Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2021) review: The best e-reader gets better

Our Verdict

Now that it'south waterproof, the Kindle Paperwhite is the only e-reader you lot demand to know almost.

For

• USB-C charging
• Larger brandish
• Perfectly even backlighting
• Waterproof

Against

• No cellular option
• Another $x price bump

Tom'due south Guide Verdict

Now that it's waterproof, the Kindle Paperwhite is the only e-reader you demand to know about.

Pros

• +

  USB-C charging

• +

  Larger display

• +

  Perfectly fifty-fifty backlighting

• +

  Waterproof

Cons

• -

  No cellular option

• -

  Another $10 price bump

The new Kindle Paperwhite 2021 looks a lot like the previous one, at to the lowest degree from a distance. Amazon isn't trying to re-invent the bike here: information technology's already figured out how to make a Kindle that passes the Goldilocks claiming. And this model, despite being a little pricier, is however only correct for most out in that location.

Amazon breathed new life into the Kindle Paperwhite ($139) by giving information technology a larger display, a screen feature previously exclusive to the high-end Kindle Oasis and a new charging port. This keeps in Amazon's patterns with Kindles. Most of its updates haven't been huge enough to button people to run out and buy one the 2d they're available, but the 2021 Kindle Paperwhite is only like its dad: sitting atop our all-time Kindle list.

Kindle Paperwhite (2021) review: Specs

	Kindle Paperwhite (2021)
Price	$139.99
Display size	six.8-inch
Resolution (points-per-inch)	300ppi
Storage	8GB
Bombardment life	Up to 10 weeks (claimed)
Dimensions	vi.ix 10 4.ix 10 0.3 inches
Weight	7.2 ounces
Ports	USB-C
Wireless charging	No
Extras	Display warmth settings

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2021) review: Price and configurations

While I'1000 not happy to encounter that the Paperwhite costs more than than it used to, the Kindle Paperwhite 2021 starts at $139.

Every bit happened with the 2018 Kindle Paperwhite, the 2021 Kindle Paperwhite is $x more than than it was earlier.

The Kindle Paperwhite shipped on October 27, 2021.

(Image credit: Henry T. Casey)

The default Paperwhite comes with 8GB of storage (same as the 2018 model), and  Amazon is still charging $20 to upgrade to an advertizing-gratis experience (which bumps you up to $159. Thankfully, Amazon is no longer calling these ads "special offers." I'd take this upgrade 10 times out of 10, simply I just hate ads (I even pay for YouTube Premium).

What has inverse, though, is that Amazon'southward no longer offer a model with a cellular modem, the other feature it once offered for an upgrade price. For an extra $fifty, yous can upgrade to the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, which bumps your storage to 32GB, adds automatically-adjusting backlighting and wireless charging. Check out our Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition review for more details.

Actually miss cellular connectivity? Y'all tin find it in the Kindle Oasis, which starts at $249.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2021) review: Design

The Kindle Paperwhite 2021 looks just like most other Kindles, a matte-black trounce encasing an e-ink display. But this year nosotros've got some key differences. Its bezels are smaller, and its screen is larger, going from a six-inch panel to a 6.viii-inch panel.

While the bezel-shrinking helps enable a larger screen, the Kindle Paperwhite 2021 (6.9 x iv.9 ten 0.3 inches) is also slightly larger than the 6.6 10 4.half-dozen 10 0.3-inch 2018 Paperwhite. Information technology's not much heavier, though, going from 6.4 ounces in the previous model to seven.two ounces in the new edition.

(Epitome credit: Henry T. Casey)

The 6-inch entry-level Amazon Kindle (6.3 x four.five x 0.iii inches, 6.i ounces) is smaller and lighter, and the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (6.nine x 4.ix x .3 inches, vii.3 ounces) is nearly identical. The 7-inch aluminum Kindle Oasis (6.3 10 five.6 10 0.3 inches, vi.six ounces) is shorter and wider

Likewise, there'due south the matter of the USB-C port in the 2021 Paperwhite, a moment that could have you lot maxim "finally!" (as I did) or "what?" (as 1 of my relatives did). The motion to this reversible port is a bit of grab-up if you think nigh the Kindle in context of laptops and tablets (save the regular iPad), nigh of which have adopted this port.

(Image credit: Henry T. Casey)

Its arrival is important for primarily one reason: reversible ports mean no fumbling to figure out the "right side up." Amazon isn't touting whatever fast-charging, with claims that information technology can proceeds a total charge in under 2.5 hours with a 9W USB power adapter (the Paperwhite 2018 was rated for a full charge in three hours with a 5W adapter). Oh, and if you lot want wireless charging? That's exclusive to the $189 Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition.

We want to compare Kindles to other e-readers, simply the Nook lineup hasn't been refreshed since the GlowLight three in 2018. We will update this review if B&North or Rakuten (who makes the Kobo e-readers) field a comparable e-reader.

(Image credit: Henry T. Casey)

I almost wonder if the bezels on the Kindle Paperwhite 2021 are likewise small. When I used it, I found myself always having to hold it from the bottom. Gripping it from the now-slimmer side bezel, I constitute myself accidentally actuating the bear on screen controls also oftentimes, and unintentionally highlighting text. That said, my mom (the biggest Kindle user I know) didn't detect the alter to exist difficult to get around, as she keeps her Kindle Paperwhite in a example, which gives her more to concord onto.

This is why I adopt the asymmetrical Amazon Kindle Oasis' design, which has a spot to grip on the side, with page turning buttons. This is highly subjective and personal, though, so your mileage will likely vary.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2021) review: Immovability

Just like the 2018 Kindle Paperwhite the new Kindle Paperwhite (2021) has a waterproof resistance rating of IPX8. And while I could take assumed information technology will piece of work (the 2018 model survived a bath in a bucket of water unscathed), I decided to put it to the examination by dropping the Paperwhite in near five inches of tap water in my NYC flat sink and letting it sit for twenty minutes.

(Epitome credit: Henry T. Casey)

And when I took information technology out? The Kindle Paperwhite 2021 worked as if nada had happened.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2021) review: Display

(Prototype credit: Henry T. Casey)

The Paperwhite's 6.8-inch, 300 ppi display isn't just larger than before, it'due south also more well-lit than its predecessor. The 2018 Paperwhite had a mere five LED backlights, while the 2021 model has 17. So, if y'all ever thought the Paperwhite wasn't evenly lit (the 2015 model had only iv backlights), you lot should check out our photos of the Kindle Paperwhite 2021 in the dark. The entry-level Kindle but has four LEDs, the Oasis has 25 and the Paperwhite Signature Edition also has 17.

Text is, of course, notwithstanding super-crisp, something the Paperwhite hasn't had an issue with for a very long time (the first 300ppi Paperwhite was the 2015 Kindle Paperwhite). The entry-level Amazon Kindle has a 167 ppi screen, and the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition and Kindle Oasis are also at 300ppi.

The perfectly evenly lit Kindle Paperwhite 2021 in the dark (Prototype credit: Henry T. Casey)

As you can see higher up, the lighting is pretty perfectly even. I tested this out at lower settings, at around 5 ticks on the Brightness meter, and saw that evenly-lit light continue.

The Kindle Paperwhite 2021'south biggest new screen feature (not counting the increased size) is for Display Warmth. Not to be confused with a blue light filter, this setting lets yous modify the colour of the LED low-cal to an bister hue. This characteristic (seen in the pricier Kindle Oasis), isn't meant to assistance yous autumn asleep faster or annihilation like that (though you can schedule when it turns on), just just as an aesthetic choice.

(Epitome credit: Henry T. Casey)

The ane off matter that nit-pickers may notice is that there'south a small gap between the screen and the bezel, showing that the display is inset. Information technology's not a huge deal, though I'll note that the reMarkable 2 has a much smaller gap.

Reading a department of the emotionally taxing The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel van der Kolk while exterior, I noticed that the Paperwhite's brandish is however suitable for reading in directly sunlight.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2021) review: User experience and bonus features

(Epitome credit: Henry T. Casey)

Amazon's made small changes to the Kindle Os interface, and they feel similar they're for the meliorate (some change-averse users will probable popular up to say otherwise). The habitation screen is now divide betwixt "Home" and "Library" sections, with the onetime showing a sample of the latter, forth with your reading lists and content that Amazon'south algorithms deem worthy of recommending to you.

The Search bar at present takes up much more of the meridian of the screen, but information technology'south no longer in the bill of fare that appears while reading a book. A new menu "drawer" here contains settings for Plane mode, Sync, Bluetooth and Dark Manner (introduced in 2020).

(Image credit: Henry T. Casey)

One of our long-term problems with the Kindle has been how much information technology pushes its social extras on yous. So, while setting up the Kindle Paperwhite 2021, I was happy to see that Amazon places an selection to disable Goodreads (its social network for readers that isn't well-liked) up front end. At this window, I just tapped "No Thanks" and got to experience the rest of the Kindle without using it.

I don't think I'm alone in that I want my Kindle for reading and aught else. There's likewise that page of "about this book" text that pops upwards and gets in the way. You lot can get rid of this by opening an ebook, borer the Font choice at the tiptop of the screen, tapping More than and turning off About This Volume. I also disable Pop Highlights, because it feels weird to have a shared reading experience.

(Image credit: Henry T. Casey)

Amazon's notwithstanding letting y'all listen to sound books via Bluetooth on your Kindle (though this seems more than like a thing people would employ their smart phones for), and information technology's likewise including its "experimental" web browser, which has never actually worked right, and nonetheless does not.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2021) review: Bombardment Life

The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 2021 has battery life to spare. Amazon claims it should concluding up to 10 weeks, but that's based on 30 minutes of reading per day, with Wi-Fi off and brightness set to 13 out of 24.

Based on my testing, I think they're not far off. I knocked out most 1.5% of battery life per xxx minutes of testing, with Effulgence fix at multiple levels and Wi-Fi on. Doing the math, I'd probably hit empty a few days before than that 70-mean solar day estimate. But we don't all read in the same weather, or for the aforementioned amounts of time, so this is a large case for the phrase "your mileage may vary."

Either way, even if information technology ran out of a charge in 9 weeks and not ten weeks, the Kindle Paperwhite has impressive endurance.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2021) review: Content

If you're looking for a book, the odds say that Amazon has it. And we're not surprised. Since it's ane of the biggest online retailers, most would probably want the gamble to exist in front of that audience.

And while Amazon doesn't publish numbers, estimates suggest information technology's at around ix meg titles.

Kobo boasts that information technology offers "6 meg eBooks and audiobooks," while Barnes and Noble, on the other mitt, claims it has "millions of eBooks."

(Prototype credit: Henry T. Casey)

Amazon's also got Kindle Unlimited, a $9.99 Netflix-for-books with "over 2 million titles and thousands of audiobooks." They even throw in three magazine subscriptions.

In example y'all're not made of coin, the Kindle Paperwhite however supports borrowing books from public libraries for gratuitous, using the Overdrive service.

Prime members can have reward of First Reads (formerly Kindle First), which grants early on admission to editor's picks. Members too tin can admission two gratuitous Kindle books per month, and become access to discounted print editions.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2021) review: Verdict

Small updates are interesting, especially when they come with a price bump. This Kindle Paperwhite (2021) review shows that this is such an update, with a slightly larger screen, USB-C charging and display warmth in a model that costs $10 more than its predecessor. The previous Kindle wasn't accused of beingness too small, having the wrong port or not having enough brandish options.

And then, we're guessing that the Kindle Paperwhite 2021 may be more than of a affair people buy to supercede a Kindle that's hit the finish of its life than one people rush out to buy at present. Oddly, though, Amazon isn't offering it with cellular connectivity, something older models are losing.

Don't want to spend so much money? The $89 Kindle is your best culling, though y'all're trading away text crispness with its 167ppi display. And if yous desire a display that takes away the trivial with brightness settings, the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition packs that and wireless charging, but it costs an extra $50, at $189.

Lastly, if yous're similar me and recall the slimmer bezels make for bad-mannered handling, there's always the $249 Kindle Oasis. That extra $110 is a lot when nigh of its other once-sectional features (such equally auto-effulgence and brandish warmth) are found in the 2021 Kindles.

This all adds up to the king keeping the throne: the Kindle Paperwhite (2021) is still the all-time Kindle for near people — just with a little more screen to love.

Henry is a senior editor at Tom's Guide covering streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the past vi-plus years. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He's also covered the wild world of professional wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other manufacture veterans.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/amazon-kindle-paperwhite-2021

Posted by: williamsbour1950.blogspot.com

Share this post