When Amazon first announced the new Kindle Oasis for 2019, they dropped a few subtle hints in the press release about it having an upgraded E Ink screen.
According to reports, the new screen technology was supposed to improve the E Ink refresh rate for faster page turns and quicker loading of menus and such.
On the product page for the new Kindle Oasis it says it uses the “latest e-ink technology” and “next generation e-paper” but they fail to elaborate any further.
I’ve been testing the Oasis 2 and Oasis 3 side-by-side and there is absolutely no discernible difference in page turning speed, book opening speed, or menu loading speed.
Perhaps they still need to activate the speed improvements via software, but at this moment there is no noticeable difference with the screen on the new Oasis compared to the last one.
Occasionally one is slightly faster than the other to load something but not on a consistent basis.
Both have the latest available software installed (5.12.1 for the Oasis 2 and 5.12.1.1 for the Oasis 3).
Additionally, I can’t see any difference in text clarity or contrast either. Granted my eyes aren’t as good as they used to be, but with the frontlights off they look like the exact same device. The Kindle Voyage still has better contrast with slightly darker text and a lighter background than any other Kindle, all generations of the Oasis included.
The warm light definitely helps make the screen look better on the new Kindle Oasis, but as far as any other screen improvements I’m just not seeing it.
Thanks for the info. Even less reason now to get the Oasis 3. My Oasis 2 is still working perfectly well and I already splurged on the new Nook last month. Might have been tempted by better contrast, although I’m quite satisfied with the previous Oasis in this regard too.
May I suggest pairing the Kindle Voyage with a specific font by Linotype called “Galliard E-Text”. Yes it’s extremely expensive at $250 for the font family but at a Boldness level of 3 on the Voyage it is pure e-reasing bliss.
There are several excellent free fonts available, adjusted for eink by volunteers. No need to cough up $250 for a single font. My favorites are CharisSIL Modified Larger and DejaVu Serif Eink.
I’ve installed the Galliard E-Text Family, but only one shows up when choosing custom fonts. Any idea why?
I’m not sure how it ships, but if you put a whole folder in there, you need to move the files into the Kindle’s font folder individually.
I like the look of Galliard – I enjoy Charter and Iowan on the Oasis – Other premium ones that i find good are Swift Neue LT and Milo or Lexicon.
You cant compare free fonts to polished professional quality fonts.. I have also tried the Charis Modified larger font by J-Wolf over at mobileread and if you think that is good then I feel bad for you. You are missing out. I also tried DejaVu and I’d rather not comment.
Well, those two are good enough for me. I’m not going to pay the Oasis price for a font.
Your cheating yourself but again most people are cheap. Its a beautiful experience thats all I’ll say. I could eat burritos every day but I definrely rejoice a nice filet migñon. I just point the path, few will follow. Riches aren’t for everyone.
Most people spend their money on things that are important to them. A font isn’t it, not for me. And professional doesn’t necessarily mean quality. Truly horrible messes are made by professionals and superb, high-quality things are made by amateurs every day.
OK then don’t knock it until you try it. If you’d rather spend your money on burritos then Filet Mignon thats your problem. But dont say a burrito suffices just because your too cheap to drop cash on better meat. Cheap people always justify why their Accord is good enough even though they have never driven a Ferrari. May I suggest reading MJ Demarco tobget out of that second class mentality.
I’m perfectly happy in my second-class mentality. There are far more important things in life than luxury goods. Which is a bit hypocritical, of course, given that I have an Oasis.;) But my electronics are the only expensive things that I own. On purpose.
Besides, if everyone followed your advice and bought Ferraris instead of Accords, wouldn’t that make an Accord far more rare and elitist than a Ferrari? I guess the snobs would quickly start to buy Accords then, to set themselves apart from unwashed masses.:)
I just received oasis 3. This is the best most evenly lighted screen I’ve ever seen. I’ve tried every kindle and a few kobos. They all have some some uneven lighting issues. The oasis 3 is nice and light and has great page turner buttons.
However my problem with it, it is very slippery and hard to comfortably hold with one hand even with my strap I use on my paperwhite.
Bottom line I am sticking with my paperwhite 3.
An Accord is plenty good enough. If I had a Ferrari I would still rock my $13k motorcycle most days. A Ferrari would be a waste Maybe his thing isn’t fonts. I don’t even need or want custom fonts. It’s just not my thing. I don’t knock what people spend their money on unless they can’t afford it and I don’t knock what people save money on.
Choice of font is an extremely individual thing. I checked out your “Galliard E-Text” font and for me personally, it is truly abysmal. But then I can’t stand fonts with those slanted serifs.
Totally agree. I don’t kike it at all too. Bookerly and ember are eay better and way more “professional” then this. Personally I don’t like many eink specific fonts aside from rojarivo
Ewww!!! slanted serifs!
Don’t like Galliard Etext either. Adobe Garamond, now there’s an exquisite font for the Kindle Oasis…
Since the Galliard E-Text font is very expensive, I downloaded the Galliard BT font and tried it out with Moon+Reader on my Likebook Mars. The spacing between letters seems a bit too tight, and the commas and question marks looked weird. Checking ITC Galliard eText, I could see that it had the same weird commas and question marks.
Both ITC Galliard eText and CharisSIL Modified are versions of Matthew Carter fonts with adjustments made for reading with e-ink. I used to use CharisSIL Modified a lot. There is a newer version called Chareink. Both are very legible fonts, though they do have an unusual looking lowercase g. This, though, is due to Carter’s original Charter design, not to Wolf.
My first ereader used Georgia, a Matthew Carter font designed from the ground up for reading on computer screens. It looked really good at the low PPI this device had, but it has not looked as good at higher PPIs.
Nowadays, I mainly use Bookerly, a font Amazon had made from the ground up for reading on e-ink screens. Google’s Literata has also been designed for ereading, though I generally prefer Bookerly.
While trying other fonts on Moon+Reader, I found myself very happy with Lora. This is the Google font I chose to use on one of my websites. This is a beautiful, legible font, and it’s free.
Curious but how did you try Galliard BT for free? Did you Pitate it?
Note that Galliard BT is not the same as ITC Galliard. Many proprietary fonts have legal clones, and I looked for a Galliard clone. You can find Galliard BT on various free font sites if you do a web search for it.
If the Kindle Oasis 2 uses the latest eink technology, the so does the Oasis 3.
Marketing wizardry…
LOL
No difference with the eye test. How about super slow mode video test?
I bought oasis 2 last month although I have kindle paperwhite 2, working perfectly fine except the battery which is draining quickly lately. I don’t know whether it’s just me but I found the contrast on paperwhite (6th gen) to be better than Osis 2. The text is blacker on paperwhite. Are sunken screens better than flushed screens??
I have the Kindle fire 10 inch, and the font is too small even at the largest setting. Is there a way I can use a different font and get a bigger size? I just want something simple to read. I purchased a fire before the oasis’s came out and they are cheaper, and I like the option to go online if I want, even though I usually do not use it. It is usually googling if I do.
Do you have especially poor eyesight? When i use the Kindle app, which i suppose is the same as what kindle fires have, i can make all fonts ridiculously large, larger than “large print” books, for sure. on my 10 inch iPad, Ember Bold’s capital E is 0.46875 inches tall, and on my s10+ phone it’s around 0.25 inches tall (this is therefore larger than 18 point, the standard size of big print). maybe check tutorial videos to see if you’re setting the font correctly? or maybe try tech support.
I always thought that the Oasis 2 was massively inferior to the PW3, which was inferior to the Voyage which was massively inferior to the $99 Kobo Clara HD. Where does this put the atrociously overpriced $250 Oasis 3?
I returned mine today. No difference between Oasis 2 and 3 except the warmer light, that I don’t need because I cannot read eInk in the dark due contrast issues.
If I put the light too high to see well, then it hurts my eyes does not matter amount of “warmess”. Currently using the new iPad mini with black background (yes, not black enough to be completely black) with creme text at star reading and brown later).
You are totally trippin. I have Galliard eText and it is nothing special. Totally not worth the money.
Kova4a – Really you have it and its nothing special? Somehow I don’t believe you. If so, it baffles me how you’d drop that kind of money on a font that wasnt “special”
Because piracy exists and people try things
One thing I can’t stand is thieves Of that’s the case the moderator should ban this disgrace of a human being. And still dont believe they tried it
The beauty of piracy is it allows users to try, and expose, fraudulently hyped products that hide their mediocrity behind high prices. People that spend a lot of money on something don’t tend to advertise their regret for fear of looking silly. Pirates are immune to that scam.
I also tried this font that you’re clearly promoting, and yeah, its nothing special. Certainly its not worth any non-incidental amount of money.
I return to Chareink having happily not been scammed. You, clearly, rely upon the sale of this mediocre font. I feel bad for you for that.
Here you go https://i.postimg.cc/903BPBBC/IMG-20190730-032234.jpg
So you did Pirate it. Still thats a beautiful font, try it on The Voyage as mentioned and get back to me.
Why would I use it on a voyage when both mu Kobo aura one and nook glowlight 3 have better screens. I have tried pretty much all ereaders and still nothing beats the screen of the glowlight 3. It has superior contrast and clarity
i can answer why get a kindle, because you own kindle ebooks and they work way better with kindles (don’t you dare waste your money, like i did, on 3g, it’s stupid, unless you’re housebound and baffled by tech). the glow3 sounds interesting, though, at least for side-loading (i know nothing of b&w’s digital selection).
regarding weird fonts to try, ever try ClearView? it’s designed for roadsigns. another ineresting font is sans forgetica, and other dreadful fonts, for the opposite purpose, to slow your reading speed, so as to boost retention.
on the topic of fonts for ebooks, there needs to be a 1 seat 1 household reading only license for fonts, but ebooks are just too obscure for The Machine be coerced into refining its behavior with a recognition of this area of human existence.
Mine arrived on Friday from Best Buy. I like the 3. I think it definitely lights more evenly than the 2, I like the color tint, and does seem a bit more responsive. My daughter is in love with my Oasis 2 so much already which is a huge upgrade from her 3 yr old kindle touch. This girl would definitely rather have a $250 ereader than $400 shoes. Priorities people. 😉
Maybe improvements will show up when you have the reader filled up and navigating the information in the database becomes a hassle?
I don’t know if that’s the case with Amazon, I’m just guessing, some people have reported that problem with Kobos, when the collections start to fill up, a direct search works better than navigating through pages of lists, but you do need to have a big amount of books in the ereader, I haven’t seen it with my aprox. 1500 ebooks.
why do you install so many at once?
I find very little difference. From the first Oasis I have upgraded. Warm screen does not help my eyes.
Screen transition seems faster.
Probably would not have upgraded if I had thought there would be so little
I still have my Voyage. Hard to beat. I think this is my 4th 5th upgrade. I am a believer in Kindle.
I have an 8th generation refurbished Oasis that I bought 18 months ago and couldn’t be happier. Although the first one I got was a little squirrelly with some screen and page turn button issues, I swapped it out well within the 30 days of purchase and the replacement has been chugging along like a champ ever since!
I really like the weight and feel of it without the cover which allows me to become absorbed in whatever I happen to be reading. I much prefer it to my older 7th – generation Paperwhite. My Kindle Keyboard is almost as light, but the technology has been surpassed, although hands down it has the longest lasting battery life. I charge it up every 3 or 4 months when I remember and it still works fine outdoors in the sunlight (no frontlight).
Happy reading!