Smooth, rubberized plastic design
Expansive brightness settings for interface and light
Customizable page display for easy reading
Cluttered home page
Pixel density lower than higher end models
Not waterproof
Design
Setup Process
Books
Display
Parental Controls
Audible
Storage
Battery Life
Price
Competition
Final Verdict
Specs
Design: Smooth and thin enough to carry anywhere
Measuring 6.3 x 4.5 x 0.34 inches (HWD), the Kindle (2019) is slightly thicker than other models, but still incredibly light at 6.1 ounces. Available in grippy soft-touch black or white plastic, it can be tucked into a bag or a purse for a commute or a plane ride, making it very portable. The most important feature is the 6-inch backlit, anti-glare screen for sunlight reading.
You can use the micro USB port on the bottom for charging, but there’s no included adapter.
Setup Process: Less than ten minutes
Once this was done, the Kindle provided us three separate screens showing us how to use the Kindle Store, how to customize the page display, and how to turn the digital page. Once we passed these instruction pages, we were free to use the Kindle as we pleased.
Books: Like a kid in a Kindle store
Finding books is very easy. Tapping the Kindle store button (aptly shaped like a shopping cart), shows you all your options. We were pleased to see it broken into genres, reading groups, and of course, the daily and monthly deals. You can simply browse these genres by tapping on the icons or—should you be on the prowl for a specific book—you can search in the browser at the top of the screen.
This makes book buying and browsing an immersive, almost Netflix-like experience in which you can peruse books for hours on end to find the one you want. We especially liked the Kindle Store application as thousands of books are at your fingertips to read, and tapping the purchase button allows the book to be downloaded and ready to be read in as little as two minutes.
Display: 167ppi makes for blurry reading
One of the stark differences between the affordable Kindle (2019) and more expensive options like the Paperwhite or Oasis comes down to pixel density . While most other Kindles deliver the have 300ppi displays, this one is a mere 167ppi. Instead of crisp, clear letters and numbers gracing our screens, they come out blurry, detracting from the reading experience. We ended up compensating for this issue by turning up the display brightness settings. While it didn’t fix the problem, it did make it more bearable.
The Kindle boasts a good range of brightness settings with its four built-in LED lights, though it won’t match the 12-LED brightness of the Kindle Oasis. You can alter these settings by tapping the top of the screen and then pressing “Page Display” right above the text. From there, you can adjust everything from the nine varying font settings to the 14 text sizes. We especially liked features that show where you’re at in the book, telling you how much time is left in the chapter.
We tested the Kindle under varying circumstances: bright sunlight, midnight with the lights off, and everything in between. With its new backlit display, the Kindle is easy to take anywhere, allowing you to read comfortably in most circumstances. As we previously mentioned, our only complaint is that the letters could be sharper, especially for the price.
The Kindle boasts a good range of brightness settings with its four built-in LED lights, though it won’t match the 12-LED brightness of the Kindle Oasis.
We also tested out various kinds of books, such as cookbooks and comic books. Because it only displays black and white, we don’t recommend using the Kindle for books that use a lot of color. However, while we didn’t necessarily like having to tap the Kindle while we were cooking portobello mushroom tacos or veggie fajitas, we could see the benefit of its portability and brightness.
One very important aspect to note, the Kindle (2019) is not waterproof, unlike the Paperwhite and Oasis. We did not try to test it in water and don’t recommend bathtub reading.
Parental Controls: Easy to enable
Audible: A great addition to the newest generation
The Kindle is able to connect to Bluetooth headphones or other devices for wireless listening. We tested it with a Bluetooth-enabled white noise sleep masks. The words came out crisp and clear, no matter the range. We even left the Kindle on the table, walking downstairs and across the house for maximum distance. Audible worked just fine.
For those who prefer listening, or for those who prefer to read on the go, like during workouts, the Kindle will work fantastically. Just keep in mind that these audio files take up lots of space, and can eat up your storage rather quickly.
Storage: Reasonable for the price
With 4GB of storage, the Kindle can hold a little under 2,000 books, but 1GB is reserved for the Kindle’s software. As previously mentioned, the audiobooks can run very high in terms of storage space, taking up hundreds of megabytes, potentially causing you to run out of storage quickly.
If you’re planning on using audiobooks, you can get the Kindle Paperwhite with 8GB or 32GB of storage, but that’ll cost more and you’ll still want to monitor your audiobook use. It’s important to note that you cannot add storage space with a microSD card, so you’re stuck with the size you bought. If you begin to run out of space, simply tap and hold your finger over one of the books in your library. You’ll get a couple options for what to do with it, one is “Remove from Device.” Doing this makes the book go away and frees up some storage space.
It’s important to note that you cannot add storage space with a microSD card, so you’re stuck with the size you bought.
Battery Life: Lasts for weeks
Price: Affordable with Special Offers
Competition: Kindle (2019) vs. Kindle Paperwhite (2018)
The biggest competitor to Kindle (2019) is its older, fancier cousin—the Kindle Paperwhite. While the Paperwhite at MSRP is $129.99, the Kindle (2019) retails for $109.99. But usually the Kindle is quite a bit cheaper, especially with Special Offers, which makes things less close than they appear.
The Paperwhite is slightly larger by 0.1 inches in length, has IPX8 waterproof capabilities, and bezels big enough to grip. The big selling point is the 300 ppi display, which gives much crisper text and images. When it comes to specs, the new Kindle release can’t compare to the Paperwhite. However, the Kindle (2019) is a good, no-frills affordable option that maintains most of the same features including Audible support and a backlit display.
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