Amazon's new Kindle offers premium Paperwhite features for under $100

It doesn't come out until Oct. 12, but you can lock in a preorder ahead of time.
By Haley Henschel  on 
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a close-up of a woman in jeans and a jacket placing the new kindle into her purse while sitting on an aqua bench
Pictured here in Denim, the ultra-portable new Kindle also comes in plain Black. Credit: Amazon

Amazon unveiled a new 6-inch Kindle on Wednesday, describing it in a press release as its "lightest and most compact" e-reader to date. (See, Apple? Not everyone is ditching the "mini" form factor.) But that tagline might sell it short.

While the device marks the latest addition to Amazon's regular Kindle lineup, its specs make it more akin to a $139.99 Paperwhite model. It pulls several features from that premium lineup, including a 300ppi high-resolution display for "laser-quality text and graphics" (up from 167ppi), a dark mode, and USB-C charging.

Further upgrades include a battery life of up to six weeks per charge and 16GB of storage, which is double the capacity of its 2019 predecessor. Plus, the adjustable front light has made its return.

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Perhaps most impressive, this new Kindle manages to squeak in at $99.99 — a mere $10 bump from the previous generation, and a tempting price point for anyone looking to upgrade from an older model that lost the ability to browse, borrow, or buy books directly from the Kindle Store last month.

Preorders for the device and its $119.99 Kindle Kids counterpart for ages seven to 13 are live ahead of their official release on Wednesday, Oct. 12. The standard version comes in plain Black or a new Denim style, and includes a free four-month Kindle Unlimited membership for a limited time (normally $9.99/month), while the Kids Edition ships with a year of Amazon Kids+ (normally $4.99/month for Prime members), a two-year worry-free guarantee, and a durable kid-friendly cover in your choice of three new designs: Space Whale, Unicorn Valley, or Ocean Explorer.

Topics Amazon

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Haley Henschel
Senior Shopping Reporter

Haley Henschel is a Chicago-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable who reviews and finds deals on popular tech, from laptops to gaming consoles and VPNs. She has years of experience covering shopping holidays and can tell you what’s actually worth buying on Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day. Her work has also explored the driving forces behind digital trends within the shopping sphere, from dupes to 12-foot skeletons.

Haley received a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and honed her sifting and winnowing skills at The Daily Cardinal. She previously covered politics for The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, investigated exotic pet ownership for Wisconsin Watch, and blogged for some of your favorite reality stars.

In her free time, Haley enjoys playing video games, drawing, taking walks on Lake Michigan, and spending time with her parrot (Melon) and dog (Pierogi). She really, really wants to get back into horseback riding. You can follow her on X at @haleyhenschel or reach her via email at [email protected].


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