Why the 2024 Signature Edition Kindle Paperwhite is the Best Ever

Translator’s note: This article was originally written by Anthony Karcz, who summarizes the advantages of the latest Signature Edition Kindle Paperwhite in terms of design, screen performance, battery life, responsiveness, and the overall reading experience, and explains why it surpasses the Kindle Colorsoft as the best e-book reading device of all time. E-book reading device worth buying. This article was translated by The Book Companion and originally published on November 19, 2024 on the Forbes website.

I’ve been using the Amazon Kindle to read e-books for decades and had thought that Amazon2024 款 Signature 版 Kindle PaperwhiteIt won’t wow me anymore, however I was wrong.

Over the years, the high-end Kindle reading device has gone through a number of evolutions – the screen size has gotten bigger, the clarity has improved with advances in e-ink technology, page-turn buttons have been added (and then removed), waterproofing has been added, and so on. For the Kindle Paperwhite, this year marks its first update in three years, and while the changes are minor, collectively they bring significant improvements.

So what’s new in the 2024 Signature Edition Kindle Paperwhite? How does it differ from the 2021 model? What makes it so impressive (and why don’t I recommend the Kindle Colorsoft)? Let’s take a look.

best color scheme

Yes, it may only be a minor cosmetic change, but the Signature edition of the Kindle Paperwhite does have more charm in its color scheme. While black, green, and pink are common color schemes for all the latest Kindles, the Signature edition features a bright metallic look.

Amazon sent me this oneMetallic Emerald GreenThe device is very eye-catching, and with the black fabric case (which is great, but I kind of miss the cork case from the 2021 model), you can’t help but look at it a little more, and even want to pick it up and read something right away. Let’s be honest, sometimes we all need a little extra motivation to put down our phones and pick up a good book (or magazine or comic).

▲ Left: Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (model 2024), Right: Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (model 2021)

The Kindle Colorsoft is completely outclassed at this point, as it only comes in a monotonous metallic black color scheme. It’s just too boring!

Bigger screen

▲ Left: Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (2024), Right: Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (2021)

The big draw of the latest Kindle Paperwhite (including the Signature edition) is the larger screen size. Upgrading from the previous 6.8 inches to 7 inches is not a huge change, but it’s enough to display an extra line of text on a regular page. Especially for people like me who are used to making their fonts larger, it’s always nice to have a screen that can accommodate more text content.

Although the ppi value hasn’t changed, 300ppi is more than enough. There’s no doubt that at this ppi the e-ink screen already looks exactly like text on paper. I would say that any increase over 300ppi is just a marketing gimmick.

The screen is still “just” black and white, which is probably a good thing considering the problems encountered with the Kindle Colorsoft display. The Kindle Paperwhite’s 7-inch screen is a bit small to read a high-quality color comic on, and while it’s nice to see color book covers at the library, I don’t think it’s worth the extra $80 (of course, some people will disagree with me). Another issue is that the Kindle Colorsoft’s resolution drops to 150ppi when viewing color pages, which is a clear compromise compared to black and white pages.

The screen still maintains a glare-free design, so even reading in sunlight is as easy as reading a physical book.

Longer battery life

Both versions of the new Kindle Paperwhite have a two-week longer battery life, making it Amazon’s longest-lasting Kindle to date.This is another compromise Kindle Colorsoft made for the new feature, which was shortened to just eight weeks because of the introduction of the color screen.

I often read before bed, which means that even if the Kindle is low, I’m still likely to forget to charge it when I wake up in the morning, and it’s certainly nice for me to be able to extend the charging cycle to 3 months. Thankfully, both the base and Signature versions of the Kindle Paperwhite charge very quickly.

▲ Purchased the wireless charging dock yet? The Signature Edition Kindle Paperwhite supports wireless charging!

Of course, I could have purchased a Kindle wireless charging cradle to solve this problem since the Signature edition supports wireless charging. You can also just put it on a Qi wireless charger to enhance the charging experience.

Faster response

Speaking of enhancements, the latest Kindle Paperwhite device is 20% more responsive …… I did test it, but it’s hard to notice where this enhancement manifests itself. Page turning speeds are virtually lag-free. All I can say is that the latest Signature version feels smoother overall than the 2021 model.

All those non-reading related actions that tend to lag, like browsing the library or loading the Kindle store, are now very smooth. As for opening a new book, maybe it’s a little faster? But after all, it was only supposed to take a few seconds, and shortening it by a second hardly feels like it.

I’d say that a faster processor keeps the device smooth over long periods of time. In particular, if Amazon intends to keep up the pace of hardware updates for a couple of years at a generation, it’s definitely good to have faster speeds, even if you won’t be able to use them for a while.

Better experience

The Signature edition of the Kindle Paperwhite is still waterproof, which is certainly good news for those of you who like to read by the pool or on the beach (or for those of you who always accidentally spill your tea while reading). Also, if you’re an audiobook lover, the Signature edition has twice as much storage space as the base Kindle Paperwhite (of course, you can try to fill its storage space with regular ebooks, but I haven’t done that so far).

The Signature Edition Kindle Paperwhite also features automatic brightness adjustment. If you’ve ever opened an eBook reader in a dimly lit bedroom with the brightness cranked up to the max, you’re 100% sure to miss this feature. It also supports a warm light eye protection mode for nighttime reading, making it an ideal bedtime companion.

To summarize, I would definitely be lost without my Kindle. It’s my weekly electronic device, and I read 90% of my books on it (I was going to say “literature,” but honestly, the Kindle is the perfect device for sneaking Sarah J. Maas’s “Romance Novels” on airplanes without anyone noticing). (I was going to say “literature,” but honestly, the Kindle is the perfect device for reading Sarah J. Maas’ “Romance Novels” on an airplane without anyone noticing). Every time Amazon introduces a new high-end ebook reader, it always makes my personal top 3 best hardware of the year. This year was no exception.

AmazonSignature 版 Kindle PaperwhiteIt is the best eBook reader you can buy. It provides the ultimate reading experience no matter when, where, or how you read. If you love to read (and buy eBooks from Amazon), this device is undoubtedly a must-have – there’s no better choice.

Original text:Why The 2024 Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition Is The Best Kindle Ever