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Amazon Kindle Colorsoft vs Kindle Paperwhite (2024): What’s the difference?
In This Article
Amazon has just announced the latest additions to its Kindle family of e-readers for 2024.
The new line-up includes the first-ever Kindle with a colour display – the Kindle Colorsoft – and the fastest Kindle Paperwhite yet.
Keep reading to learn how these two e-readers compare.
Price
The Kindle Colorsoft is priced at £269.99 and will be available to buy from October 30 2024, with pre-orders having opened on October 16.
The Kindle Paperwhite (2024) was announced on the same day as the Kindle Colorsoft and is available to pick up right now. The latest Paperwhite model is priced at £159.99 with ads or £169.99 without ads, making it £100-£110 cheaper than the Colorsoft depending on which version you choose.
The Kindle Colorsoft is the only Kindle with a colour display
The Kindle Colorsoft is Amazon’s first e-reader to come equipped with a colour display.
This means you can see book covers in the Kindle Store and your library in all of their glory, view the photos and images within books how they were intended and highlight text in colour to save the passages you want to come back to. You can also choose between standard and vibrant colours if you prefer a certain look.
The Kindle Paperwhite (2024) has the more typical 16-level greyscale display, though it does have the highest contrast ratio of any Kindle and the screen has an adjustable colour temperature so you can read in both bright sunlight and low-lit environments.
The Kindle Paperwhite (2024) lets you turn the page faster
The Kindle Paperwhite (2024), on the other hand, holds the title of the fastest Kindle around.
This means you can quickly swipe through pages and navigate your way around your library when you want to explore other titles with the snappy and responsive device.
The Kindle Paperwhite (2024) boasts a longer battery life
If you rely on your Kindle for entertainment when travelling or during your daily commute, the Kindle Paperwhite (2024) will appeal with its huge 12-week battery life. This is based on 30 minutes of reading per day.
The Kindle Colorsoft has a shorter battery life, which makes sense considering the additional power it takes to display colour pages. A single charge will last you around 8 weeks based on the same 30 minutes of reading a day.
Though shorter than the battery life of the Kindle Paperwhite, this is still a long time, giving you ample time to get through a full novel on a particularly long journey or flight.
Both Kindles can be charged from 0 to 100% in 2.5 hours using a 9W USB-C adapter.
The Kindle Paperwhite (2024) is available in three finishes
Despite the Kindle Colorsoft’s vibrant display, the e-reader itself only comes in one finish. The Metallic Black shade isn’t the most exciting, but the neutral finish should allow the colours on the display to pop against its borders.
The Kindle Paperwhite (2024), meanwhile, comes in three shades, including Metallic Black and the more vibrant Metallic Raspberry and Metallic Jade.
Of course, you can also personalise your Kindle further with a matching or contrasting case.
Early verdict
Both the Kindle Colorsoft and the Kindle Paperwhite (2024) bring key updates to Amazon’s popular e-reader series.
The Colorsoft is undoubtedly the standout release here being the brand’s first color e-reader, but that doesn’t mean you need it. If you aren’t overly fussed about viewing book covers and images in colour, you can save yourself £100 by opting for the Kindle Paperwhite (2024) with its faster page turning and longer battery life.
However, you may want to wait for our full reviews of each Kindle before you make your final decision.
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Hannah joined Trusted Reviews as a staff writer in 2019 after graduating with a degree in English from Royal Holloway, University of London. She’s also worked and studied in the US, holding positions …
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Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
