Back and Better: The Kindle Paperwhite is back, albeit with incremental upgrades

Kindles are synonymous with the e-reader category in India, but their unavailability in recent times have seen Amazon squander some of the mindshare (and market) to Rakuten’s Kobo e-readers. That’s set to change with the launch of the 12^th generation Kindle Paperwhite (2024), an e-reader which refines the Paperwhite formula that made the product such a household name…well, at least in households with voracious bibliophiles. It’s back, it’s better, and you can have it in any color you want…as long as it’s black. 

You see, that’s the thing about the latest Kindle’s launch – it’s available in a single 16GB storage variant in black, and that’s it. So, what’s changed in the Paperwhite since the 11^th gen? It gets a larger 7-inch e-ink display, a smidgen larger than the previous Paperwhite’s 6.8-inch, without a change in overall size – still quite as handy to grab and take everywhere, and slim enough to imperceptibly slide into the smallest of bags. The rear is plastic, which does pick up smudges over time, but it is waterproof with an IPX8 rating.

Yet, it’s not just marginally bigger, it’s a fair bit faster as well. Amazon claims page turns are 25 percent faster, something I personally experienced while quickly flipping through the books in my library. The 300ppi monochrome e-ink display is about as pixel dense as I last remember it, which is to say it’s rather sharp and perfect for a strain-free reading experience – both during the day and after hours. Does it make for a better experience if you’re on a previous Kindle? Not significantly enough from the previous Paperwhite – these things last far too long and too well, defying the industry’s planned obsolescence cycles. If you’re coming from a basic Kindle, you’ll enjoy the faster navigation and sharper screen, that’s for sure. Battery life is as good as ever, lasting well into two-three weeks even if you read for several hours a day. No auto-brightness ambient light sensor, though, which would dim the screen automatically in lower light. 

While I welcome the return of the king, the Paperwhite’s absence has seen Kobo launch a number of options, including the similarly priced Clara Color, which not only has a color e-ink display but also allows e-book files to be more easily imported from your PC. As the only Kindle available today in India, the Paperwhite is a pricey fix for people looking to replace lost or broken Kindles. Hopefully, it paves the way for other Kindles – an entry level Kindle, a Colorsoft Kindle with a color e-ink display, and the Kindle Scribe with a stylus and note-taking capabilities – to launch here soon.

Rating:8/10

Price: Rs. 16,999