Kindle Scribe Software Update 5.17.3 Adds Side Panel Writing

Amazon has released a software update, version 5.17.3, for both the 2022 and 2024 Kindle Scribe that adds a new way to write notes within ebooks and Word documents, and it also adds a new visually-distracting icon on the screen that can’t be removed (how fun).

Basically, the new feature gives you the option to open a panel along the side of an ebook for writing notes. You can have the panel overlap the text of the book or reflow the text around it so you can view both at the same time.

The size of the panel can be adjusted by two increments in portrait mode and three increments in landscape mode. You can open the panel by pressing a new icon that always appears on the side of the screen in the margin. You can set the icon and panel to appear on the left or right side (it’s always opposite of where you place the writing toolbar).

The only problem with this is the side panel icon is always visible now and I’ve been through all the settings and can’t find an option to hide it anywhere. I had hoped it would go away when hiding the writing toolbar, as that seems logical, but there’s no way to get rid of it as far as I can tell.

Personally, I dislike having icons visible on-screen while reading because it distracts my eye and attention. I really hope they add the option to hide the writing panel icon with the next update. Why force people that don’t even want to use this new feature, or only want to use it sparingly, to stare at an icon on the screen all the time? This is the kind of stuff that makes me wonder if the software developers even use Kindles outside of work.

The previous 5.17.2 update added the ability to write notes directly within Kindle ebooks by way of resizeable boxes that actively wrap the text around them, and now Kindle Scribe owners have the option to write notes on side panel margins too. It’s been over two years since the Scribe was released and it’s finally getting some good in-book notetaking features.

You can download the 5.17.3 update from the Kindle Software Updates page at Amazon, or you can wait for the update to automatically install on its own at some point over the next few days or weeks. There are separate links for the 2022 and 2024 models so make sure to download the right update.

Here are the full release notes:

Version 5.17.3 – January 2025

Here’s what’s new:

Side Panel Margin: You can now open a side panel margin to write notes in eBooks with enhanced typesetting and Word documents. Choose between docked or overlay settings, and tap the caret to adjust its width.

Performance improvements, bug fixes, and other general enhancements.