A Paperwhite experience

Kindle Paperwhite 2021

The replacement Kindle Paperwhite 2021 arrived the same day as I ordered it and wrote the first blog piece (the cover took another day to arrive) and I've used it heavily over the last few days. It's a 16GB WiFi Paperwhite without Ads. Build quality feels excellent, at least on a par with the Oasis. The screen is flush and has a slight tactile feel. The charging connection is USB C (which I welcome over the old and slow charging Micro-USB).

Showing the warm light effect on the Paperwhite. Indistinguishable from the Oasis version.

Screen quality feels as good as the Oasis, and the device feel snappier in use. The screen feels slightly taller and narrower but I suspect that's the 6.8" vs 7.0" coming out, and also the asymmetric design of the Oasis which makes it feel wider. I didn't really notice the lack of auto-brightness but now I think on, I think I'd overrode that setting. The warm-light setting feels very much the same as the Oasis.

Battery is noticeably better. I wonder if part of that is because the Paperwhite doesn't have a cellular connection? However, I do usually run in airplane mode so it shouldn't make that much difference. It may also be the number of backlight LEDs (the Oasis has 25, the Paperwhite 17). However, it's just noticeably better. I suppose that shouldn't be a surprise as the Kindle Voyage was also much better than the Oasis.

The buttons; I miss the tactile feel of the buttons and the fact that you can rotate the Oasis to use it left or right-handed easily. I found the touch controls intuitive, but I'm surprised you can't select the handedness of the device in settings. That seems like a silly miss from Amazon. Control is fine for me if I use it left-handed (I'm a righty) but less useful when held right handed.

Overall, I'm pleased with the change and don't feel like it's a step back. Happy with this new version so far.

29 May 2024