Not only are the new Kindles substantially more expensive than the previous generation models, Amazon is also no longer including USB cables in the box with the purchase of new Kindles.
Now if you want a USB-C cable to charge your Kindle and transfer files using a computer, you have to purchase a USB cable separately. The USB-C cable that Amazon recommends is only $4.99, but it’s still ridiculous they don’t include one in the box anymore.
What’s even more ridiculous is Amazon doesn’t include a USB cable with their $20 wall chargers either, so even if you buy one of those you still won’t be able to charge your new Kindle unless you already have a USB-C to USB-C cable laying around somewhere.
Amazon’s new Alexa Tablets come with USB-C cables in the box, so why don’t Kindles? Even the cheapest Alexa Tablet with ads includes a 3 foot USB-C to USB-C cable.
Amazon must have received some complaints about Kindles no longer coming with USB cables because there’s this new note on the product page for the 2026 Kindles:
We want you to know
Compatible with a standard USB-C cable. USB-C charging cable is not included in the box. If you need a USB-C cable, you can find one here.
Most people probably won’t think this is a big deal since they already have USB-C cables (I didn’t even notice the new Kindles didn’t come with one because I never bother with unpacking USB cables anymore). But I still think it’s unacceptable to sell a product without giving buyers a way to charge it unless they purchase an add-on accessory or a different product entirely.
Now Amazon is nickeling and diming people for a simple USB-C cable to charge the battery on Kindles. Outside of these new Kindles, I don’t think I’ve ever purchased an ereader that didn’t come with a USB cable.
By contrast, the $69 Xteink X3 comes with a USB card reader, a matte screen protector, 2 magnetic metal rings, a pogo charging cable, and a 16GB microSD card. A new Kindle that costs anywhere from $150 – $320 comes with nothing except a quick start guide.
The problem with not including a good quality USB-C cable is there are a lot of cheap, low quality cables out there that don’t conform to the proper specs. Now Amazon can use the excuse of not using an approved USB cable as a reason to deny warranty claims when problems crop up from using cheap faulty cables.
I have so many cables that I swear they are multiplying.