Back in September, B&N started accepting pre-orders for a new limited edition Nook Glowlight 4 in an ocean teal color, and the release date was originally set for November 20th, but it looks like they got them in early because the listing on B&N’s website for the new Nook says it’s in stock and shipping now.
Barnes and Noble also extended their Upgrade Your Nook promotion through the end of November, so you can get 20% off on the new Nook by using coupon code UPGRADE20 during checkout. The wording of promotion makes it sound like you have to own an older Nook to get the discount, but that’s not the case at all. The code works even when you’re not signed in so they aren’t verifying that in any way.
The coupon code takes the price of the new ocean teal Nook down to $119 from $149. Nooks have some faults, but that’s actually a really good price for a 6″ ereader with page buttons and a 300 ppi screen with adjustable frontlight color in 2025.
The weird thing is it’s not actually a “new” Nook; it’s the same Glowlight 4 that B&N released back in 2021. It’s just a different color than the standard version that comes in black, which is also still available for the same price as the new one.
Seemingly, nothing has changed other than the color so there aren’t any hardware or software upgrades with the new ocean teal version. Dedicated ereaders evolve at such a slow pace that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it would be nice if B&N was more committed to software development. I think the software is based on Android 8.1 or some other outdated version.
A B&N rep said new Nook devices will be coming out in 2026 during an interview, so the timing is a bit odd with the release of this one, but they’re probably just trying to come up with an easy way to generate more Nook sales during the busy holiday shopping season. Add a flashy new color and that will give people a reason to buy one.
That’s such a pretty color, but I have zero need for it.