Amazon has released a new version of its cheapest Kindle e-reader with an improved screen and a reading light, a feature previously held back for its more expensive devices.
Costing £10 more than the previous generation, at £69.99, the new Kindle has a 6in e-ink display with an adjustable front light that projects from the sides to make the screen readable in the dark.
“Customers consistently tell us how much they appreciate having a front light on Kindle devices so they can read in any environment – even in bed at night,” said Eric Saarnio, the European head of Amazon devices. He added that this was the first Kindle under £100 with a built-in adjustable front light.
The new Kindle not only has a similar light to the Kindle Paperwhite, but also mirrors its design from 2015, with rounded plastic sides, a bottom chin and a lip to the screen where the front light is held. It is 8.7mm thick and weighs 174g, making it 0.4mm thinner but 13g heavier than the previous version, which Amazon says still makes it easy to read while holding in one hand.
Updated with the latest e-ink technology, the Kindle’s 6in display has the same 167 pixels per inch screen density as the old one, which is just over half the resolution of Amazon’s crisper and more expensive Kindles, but has improved contrast for easier reading. The new Kindle also ditches the infrared-based touch system for a more modern capacitive touchscreen, the same technology used in smartphones and Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite, which should be more responsive and less prone to errant swipes.
Amazon says the redesigned e-reader still has a six-week battery life based on 30 minutes of reading a day with wifi turned off.
The Kindle also supports Amazon’s Audible audiobooks, a feature first introduced with the Kindle Oasis in 2016, costing £270, and storage enough to hold 14 audiobooks or thousands of ebooks as is standard with Amazon’s e-readers.
The updated Kindle costs £69.99 and is available for pre-order on Wednesday, shipping on 10 April, in black or white with a range of cases available.