Amazon Kindle Colorsoft Review 2024

When I’m not gaming and working, I’m sprawled out on the couch with my cats with a Kindle in my hand. Years ago I was dead set against having one, but I’ve since changed my tune. They are lightweight and I can hop on a plane and take my library with me without lugging a stack of books. But until the Amazon Kindle Colorsoft launched last month, I’d only tasted color E Ink on non-Amazon devices.

Now that the Colorsoft is finally here, I put it to the test to see how this Kindle stacks up against its historic wins with the Paperwhite range – and how it stacks up against the Kobo Libra Color, its main competitor in the market for color e-readers . And of course whether it is worth that sky-high price tag. Here are my thoughts after testing, from design to performance and more.

Best for:

• Enjoy your comics on the go
• Color coding your notes in your ebooks for studying

Skip if:

• You don’t want to spend nearly $300 on an e-reader
• You don’t want to troubleshoot QA issues (right now).

Amazon Kindle Colorsoft: Design

Is this a new Kindle?

At first glance, Amazon’s latest e-reader doesn’t look like a brand new Kindle. When I put it next to my 11th generation Kindle Paperwhite, I have a hard time finding a difference between the two when they are turned off completely. Amazon clearly felt the design is solid enough to keep it largely the same. I say ‘usually’ because once both devices are turned on, the Colorsoft comes alive with color as it boots up. That’s partly thanks to an E Ink oxide backplane, which is how the Kindle gets its color.

That said, compared to my 11th generation Kindle, the Amazon Kindle Colorsoft feels a little heavier. For those who absolutely want color it won’t matter, but I’m not convinced it’s worth the extra weight. As a tech journalist, my priority is to travel as light as possible while on the road, but your mileage may vary. I also miss the days of the buttons on the Kindle Oasis, but that’s a feature Amazon has pushed aside in favor of the touch screens. It’s not the end of the world, but I miss it.

Amazon Kindle Colorsoft: Screen

Let’s talk about that yellow line

The E Ink oxide backplane is similar to its E Ink siblings in that the backlight is fully adjustable. If you want bright light, you can set exactly two bars. The same goes for warm light, and both can adjust up to twenty different levels for a wide range of combinations. But there is another factor involved in this color display: color saturation. Luckily, Amazon kept it simple, with two options available: Standard and Vibrant. Chances are, depending on your preference, you’re clearly Team Standard or Team Vivid. Personally, I am charmed by the lively style.

But apart from the color display, there is another problem with the color display: a yellow gradient line that shines at the bottom of the screen. Personally, I found it barely noticeable while reading, but it is there. I checked with my husband again and asked him if he saw anything at the bottom. He immediately pointed to the yellow area. I didn’t really see it until I stopped The Umbrella Academyand then I could see the gradual shift to yellow at the bottom. Now I can’t not see It.

I’m not sure if my first “I didn’t see it” moment is the result of my eyes failing me or if it doesn’t bother me because I’m just happy to read. It’s worth noting that Amazon has shared that it will soon release a software update to address the issues. The page states: “A small number of customers have reported a yellow band across the bottom of the screen. We take the quality of our products seriously. Customers who notice this can contact our customer service team for a replacement or refund, and we will make the necessary adjustments to ensure new devices will not experience this issue in the future.” It’s also worth noting that at the time of this writing, Amazon has postponed all shipments of the Colorsoft by a week.

Amazon Kindle Colorsoft: Performance

A tough upgrade

There are two cool features about the Kindle Colorsoft: color usage and the upgraded processor. Yes, it’s nice that my books are displayed in color; I love that. But it’s not about showing my book covers in color, both in my library and when the cover screen is sleeping. Comic books are infinitely better on the Colorsoft, simply because they are finally in color. But Kindle takes it a step further, and the software now lets you focus on one comic panel to read at a time if you wish. (You can also zoom in, but you must zoom out before turning a page.)

I’m mixed on this. On the one hand, I love that if I want to zoom in and admire the art of a panel, I can. But on the other hand, the comic book itself is larger compared to the Colorsoft’s display. I also tend to look at the panel as a whole; Because comics are visual in nature, there’s usually a reason why the writers, illustrators, and editors worked together to make a page look a certain way. However, I tend to lean more towards ‘love it’ than ‘hate it’. It’s also worth noting that the comic images load quite quickly when turning pages.

But there’s another reason I’m in the “love it” camp, and again, it has to do with color. Now when I highlight text, I can color code my highlights. I can see this being a huge boon for students who rely on color-coded text to absorb the material. You can also choose from one of four colors, which I found useful.

The color characteristics are strong, but just as strong as Colorsofts’ main competitor, the Kobo Libra Color? To put it bluntly, in a side-by-side comparison the Libra Color is stronger, with better highlights and more detail thanks to the saturation and backlight. Some details are lost in the dark area of ​​the Colorsoft, and the color is too blue, which I assume compensates for the warm light. Kobo just does it better.

Beyond color, Amazon increased page turn responses by 25%. When I first read the news, I was shocked. Why does this matter? Well, it turns out that’s certainly the case. The processor responds so quickly to touch commands like turning pages that my 11th generation Paperwhite feels like a turtle in comparison.

Amazon Kindle Colorsoft: Verdict

Is this necessary?

To be clear: I am I’m not giving up my 11th generation Kindle Paperwhite for this device. Yes, the color is nice and the speed is an advantage. But if I don’t read color comics or books or need additional study features like color-coded notes, then it doesn’t matter to me. I don’t need it, especially since my Paperwhite is still going strong three years later.

There is also the cost factor. If I’m going to spend $280 on a color E Ink device, I’d much rather focus on an all-around E Ink device like a Boox or a Kobo. That is not a small amount for an e-reader. While its main competitor has a less robust library (or offerings, for that matter), the Kobo Libra Color offers something Colorsoft can’t for a similar price: stylus compatibility. That’s huge. (It’s also important to note that the Kobo Libra Color costs $220, so $60 cheaper.)

And of course there is now the big yellow elephant in the room. If you want to spend money on this device, wait a few weeks for the software update to launch (and when it does, I’ll update this story). There are several reports of QA issues at this time, so it is best to wait until they are resolved. It’s also worth noting that some Reddit users have also reported issues with the 12th generation Kindle Paperwhite.

If you need a color e-reader for any reason, it may be worth purchasing Colorsoft, especially to stay within the Kindle ecosystem. But if you don’t read comics or color-code your texts for schoolwork, opt for its grayscale brother, the Paperwhite.

How I tested the Amazon Kindle Colorsoft

I spent over a week with the Amazon Kindle Colorsoft reading a variety of book genres, including novels, comics, cookbooks, and more. I evaluated its speed, ease of use, color saturation and more. I considered a variety of readers in my testing, from the casual reader to comic book fans to students and others.

Additionally, I compared it to two other devices, my own personal Kindle Paperwhite (11th generation) and the Kobo Libra Color, to see how it compares to its predecessor and to the competition. I checked the speed, performance, and display to gauge how it compared.

I also took a serious dive into the QA issues (double-checking real customer reviews on both the Amazon store page and Reddit) that currently plague the device. I also looked for Amazon’s responses to customer concerns and combed the page for any updates, which is where the delayed shipping timeline comes from.

My expertise

I’ve been involved in technology journalism for more than five years, including about a year as consumer technology and electronics editor at Forbes Vetted. In addition to working with home entertainment, such as testing the best gaming TVs, I’ve also tested most of the latest smart wearables on the market today, from the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses to the Apollo Wearable and more.

My Tech Gear Testing Time caters to everyone from the folks who want a basic e-reader to catch up on the latest casual beach novel to full-blown bookworms who spend every waking moment soaking up literature. For this story, I focused on several features of the Amazon Kindle Colorsoft as they apply to both black and white text and colorful images, including rating the screen, performance, and more.

When I’m not testing the latest e-reader, I’ve been spending a lot of time testing the latest mobile devices. I delved deep into the Apple ecosystem with the iPhone 15 Pro and tested many Android devices, including the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Google Pixel 8. Most recently, I tested the Google Pixel 9. Pro and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra.