but page turn speed is basically the same now after the software update.
The new Paperwhite has a slightly larger 7″ screen compared to the 6.8″ screen on the Paperwhite 5, but practically speaking the difference is negligible. The Paperwhite 6 is just a few millimeters taller and wider; the difference isn’t really noticeable until you try cramming the PW6 into a cover for the PW5 and it won’t fit.
Aside from the things mentioned above, both devices are basically the same otherwise. There weren’t many changes going from the Paperwhite 5 to the Paperwhite 6, not nearly as many as going from the 4 to the 5, but the screen upgrade is nice, so is the slight speed boost, and at least nothing got worse (that actually happens sometimes). Amazon did increase the price by $10 to $159 for the base Kindle Paperwhite model and $199 for the Signature Edition so that’s not great, but that’s how it goes.
Luke says
Big question is if it finally can match the Voyage screen quality?
Rick says
As I’ve been playing with my new Kindle paperwhite for the past two days, I can’t help but to reflect and go back down memory lane 10 years ago, October 2014 when the Kindle Voyage was released. The sleek and slim premium looking Kindle with tapered edges and haptic feedback page turn sensors. The crisp 300 PPI screen that even 10 years later, no Kindle has been able to match in quality.
As I look side-by-side at the new Kindle paperwhite 6 I can’t help but feel that Amazon is regressing with their Kindle design.. if you would’ve asked me which is the newer product I would easily tell you that the Kindle voyage is the 2024 version aside from a having a micro USB. It looks more premium and more modern.
The Kindle Paperwhire 6 by all means looks just like a basic slab. There are no page buttons, nothing. Just a slab. Sure it has better contrast than the Kindle paperweight 5, yes, it is faster, which is very welcome and it does have the all important USB-C. But aesthetically speaking, it’s boring.
Now for the numerous problems with Amazon. Amazon is eliminating the ability to send to Kindle with a new Paperwhite 6as of now. Amazon is now at war with anyone that likes the freedom to remove DRM and side load personal books on the Kindle device. Kind of the same way the government wants to censor you. Amazon will ruthlessly and mercilessly delete your side-loaded books the moment you go on Wi-Fi. This has happened to me numerous times across many devices.
As a MacBook user the Kindle is now a nightmare to use with its MTP format, my MacBook no longer recognizes it. I have to side load a wonky android file transfer app so that my Kindle is recognized. Just an extra unnecessary tedious step.
Which leads me to my next problem, side-loaded fonts. Just as with the dreaded Kindle Scribe, the Amazon Paperwhite automatically defaults to the Bookerly font when turning off the device or when closing the book and reading another one. It doesn’t matter if you saved your setting, it always defaults back to Bookerly.
Another obvious problem is that the new Kindle Paperwhite has a very yellow hue light. This is drastically yellow as you can see from many reviews. It’s no longer a Paperwhite but a Paperyellow. I myself personally prefer a more sepia toned opaque screen because it’s easier on the eyes, but this goes beyond that and is straight yellow. Vomit yellow..
And of course, another main gripe is that Amazon doesn’t care to revamp nor update its software. We still have the same limited amount of font sizes, we still have limited boldness options for fonts. We still have the same dreaded three line spacing and three margin settings. There’s really no control to personalize your reading experience on a Kindle. This is something that Amazon will probably never fix unfortunately and no matter how many Kindle devices they release in the following years, you’ll never have full control of a perfect reading experience because of its limitations.
As for the new Kindle Paperwhite, it has better contrast, it’s faster and somewhat sharper text than previous Paperwhites. But it still pales in comparison, in every way shape and form to the quality of text and clarity of my Kobo Libra 2.
Claude says
Ah, I should have known. Another Kobo user bashing the Kindle. It’s getting so boring.
Kelin says
No one is forcing you to read.
Chris says
Looking forward to a Kobo Libra 2 v latest Paperwhite comparison. I don’t like the reddish “white” front light on the last round of Kindles and it looks like it’s been fixed this time.
So, now with matching screen sizes it will be interesting to see who has the better contrast and dark mode.