Kindle Paperwhite (2024) review: The best IE-Reader you can get

I don’t have it many regrets, but buying a basic Kindle a few years ago is one of them. Ironically, I hadn’t done much research before buying it. I wanted to get back to reading and I didn’t want to spend a lot of money—I was struggling to get rid of hard copies and thought an ebook reader would solve the problem. I went to Amazon and bought myself a basic Kindle from 2019.

Between the low screen resolution, slow performance, and short battery life, the disappointing experience prevented me from using it as much as I wanted. I should have bought a Kindle Paperwhite instead, even if it was more expensive — buy once, cry once, right? I was sure that the high-quality screen and fancy lighting features would make it more fun. Alas, I was worried that the Paperwhite would sit dead and dusty in a drawer, like my Kindle, so I didn’t buy it.

And yet, the Paperwhite ended up in my lap a few years later. Amazon recently announced a new version—the Paperwhite and Paperwhite Signature Edition—that are thinner and faster and have longer battery life. I tested the latter, which has a few extras like wireless charging and 32 gigabytes of storage (at extra cost). After weeks of use, it’s easy to understand why this is Amazon’s most popular Kindle—Paperwhite or bust.

Better, Faster, More

Coming from a smaller Kindle, I was worried that the Paperwhite would feel a bit clunky, especially now that it’s slightly thinner than its predecessor (7.8 mm vs. 8.1 mm) but heavier. It’s still easy to hold with one hand, but I sometimes feel my arm cramping during long reading sessions—I immediately understand why so many people attach a PopSocket to their Paperwhite.

The display is now 7 inches (up from 6.8) thanks to smaller bezels on the screen. It also has the highest contrast ratio of any Kindle, allowing text and images to look sharp on the screen. While both of these changes are nice, this difference is greater than the 2021 Paperwhite (8/10, WIRED Recommends), and no, you don’t need to upgrade if you have that model.

Photo: Brenda Stolyar