While rumors swirled that Amazon would release new Kindle e-readers this fall, we didn’t expect it to revamp the entire Kindle line. But that’s exactly what Amazon has done. The company introduced four new Kindles on Wednesday, including its first ever color kindlealong with upgrades to the Entry level Kindlethe Kindle Paperwhite and the Kindle Writer.

Two of these new models – the Kindle (2024) and Kindle Paperwhite (2024) – are available today for $110 and $160 respectively. As for the new color Kindle – Amazon is calling it the Kindle Colorsoft – it will ship on October 30 with a hefty price tag of $280. ​​Meanwhile, the release date of the second generation Kindle Scribe ($400) is scheduled for December 4. I had a chance to play with them all at Amazon’s Kindle launch event in New York. Here are some first impressions.

Check this out: New Kindles for 2024 just announced: hands-on with them all

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New Entry Level Kindle (2024): $110

Let’s start with the cheapest model. That’s the Entry level Kindlewhich Amazon simply calls the Kindle. Weighing just 158 ​​grams and featuring a 300 ppi 6-inch E Ink display, this is the smallest and lightest Kindle in the line. The specifications are similar to those of previous kindlebut you now get slightly faster pages, a higher contrast ratio, and a front light that’s 25% brighter at the maximum setting (Amazon says the light is now as bright as the Paperwhite’s). Additionally, this model now comes in a new matcha green color which I thought looked nice.

Many people prefer e-readers with larger screens, but I like the entry-level Kindle’s more compact size (it fits in a jacket pocket). Since Amazon improved the sharpness of its screen in 2022 with a 300 ppi display and added built-in lighting, it has become a kind of Paperwhite mini (minus a few features) that costs significantly less than the real Paperwhite. That said, at $110 (£95, AU$199), this new model, which has 16GB of storage, costs $10 more than the previous generation Kindle. So the price increases slightly.

New Kindle Paperwhite (2024): $160

For $160 (£160) the new kindle paperwhite also costs $10 more than the previous Paperwhite basic model. But the changes to the Paperwhite seem more substantial. Amazon has reduced the bezel around the screen, so instead of a 6.8-inch diagonal E Ink screen in a similarly sized chassis, you get a larger 7-inch screen. The device itself is also thinner and has 25% faster page turns. Amazon is touting it as the fastest Kindle yet and page turns and refresh rates seem noticeably faster.

Amazon says the screen uses a new oxide thin-film transistor, giving it the highest contrast ratio of any Kindle. This makes text and images stand out a bit more. Even with its slightly thinner size, the new Paperwhite has a battery life of up to three months.

Aside from the larger screen and more advanced lighting scheme than the entry-level Kindle, the Paperwhite is completely waterproof, while the Kindle is not. The Paperwhite also comes in a Signature Edition, which offers 32 GB of storage, wireless charging, and an auto-adjusting front light for $200. Both the standard Paperwhite (16 GB of storage) and the Signature Edition are available in metallic raspberry, metallic jade and metallic black.

The new Paperwhite seems like a legitimate upgrade from the Paperwhite (2021), and I suspect people who used the previous generation Paperwhite will be tempted to make the jump to this model.

Kindle Colorsoft: $280

The Kindle Colorsoft is Amazon’s first ever color Kindle. Many people have been waiting for Amazon to add color to its e-reader line, especially after Kobo introduced the Kobo Clara Color and Kobo Libra Color, which also use new color E Ink displays.

I’m not entirely sure why Amazon chose the name Colorsoft – perhaps because the color looks a bit soft and muted. That said, it brings book covers, graphic novels and comic books to life more than a monochrome screen. But a tablet with an LCD or AMOLED screen offers much richer colors.

It’s worth noting that while these E Ink screens are inherently slower than LCD technology, you can pinch and zoom to get a closer look at images and text (there’s a bit of lag as the screen refreshes). It’s also nice that you can highlight text in different color options instead of just gray.

Based on my first impressions, I think Amazon’s color e-reader offers slightly more vibrant colors than Kobo’s e-readers, as well as better overall performance. But I’ll have to compare them side by side (after getting a review sample) before I can confirm that gut reaction.

The Colorsoft uses the same oxide backplane with custom waveforms as the new Paperwhite. And Amazon says the custom display includes a new nitride LED light guide that, when combined with custom algorithms, enhances color and increases brightness.

In all other respects, the Kindle Colorsoft is comparable to the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, although battery life maxes out at eight weeks instead of three months. In fact, the Colorsoft only comes in a Signature Edition. Priced at $280 (£270), it is also fully waterproof and features wireless charging.

For comparison, the Kobo Libra Color, which also has a 7-inch screen, costs $220. An optional stylus pen is available for the Kobo for $70.

Kindle Scribe (2nd generation): $400

Completing the Kindle line is new Second generation Kindle Scribe. The base model with 16GB of storage costs $400 (£380), or $20 more than the original. It will also be available in 32GB and 64GB configurations. It has three major upgrades.

First, the 10.2-inch E Ink display with 300 ppi has new white bezels and a new flush-front display with a coating that gives the screen a more paper-like feel. Second, the included stylus, Amazon’s new Premium Pen (still without battery), is an upgrade over the original Premium Pen.

The combination of the new on-screen texture and the new nib and improved weight of the pen makes it feel more like writing on real paper. Plus, the new soft-tip eraser gives you the feeling of using a real pencil eraser. And yes, using the new pen and eraser feels more analog.

Amazon is also touting a few new AI-enhanced features for the new Scribe. Although you still can’t directly mark up a Kindle ebook like you can with a PDF file – by that I mean you write notes directly into the ebook like you would write on a paper book and leave them on top Amazon has expanded its eBook annotation features with the new Active Canvas feature, which makes it easy to add handwritten notes to the text and save handwritten comments in the margins. Plus, a new summary feature quickly condenses several pages of notes you’ve saved in a digital notebook into a concise, bulleted script. And last but not least, there’s a new feature that cleans up your handwriting and turns it into a readable, easy-to-read script.

Not everything worked perfectly when I demonstrated some of the new Scribe features. But the new software is still in beta as the device won’t ship until December. I asked Amazon if these new Scribe AI features will be available for the original Scribe. The answer was yes, so that’s good news for anyone who bought the original Scribe.

That’s the new Kindles in a nutshell. Although some of the changes are not major, it is good to see the whole line turning around. And while prices for some new Kindles are quite high, they go on sale at various times throughout the year, including the holidays.

We’ll have full reviews of all the new Kindles in the coming days.