Kindle Colorsoft Review: Color is a Treat, Price is Tricky
Editor’s note: Some users report that there is a problem with yellow tint at the bottom of the Kindle Colorsoft screen. Amazon says it is aware of the problem and has stopped shipping the Colorsoft as a fix is being worked on. We did not experience this problem with our review device. As we receive updates on a fix, we will update this review.
The Kindle ColorsoftAmazon’s first-ever color E-ink e-reader costs $280 (£270 or about AU$530), making it an expensive proposition. The big question is whether Amazon will release two other capable new e-readers, the Entry level Kindle ($110, £95, AU$199) and the new kindle paperwhite ($160, £160), How much does color change the Kindle reading experience, and is it really worth making the leap to color? The answer ultimately depends on how you use your Kindle.
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Plus points
- 7-inch color E-ink display with custom display stack for improved contrast
- Relatively fast performance (for E Ink device)
- Completely waterproof
- Automatically adjusting light sensor
- Wireless charging
Disadvantages
- Resolution of only 150 ppi for color (300 ppi for black and white)
- No stylus support
- Paperwhite’s black and white performance is slightly better
I say that because I consider the Colorsoft to be the new Kindle Oasis. By that I mean that the Colorsoft is the new luxury Kindle. Certainly, there is some appeal to people who read a lot of e-comics or consume content with color images and graphics. In reality, the Colorsoft is aimed at the same audience that bought the now-discontinued Oasis, which had a similarly high price tag when it first came out.
Kindle Colorsoft design
The Colorsoft and the new Paperwhite share the same chassis and weigh almost the same: the Paperwhite is 215 grams, while the Colorsoft is 219 grams. They are both completely waterproof with an IPX8 rating, meaning they can be completely submerged and survive.
They also both have a 7-inch screen. The Paperwhite has a 300 ppi monochrome display, but the Colorsoft features an E Ink Kaledio color filter, which Amazon says is built into a custom display stack. The new Paperwhite also has a modified display stack, but is optimized for black and white display and delivers slightly better performance.
The Colorsoft displays color content at a resolution of 150 ppi.
Amazon talks about how the Colorsoft and the new Paperweight have a smaller bezel around the screen than the previous Paperwhite. It also says that the Paperwhite (2024) and Colorsoft are slightly slimmer devices. That’s true, but it’s not like Amazon took the previous Kindle chassis and slimmed it down and reduced the bezels around the entire screen to accommodate a 7-inch screen (compared to the 6.8- inch screen on the 2021 Paperwhite). The edge of the new Paperwhite and new Colorsoft has only been shortened at the bottom. The sides and top have the same size frame around the screen and the dimensions of the new devices are actually slightly larger, so neither of them fit in my old case for the Paperwhite 2021.
Half the resolution for color
The resolution is halved for color elements on the Colorsoft. The color resolution is only 150 pixels per inch for color, while for black and white it is 300 ppi. 150 ppi lacks some sharpness, but it’s still nice to see color e-book covers, and color makes comic books, graphic novels, and images come more to life. Some people will appreciate that you can also highlight text in different colors, as you would with real highlighters.
If you’re reading standard black and white text, there are some minor differences between the Colorsoft and the new Paperwhite, which has slightly better contrast than its predecessor and turns pages faster. According to Amazon, it is 25% faster, although it is difficult to measure because it is fractions of a second. It doesn’t seem like you’ll get quite the same monochrome performance benefits with the Colorsoft (it’s close, but Amazon is billing the new Paperwhite as its “fastest” Kindle yet), and battery life is estimated at eight weeks instead of twelve weeks for de Papierwit.
One of the advantages of E Ink is the glare-free view in direct sunlight.
Like the Oasis, the Colorsoft is aimed at Kindle power users who consider their Kindles as essential devices alongside their smartphones. It doesn’t have the physical page-turn buttons that the Oasis had (those buttons were a major selling point for some people). It also doesn’t have a fancy aluminum chassis. But it does have a color screen, which gives it a more premium look than the Paperwhite.
Unlike the Paperwhite, which comes in a standard version and a Signature Edition, the Colorsoft only comes in a Signature Edition. As with the step-up version of the Paperwhite, the Colorsoft Signature Edition has 32 GB of storage space instead of 16 GB. There’s also wireless charging and an auto-adjusting light sensor on the front, which sets the built-in lamp to a brightness setting based on your environment. Please note that every Signature Edition Kindle is ad-free.
As I mentioned in an earlier article, I’m not entirely sure why Amazon chose the name Colorsoft. The color may seem a bit soft and muted compared to a tablet with an LCD or AMOLED screen. Those screens offer much richer colors and much faster performance.
You can highlight text in four different colors.
Kindle Colorsoft compared to Kobo’s Libra Color e-reader
When I first tried Colorsoft at Amazon’s launch event for all new 2024 Kindles, including the second-generation Kindle Scribe, which ships in December, I thought Colorsoft’s color display looked slightly better than the displays on Kobo’s e-readers in color E-inkthat cost less and use E Ink Kaleido 3 displays. I also thought the Colorsoft performed slightly better. I wasn’t sure because I didn’t have the Kobos on hand to do a real A/B comparison.
Well, it turns out my first impression was correct. The Colorsoft has slightly better contrast and the color looks slightly more saturated, making it more noticeable.
Amazon says the Colorsoft uses the same oxide backplane with custom waveforms as the new Paperwhite. That modified display contains a new light guide with nitride LEDs. Combined with custom algorithms, this improves color and increases brightness.
There are some minor differences between the Colorsoft and Kobo Libra Color.
These E-Ink screens are inherently slower than LCD technology, but you can pinch and zoom to better view images and text. I downloaded some e-comics and compared the pinch-and-zoom functionality between the Colorsoft and Kobo Libra colorwhich also has a 7-inch screen. I thought the Colorsoft performed smoother overall.
To be clear, the display and performance differences between the Colorsoft and the Kobo Libra Color are very small, but they are noticeable if you look closely.
The Libra Color is cheaper – it costs $220 – and is slightly larger. It has those physical page-turn buttons that some people love, and it’s compatible with them Kobo’s Stylus 2which allows you to take and save notes. The Stylus 2 is a $70 accessory.
Amazon hasn’t said anything about whether its new Premium Pen for the Scribe will work with the Colorsoft. As far as I know the Colorsoft will never have stylus support. But it would be nice if it did happen.
Like some people, I’m annoyed that Amazon continues to put its power button on the bottom of the device, rather than the top. Kobo e-readers have the power buttons embedded on the back of the device, which is preferable to the button on the bottom of the device.
Kindle Colorsoft final thoughts
When it comes down to it, you either bought Amazon’s e-book ecosystem – it’s the largest ecosystem out there and includes some free content for Amazon Prime members – or you didn’t.
In addition to the Kobo, there are several other color e-readers that are based on E Ink’s Kaleido or Gallery color displays. Some of them run on Android. I know people who like that The color models from Boox and I have seen some positive comments about the PocketBook ink pad color 3 ($300). Then there are the larger and much more expensive high-end E Ink tablets, such as the remarkable Paper Pro ($750), which is more note-taking devices than e-readers.
Check this out: Kindle Colorsoft Review: Amazon’s New Luxury E-Reader
Yes, a larger color tablet, whatever display technology it uses, seems better suited to reading comic books and graphic novels. I think Amazon has done a good job of creating an attractive first-generation E Ink color e-reader that seems to make the most of existing E Ink color technology.
The Colorsoft is a bit overpriced at $280, and I felt the same way about the Oasis when it first came out. That model eventually went on sale, as all Kindles eventually do, and you can trade in your old Kindle to get 20% off most new Kindle models.
It’s safe to say that the new and improved Kindle Paperwhite or the entry-level Kindle are better options for most people. If you’re a Kindle enthusiast and want something completely different from the previous 7-inch Kindles, the Colorsoft is the way to go. I definitely preferred it to the Paperwhite, even if the Paperwhite’s black and white performance is slightly better.
