If you’re a fan of Kindle ereaders, it’s hard not to be disappointed with Amazon as this now looks like it’s going to be the second calendar year in the past four years that Amazon hasn’t released a new Kindle.
Up until 2020, Amazon released at least one new Kindle every year going all the way back to 2009 when the second generation Kindle was released.
Now it looks like 2023 is going to be the second year with no new Kindles released, and that’s not a good sign for the future of Kindle ereaders moving forward.
A lot of people were hoping for a new Kindle Oasis this year, but after four years without any upgrades it looks like the Kindle Oasis 3 is going to be the last of its kind. Hopefully it doesn’t mark the end of “premium” Kindles altogether, but looking across Amazon’s various product lines they clearly have a preference for selling cheap products over nicer products so that may very well be the case.
Some people are going to say that Amazon could still release a new Kindle before the end of the year, but if you look back at the history of new Kindle releases there’s very little chance of that happening at this point in the year.
Amazon has never released a new Kindle in December, and when they do release a new model they usually accept pre-orders for a few weeks leading up to release day, so unless they announce a new Kindle by the end of the month there’s zero chance of a new Kindle getting released before the end of the year.
Last year they released the Kindle Scribe at the end of November, but they announced it back in September and accepted pre-orders up until then.
If they were going to release a new Kindle in 2023, they would’ve announced it by now.
It’s interesting because other ereader companies like Onyx and PocketBook have released a bunch of new models this year, at least a half dozen each, including new models with color E Ink screens. Kobo has only released one new model, though, and it was just minor upgrade to add a warm frontlight to the Kobo Elipsa, so they’re trending in the same direction as Amazon, which isn’t surprising considering Kobo has a tendency to release new models at the exact same time Amazon releases new Kindles to get more exposure.
I’m a big fan of the Kindle Scribe and was glad to see Amazon finally release a large-screen Kindle last year, but a 10-inch notetaking device isn’t going to appeal to as many people as a regular Kindle.
Now people basically have to choose between a cheap entry-level Kindle that’s really basic or a nice but not super nice Kindle Paperwhite from 2021 if they want a new Kindle ereader. The Kindle Scribe isn’t going to appeal to causal readers, and the Kindle Oasis has an outdated screen and an old school USB port, with less storage space than the entry-level Kindle, and yet it still costs almost as much as the Kindle Scribe—it makes no sense.
The Kindle lineup could’ve really benefited from a new premium-level Kindle in 2023 to replace the Oasis, but now we’ll have to wait and hope for something new to come out in 2024.
It’s easy for me. Either they release a successor to Oasis in the near future, or I’ll switch to Onyx Boox. Pocketbook is too slow and Kobo can’t sync sideloaded books between reader and app, which is a dealbreaker for me (even though I own Libra 2 and it’s a nice device, this is the reason why I rarely use it anymore). I need speed, USB-C and wireless syncing…
I have a real concern about the future of the Kindle product line on a greater scale. Amazon has admitted that they take a loss on the hardware, and with all of the cost cutting measures, it is starting to look bleak for the development and sustainability of the product line.
It’s no secret that the Kindle was Jeff Bezos’ pet project, but I don’t believe the new CEO shares that same affection. Unfortunately, it leads me to seriously wonder whether or not these devices will still exist beyond the next 5 years.
I’m pretty sure they will, as Kindles keep people locked in Amazon ecosystem. If they canceled Kindles, they’d force people to go elsewhere and buy books elsewhere. I just think in the future there might be just one Kindle (Paperwhite) for everyone… And maybe previous generation of Paperwhite as a “Basic” model for people who don’t want to spend that much. I don’t think they’ll keep four different models.
They will exist but might only come from China or Europe. Reading books is a niche activity especially in America :
“Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader will fail, Steve Jobs says, because Americans simply don’t read. From The New York Times:
“It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore,” he said. “Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore.””
^that seems to be happening slowly buy surely
“But we must also realize—students, teachers, and laymen alike—that even when we have accomplished the task that lies before us, we will not have accomplished the whole task. We must be more than a nation of functional literates. We must become a nation of truly competent readers, recognizing all that the word competent implies. Nothing less will satisfy the needs of the world that is coming.” –Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren
^That never happened : say hello to the future superpower China.
A) USA is not the entire world, even though a lot of Americans like to think that. People read and use ereaders worldwide.
B) People still read a lot. The fact that 40% of people doesn’t read means nothing, the other 60% is a huge amount of people.
As much as I love Steve Jobs, this is one of the things he was completely wrong about, as Kindle became a huge success and generated insane amount of money to Amazon.
Amazon has a huge business based on ebooks. If they ever stop making Kindles, people won’t have any reason to buy ebooks from Amazon. For that reason they WON’T stop making Kindles. Plain and simple.
I remember a colleague, about 2010, saying that the Kindle was too good and Amazon had a problem because of that – people would buy once and only replace when broken, which is what I have done.
She may well have been prescient … after the first PaperWhite the improvements have been small and, I suspect, irrelevant to most people. How far can a single-use device be taken? The suggestion that a single-use device might literally become a single device, or possibly two, is plausible.
Buy books (mostly the free ones), books magically load into Kindle via wifi, read books. That’s the extent of my knowledge and tech ability. I’d be all for a Kobo Sage for pretty ideal screen size and buttons but I don’t know how to read my 5000 Amazon books in a Kobo. In an ideal world an Oasis 4 will arrive with a proper HxW ratio and ~1.5″ larger screen, retaining buttons. Then I’ll have the ideal Kindle. Or I’ll magically become a savant and do what I want with a Kobo Sage.
Calibre
And noDRM
I continue to want the Scribe, but I’m well aware I would seldom use it. While I read during the day, I basically read all night (I usually turn off the light at around 5 AM. The Scribe seems to be too large to hold in bed (and I use cases). So, I use – and love – the Signature. The a-symmetry of the Oasis turns me off. I also don’t like page-turn buttons. I’m able to hold my Lnwith my right hand and use my right thumb to swipe.
I have no problem reading on the Scribe, for hours on end, whether in the bed or on the couch. Non fact, it’s brilliant, and I can’t imagine going back to the smaller format.
The weight is not a problem for anyone who has ever read a physical book in bed. 🙂
This is a tad disheartening. Kindles are what I can afford.
I think it’s only a matter of time before an 8 inch Oasis is released. Amazon will offer page turn buttons on at least one of their Kindle models. Only reason it won’t be released this year is that they’re still trying to bang out Scribes and releasing a new oasis right now so quickly will cut into their Scribe margins. I’m thinking 2025 for a new Oasis.
By the way, the Kindle basic is atrocious. Cheap, flimsy, and a terrible washed out screen. Three exchanges, same result. Garbage in comparison to my PW3. I can’t believe Amazon would release such mediocrity. I think Amazon should release a new basic model in 2024 going back to the PW3 iteration with USB-C.
Either that or a premium 6 inch Kindle e-reader. I don’t know why small has to be correlated with basic and cheap
Exactly! I have Oasis 3 for reading at home and I’d love to have small 6″ Paperwhite with warm light… Unfortunately Paperwhite 5 is as big as Oasis and Basic doesn’t have warm light… I just don’t get their thinking about this. Why no small premium reader, if that was what was selling so well for past decade…
I won’t shed tears. Kindles were my first loves, but today it is Kobo, and in 5 years it will be Onyx. I want only 10 inch screens now. I can’t go back to even 6.8 inch ones.
I think it will be hard to beat the Scribe without adding color. I just bought a new Scribe this year, and I appreciate knowing I have the best Kindle available without another better one coming along shortly after.
I do not know what a Scribe or a Onyx or a Kobo is but l sure am glad to own a 2018 Kindle! I only have just over 200 books on my Paper white Kindle and re-read many of them. My only peeve is l could strangle the moran who decided to have a so called update in 2023 and in the process completely messed up my library which was done MY WAY..!!