Amazon launched the new Kindle Colorsoft with an edge-to-edge color display and 16GB of storage. The new Kindle Colorsoft starts at $290, putting a color e-reader into the lineup at a lower price than the Signature Edition.
Cherlynn Low saw the devices in New York during a hands-on session, where she picked them up before the wider launch. That preview matters because the new design is not just a price change; it is also a shift to a flush-front screen across the lineup and a clearer color panel on the Colorsoft.
Kindle Colorsoft at $290
The basic Kindle Colorsoft costs $290 in Graphite and comes with 16GB of storage. Readers who want Amazon’s color e-reader no longer have to start at the higher-end tier, which gives the new model a more accessible entry point without moving away from the color display.
The Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition adds aluminum housing, 32GB of storage, auto-adjusting front light, dock charging, and double-tap page turning. Amazon prices that version at $320 in Graphite and Fig, so the gap between the two Colorsoft models is $50.
Amazon Kindle lineup changes
Amazon also removed the recessed screen from the entry-level Kindle and gave all versions a flush-front display. The entry-level model is 6 inches, 6.8mm thin, and 140 grams, and it lasts for six weeks on a single charge.
That same base Kindle starts at $150 with lockscreen ads and includes 16GB of storage. Amazon says it is 30 percent faster at opening books than the previous entry-level e-reader, which gives the cheapest model a speed bump that narrows the gap with pricier devices when readers are opening titles rather than simply carrying them.
Paperwhite versus Colorsoft
The basic Kindle Colorsoft starts at $290, while the new Kindle Paperwhite starts at $200. The Paperwhite has 16GB of storage, is waterproof, and comes with an adjustable warm light, so the lower price comes with a different set of trade-offs than the color model.
The Kindle Paperwhite can last up to 12 weeks on a single charge, and its Signature Edition adds a 32GB option, an aluminum back, auto-adjusting lights, and double-tap page turning. Amazon is rolling out the Kindle Paperwhite and the Kindle Colorsoft for preorder across the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Ireland, The Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Poland, Japan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Australia.
For readers deciding now, the practical choice is whether color is worth the jump from $200 to $290. The detail Amazon has not explained is how the Kindle Colorsoft’s color display differs in everyday use from the Kindle Paperwhite.
