Amazon Kindle Colorsoft review: A muted approach to color

October was an exciting month for readers. We got a new iPad mini, a few products from Boox, and this strange but compelling iPhone e-reader adapter from Astropad. However, it was Amazon that caused the biggest stir. This isn't surprising since the retail giant controls around 80% of the dedicated e-reader market.

The past month belies the general situation in the industry. E-readers are one of the quieter mainstream categories of consumer electronics. This is not least due to Amazon's dominance. With no competitors able to challenge the company's throne, updates became increasingly sporadic.

This year, however, Amazon is welcoming the holiday season with its biggest Kindle update in recent memory. The large-format Scribe has been updated with improved note-taking features and AI-powered text summaries. The bestselling Paperwhite gets a larger display and a faster processor. The base Kindle's page turning speed has been sped up and the device has a brighter front light and more color options.

All of these relatively minor updates were overshadowed by a relaunch of the line. After 16 years of Kindles, many of us had given up on the idea of ​​color. But colored e-paper has become a reality in recent years. Notably, the Kindle's main competitor, Kobo, released the Libra Color in April.

E-paper is at the heart of these devices, and adding that extra layer never seemed to be a priority for Amazon. If people wanted color, they could just buy a tablet and settle for shorter battery life and a display that was easier on the eyes.

A key aspect that makes Colorsoft so fascinating is that it is still a Kindle in the truest sense of the word. The device has far more in common with the Paperwhite than any other Fire tablet. In fact, the reader could have just as appropriately been called the “Kindle Paperwhite Color.”

In fact, the addition of color is thanks to a secondary layer added to the e-paper stack. It's based on E Ink's Kaleido color filter, but designed specifically for the Kindle range. The result lives up to the Colorsoft name. I would describe it as subtle – even pale. If you don't look directly at the display, you might even miss the fact that it's a color model.

Amazon compares the reading experience to that of print. The result is definitely easier on the eyes than the color reproduction on an iPad, for example. The effect works well for colors and highlighted passages. If you read mostly prose, you won't use this feature too often. If you're looking for a device for comics, for example, the color might be a bit muted for your taste.

The long-awaited addition of color is unfortunately a stark reminder of Comixology's demise under the Amazon corporate umbrella. With this app and a color Kindle, the company had the opportunity to really dominate the space – although the e-paper's refresh rate in particular is far from ideal for the kind of dynamics Comixology brought to the format.

In most cases, tablets are a little closer to the original. Colorsoft's reproductions are similar to reading Sunday jokes. The color filter is reminiscent of the CMYK printing process in newspaper printing. The effect is heightened by the fact that the Kindle display is more of a gray tone than the full white you get on a tablet or phone.

Apart from the color display, the Paperwhite Signature Edition and Colorsoft are strikingly similar. Both now feature 7-inch displays with a density of 300 ppi. Both devices have the same footprint (5 x 7 x 0.3 inches) and a fully flush display, although the Colorsoft weighs a hair more at 7.7 ounces (the Paperwhite Signature weighs 7.5 ounces). You probably won't notice the difference.

Both products come with 32GB of storage as standard; That's twice as much storage as the standard Paperwhite and the base Kindle. The new Scribe has 16GB, 32GB and 64GB options. The USB-C port has been standardized across the range, although only the Signature Paperwhite and Colorsoft have wireless charging – which I don't think will be an issue for most. Ironically, while the two Paperwhite models, the base Kindle and the new Scribe, all have different body colors, the Colorsoft is only available in black.

It makes sense that Amazon used the Paperwhite as the basis for Colorsoft. It is, as mentioned above, the best-selling Kindle and sits between the base and Scribe models. The premium Oasis – which I always had a fondness for – has been discontinued. I'm a little sad to see it go, but Amazon hadn't updated the thing in five years. It's likely that most consumers simply aren't interested enough in a premium e-reader.

One place where the Paperwhite has the upper hand is battery life. The Colorsoft is stated as “up to eight weeks”, the Paperwhite as “up to 12 weeks”. Once you get into the realm of a multi-month fee, the difference becomes pretty irrelevant. All you have to do is spend 2.5 hours there to fully charge it.

The Paperwhite is also impressive in terms of price. At $280, the Colorsoft has moved into the premium e-reader category and costs about the same price as the Oasis. The Paperwhite and Signature Paperwhite retail for $160 and $200, respectively. The new base Kindle starts at $110, and the Scribe is hard to swallow at $400.

It's nice to know that the Kindle series already has life in it. Color, the feature we've been waiting a decade and a half for, is finally here. The question of whether it's worth $80 more than the Signature Paperwhite is a far more subtle difference than the price difference suggests, especially if you spend most of your time reading text and enjoying the normal monotonous Kindle experience. Nevertheless, the device benefits from improvements over several generations and offers a great reading experience overall – even if the color still seems like a novelty.