Detailed review of Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (10th gen) WiFi

When a device or company name becomes synonymous with a product segment, you know that the device or company has been very successful in that segment. For example, people usually say Xerox instead of photocopy, iPod instead of MP3 player and of course Kindle instead of e-book reader. There are some e-book readers available in India, however, if you talk to people about e-book readers, chances are they will use the word Kindle in conversation. One of the most popular Kindle devices we have today is the Kindle Paperwhite Refresh. The new Paperwhite has twice as much storage as its predecessor, it is waterproof and has twice as much storage as its predecessor. Is it worth the upgrade?

In the box

In the box you will find Kindle Paperwhite with a charging cable and a quick starter guide. That’s it. If you need a lawsuit (and I recommend it) you need to invest in it separately.

Key specification at a glance

Storage: 8GB (32GB variant available)
Screen size: 6-inch
Resolution: 300ppi
LED: 5
Waterproof: Yes – IPX8
Wi-Fi: Yes
4G: Only in 32GB variant
Weight: Wi-Fi – 182g, Wi-Fi + Free 4G: 191g
Thickness: 8.2 mm
Price: 8GB variant – Rs 12,999. 32GB variant – Rs 17,999

There is no support for 5GHz Wi-Fi

Construction and design

The first thing that comes to mind when you wear the new Kindle PaperWhite is compact and strong. The e-reader has a plastic back with a rubberized finish that gives it a good grip. You have a 6-inch display on the front, with a thick border all around, and running devices to lower the bezel, I’m happy to have a paperweight bezel because it makes it easier to hold the Kindle for long reading. It’s not too heavy and can fit in a jacket pocket. Below is the microUSB port with your power button and that’s it.

The display seems to be able to withstand a few scratches and I haven’t scratched the display since I’ve been using it for weeks. That said, I recommend you keep it a case for longevity. When it comes to design, the new Paperweight is indistinguishable from its predecessor, which is not a bad thing at all. You can use the touchscreen display to turn the pages and I personally want it to have bezel page turners like the Kindle Wise. Not sure how this will affect the price of the device, but it would be nice to have it.

The biggest change with the new Paperwhite is that it is waterproof. It is IPX8 rated, which means it can survive up to 60 minutes in water up to 2 meters deep. If you take it with you to the swimming pool or want to read in the bathtub, you can rest that the device will not be damaged if it accidentally falls into the water.

The 2018 Paperwhite looks and feels the biggest change in water resistance just like its predecessor.

Display

The 6-inch Kindle Paperwhite has a great e-ink display. It’s crisp and bright which is important. The 6-inch display has a pixel density of 300ppi and has 5 LEDs that can give you a bright uniform reading experience. There is no light sensor to automatically adjust the brightness which is a bummer. So, when you move from falling in sunlight to the darkness of your bedroom, you need to adjust the brightness manually. One feature that has translated from its more expensive siblings is the ability to reverse the black and white colors. This is a feature that many will appreciate because it helps to read in the dark.

The Kindle has a touchscreen that is highly responsive without any gaps. Comfortable and touch-responsive to type QWERTY keyboard layout, enter your Wi-Fi password, etc. to search books.

Overall, the new Kindle Paperwhite display is a treat to read. The pixel density makes the text sharp, the brightness works well for reading sunlight and pitch darkness. Being able to reverse the black and white colors is a great option for those who want it and overall, the Kindle Paperwhites display is effective for what you want to do, give a good reading experience.

Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Oasis

UI

If you’ve used Voyage or Oasis in the past (our review of the oasis here is red), you should be at home with the UI. The home screen shows you three of your books with rows of recommendations at the bottom You can access the entire library of your Amazon Kindle books or view locally stored books or navigate the store to buy a new book. You can log in to your Goodreads account to keep track of your favorite books and genres.

When reading a book, you can simply select a word to see what it means, use Amazon’s X-ray feature to identify the characters in the book, and more. Simply put, it’s easier to have a Kindle with you than a real book, a dictionary, and an encyclopedia (Game of Thrones?) About the series you’re reading.

The Kindle Paperwhite also comes with 8GB of storage instead of 4GB (which was in the previous genre). About 6GB out of 8GB is available for use which is a lot. You can carry thousands of books with you with only 6GB of space available so don’t worry about it.

Audible support, but sadly not in India

The biggest addition to the new Kindle Paperwhite is support for Audible audiobooks. If you have an audible audiobook, you can pair a pair of Bluetooth headphones with the new PaperWhite and listen to it. Sadly, the feature is not active in India which is a push. This is very sad because Amazon has officially launched support for Audible in India and this could be an ideal step to launch Audible with Kindle in India. The company did the same thing with the oasis – the audible support in India was removed when the reader was launched.

Battery life

As an e-book reader, we can expect some crazy long battery life for the device. Amazon says the device could last a few weeks of use and we agree. Read about an hour a day and depending on the brightness of the device it can keep you comfortable for 3 to 4 weeks.

The last row

If you want to buy a Kindle, there are three options for you to choose from. You have an entry level Kindle priced at Rs 5,999. Then you have the new Paper White which is priced at Rs 12,999. The older generation Kindle Paperwhite is available online, but Amazon says it will only sell it until the stock runs out. The previous Jane Paperwhite was priced at Rs 10,999. At the top of the line is our Kindle Oasis. Priced at Rs 21,999, Oasis comes with a number of features that you can read in our in-depth review here. So, if you are looking for an e-reader, here are three options from Kindle Umbrella. The question is which one is right for you? Honestly, Paperwhite is the way to go. If water resistance is not important to you, you may want to get your hands on an earlier genre version before it is sold out. But if you want to take a long weekend bath or read on the beach with a good book, the new Paperwhite is a good sweet spot. It has a good display, amazing battery life and some features of its more expensive siblings. Audible’s absence is a bummer though. We just want Amazon to keep the price of the new Paperweight the same as before.