Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (11th-gen) Review: For Hardcore Readers

Amazon Kindle e-reader remains a very desirable gadget to have in 2022 as it is designed to improve your reading habits. Although Kindles have been around for a while, Amazon is slowly improving the technology with newer generation models, and naturally, the retailing price is increasing as well. Months ago, Amazon quietly introduced the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (11th-gen) e-reader in India that comes with mild improvements over previous-generation models. Priced at Rs 17,999, one could easily buy a tablet by Realme, Motorola, or Nokia that offers much more. Overall, customers may also find Kindles a tad bit confusing as they all are tablets designed to improve reading habits. If you’re planning to buy a new Amazon Kindle, here’s what you need to know.

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Currently, one can choose between three main Kindle editions - Kindle (10th-Gen) that comes with a 6-inch display, Kindle Paperwhite with a 6.8-inch display, and the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition also with a 6.8-inch screen. Amazon even offers a premium Kindle Oasis (Rs 21,999) with a 7-inch display and slimmer bezels. Technically, the Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Paperwhite Signature Editions share loads of similarities in terms of build and features, with a few differences.

As mentioned, we get a 6.8-inch display, and the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition weighs barely 205 grams making it extremely light to hold and carry. We still get thick bezels - not as thick as the one on the Kindle (10th-Gen) - but it could still be an eye-sore when phones and tablets are getting rid of borders for a better viewing experience. The display has 300ppi and an anti-glare coating. The latter makes it viable for outdoors or under direct light. The e-reader also has 17 LEDs for a better reading/viewing experience in different ambient settings. Honestly, first-time Kindle buyers will notice much of a difference; however, if you’re upgrading your old-gen model - the differences in terms of the viewing experience are easily noticeable.

The Kindle Paperwhite is IPX8 rated to protect against accidental immersion in up to two metres of fresh water for 60 minutes and up to 0.25 metres of seawater for up to 3 minutes. It also means that you can use it in showers for a while if that matters to you. Sadly, the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (11th-gen) is only available in a black colour finish, while the Kindle (10th-Gen) has a white variant as well, which I like better. Despite the anti-glare coating, the glass screen is prone to scratch marks and fingerprint smudges, so a cover is advisable that costs an additional Rs 1,799 (Kindle Paperwhite Fabric Cover).

Overall, the design of the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (11th-gen) is pretty basic, but one big positive is that one could hold the tablet even with one hand for hours. However, as the name suggests, the Signature Edition is designed to make the overall user experience better over previous-gen models. Here are some of the highlights of key display features you get:

In a nutshell - the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (11th-gen) performs nicely with minor stutters. Firstly, we do get a brighter screen that makes it easier to use in different light conditions. The auto-adjusting front light also works smoothly, and one may not even notice a difference at times when it is happening in the background. I mostly used the e-reader with dark mode enabled, and I did not feel any sort of fatigue after hours of reading. The adjustable warm light is also a handy feature, especially for reading at night or under low light.

As mentioned, the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is only designed to read e-books, but the device offers loads of features to ensure a smooth reading experience. One can customise fonts, change text size, tweak themes and spacing, and even time left in a book. There is an inbuilt dictionary, and users can mark favourite passages or add bookmarks. Since there’s no home button, operating the device can become a bit confusing, especially for elderly readers. There’s only one power button on the Amazon e-reader, next to the USB-C port at the bottom.

There’s also a web browser in case you want to catch up on news from your favourite news outlet. However, the website keeps crashing and many sites are not optimised for this device.

Amazon claims that the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition lasts for weeks on a single charge. Since it is not a regular tablet, running the device on loop to test the battery was difficult. However, the battery level dropped from 95 percent to roughly 50 percent with standard usage (30 minutes of reading each day for three weeks), which is quite impressive. During my review, the e-reader was running with dark mode enabled and the brightness level at 15 (maxes out at 24).

The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition also supports Qi wireless charging which I couldn’t test during my review. Frankly, despite owning several wireless charging-enabled devices, I barely use the tech as wireless chargers are expensive and mostly inefficient. The good part is that the device includes a USB-C port unlike the Micro USB port on the Kindle (10th-Gen).

Overall, the battery performance won’t disappoint, and users can carry it anywhere without worrying about losing charge. The packaging includes the charging cable, and you can watch my cool unboxing video here.

The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition remains a highly reliable e-reader in the market. If you’re wondering whether the device can replace an actual book - it totally depends on where you’re coming from. Of course, the joy of buying a hardcover book and the smell of bleached pages is irreplaceable. But if you’re a serial reader and looking for a dedicated device to read/store books without the distraction of notification and cluttering your backpack, the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition will not disappoint.

But a more pertinent question is whether you should go for the regular Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Edition or the more expensive Paperwhite Signature Edition. The latter has more to offer, most importantly, 32GB of storage that could store thousands of books. This is also a great addition for hardcore readers, and they might not even need to upgrade for years.

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So if you’re planning to upgrade your Kindle, the new edition is a definitely good choice to consider. For first-time Kindle buyers, the more affordable Amazon Kindle Paperwhite is a better choice.

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