Editors' Note: This is the most recent version of the Amazon Kindle. Read our original review from October 11, 2022 below.
The Kindle is Amazon's most affordable ebook reader, and the 2022 model is a strong upgrade over the 2019 version thanks to its much sharper screen, additional storage, and longer battery life. Starting at $99.99, the standard Kindle is $40 less than the Paperwhite, and this latest refresh brings the two closer to parity than ever. Ultimately, the Paperwhite remains our top recommendation and Editors' Choice winner, but the base Kindle is a good alternative if you don't need the Paperwhite's waterproof build or adjustable color temperature for its front light.
Same Build, Sharper Screen
Before we get into the Kindle itself, let's talk about pricing. The $99.99 price here is for the Kindle with ads on its lock screen. If you don’t want ads, you need to pay an extra $20. The $139.99 Kindle Paperwhite has the same caveat (it costs $159.99 without ads).
Whether you get an ad-free Kindle or a Kindle with ads, the devices are the same and have the same 16GB of storage. This is double the amount of storage of the previous Kindle, and even more than you get on the base model Paperwhite (a 16GB Paperwhite costs an additional $10). For even more storage, Amazon offers the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (which doesn't come with ads by default) with 32GB for $189.99.
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The 2022 Kindle looks and feels almost identical to the previous version, but is just a hair smaller and lighter. It’s a simple, matte plastic slate (available in black or denim blue; no white version like the 2019 Kindle is available) measuring 6.2 by 4.3 by 0.3 inches (HWD) and weighing 5.6 ounces, with a six-inch E Ink screen framed by a raised bezel. This frame, along with the slightly smaller screen, is the most apparent difference between the Kindle and the Kindle Paperwhite; the Paperwhite's larger 6.8-inch screen is completely flush with the rest of the face, for a more premium look and better resistance against dust and sand.
The bottom edge of the Kindle holds a USB-C port for charging and connecting to a computer (a USB-A-to-USB-C cable is included), along with a power button, just like the Paperwhite. This is a welcome upgrade from the previous Kindle’s dated and finicky micro USB connector.
The big upgrade here is the E Ink screen. It has a pixel density of 300ppi, almost twice as much as the 2019 Kindle’s 167ppi. That puts it in line with the Kindle Paperwhite in sharpness, though with a larger screen the Paperwhite has more total pixels.
The Kindle’s screen is front-lit with four LEDs, and doesn’t have any of the customizability of the Paperwhite’s 17-LED, white-temperature-adjustable display. The Kindle offers only one flavor of white with a relatively cool temperature, though you can make it brighter or darker to your preference. I find the warmer white balance range produced by the Paperwhite to be more natural-looking and soothing to the eyes. This is only an issue when the front light is on, though; if you plan to read in a well-lit environment with the front light turned off, the Kindle’s screen looks identical to the Paperwhite’s, and gives the impression of very light gray paper.
The other major difference between the Kindle and the Kindle Paperwhite is waterproofing. The Kindle isn't waterproof at all, so you shouldn't read it in the bath, and you should be careful at the beach or by the pool. The Paperwhite is rated IPX8, which means it can be completely submerged in water and still work. Depending on where you like to read, this can be the difference that influences your buying decision.
Better Battery Life
Amazon says the Kindle can last up to six weeks based on half an hour of reading with wireless connectivity disabled and the light set to 13. This is a nice boost from the previous Kindle’s four weeks under the same conditions, but it still doesn’t match the Paperwhite’s ten weeks.
Ultimately, how long the Kindle will last on a charge will change depending on your front light and wireless settings, as well as how much you read. Regardless, with battery life measured in weeks and the ability to charge the Kindle to full in as little as two hours, you probably don't need to worry much about battery life no matter which model you get.
Putting Books on the 2022 Kindle
The intended experience for the Kindle relies on using the device itself or Amazon’s website to browse, select, and download ebooks and audiobooks. This is perfectly fine if you want to stay within Amazon’s ecosystem. If you want to upload your own documents piecemeal, you can do so simply by tracking down the send-to email address of your Kindle in the Content and Devices section of your Amazon account.
If you have lots of ebooks from public domain sources or Humble Bundles, you can use free third-party software like Calibre. The Kindle is compatible with DOC, DOCX, EPUB, unprotected MOBI, PDF, and RTF documents, as well as GIF, JPG, and PNG image files (though they will of course only be shown in monochrome). Calibre can automatically convert different file formats, so it isn’t hard to get any documents you want on your Kindle.
The public library ebook service Overdrive can also send books to your Kindle, though Overdrive doesn’t integrate directly into the Kindle. Your library’s ebook collection needs to be configured to send its borrowed books to your device.
The obvious focus on Amazon content makes the Kindle’s interface a bit busy and unintuitive. Its home screen constantly pitches new things to read that you can get on Amazon, though fortunately, your own library appears at the top. Below that, there are rows of books to browse on Amazon, not organized in any clear way aside from popularity, though there are sections that provide recommendations based on your reading habits, or books that are similar to specific titles you’ve been reading recently.
In the Library section, the default tile view tends to cut off book titles, so I switched to the list view. Even then, it shows your entire library, both on the Amazon cloud and that you transferred to the Kindle itself. Setting filters is simple, and I kept the view set to only show what is on the Kindle, but even then organization is a bit awkward with non-Amazon documents. The Judge Dredd collections I purchased on Humble Bundle and converted to PDF are categorized as “documents” instead of “comics.” Fortunately, you can make manual collections fairly easily and have them stay at the top of your library list, so it isn’t too hard to get your books arranged the way you like.
If you want to make your reading more social, Goodreads integrates directly into the Kindle. You can add books from your Amazon library, set up shelves, and follow friends. You can only automatically add ebooks or books purchased physically on Amazon, though. If you want to add any non-Amazon books, including third-party books you put on the Kindle, you need to search for them in Goodreads and add them manually.
How to Read on the 2022 Kindle
The reading experience on the 2022 Kindle is unchanged from previous models. The touch-sensitive E Ink screen lets you flip forward and backward by tapping the left or right side of the screen or dragging from right to left or left to right. Tap the top of the screen for a navigation menu, and drag down from the top of the screen for a settings menu.
For text, you can choose from 10 different fonts in 14 different sizes; set margins, line spacing, and orientation; and save your preferred setups as themes. Comics and books with graphics will show images full-screen or inline, depending on the context.
You can also pair the Kindle with Bluetooth headphones to listen to Audible audiobooks through it, or have the Kindle read text to you with Amazon’s VoiceView voice-to-text reader.
The much sharper screen is the new Kindle’s biggest advantage over the previous model. At 300ppi, it’s as sharp as the Paperwhite, and that means small text is much easier to see. The relatively low pixel density of the 2019 Kindle was one of our main complaints, and it’s good to see it has been addressed.
I read some books on the Kindle, both public domain mysteries like The Case Files of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Amazon-purchased books like Matthew Meyer’s The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons: A Field Guide to Japanese Yokai. The text is crisp at all sizes, and the screen is easy to read under all lighting. I found the front light a bit harsher than the warm light on my Paperwhite, but it still provides a good reading experience.
I also read some Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files comic trade paperbacks I purchased from Humble Bundle, converted to PDF, and uploaded through Calibre. I was pleasantly surprised to see the text-dense comic is quite readable on the six-inch screen. It isn’t quite as easy to read as it is on the slightly larger Kindle Paperwhite’s 6.8-inch screen, and considering the original format of the comic, an even bigger ebook reader like the Kindle Oasis (8-inch) or Kindle Scribe (10-inch) would be best for this sort of content. Still, it's actually legible on the new Kindle, whereas the same comics on the previous model had text that was too small and blurry to make out.
A Better Entry-Level Kindle
The 2022 Amazon Kindle is a solid ebook reader that improves upon its predecessor’s weaknesses, with a significantly sharper screen, more storage, and longer battery life. If you're simply looking for a high-quality ebook reader under $100, the Kindle is easy to recommend. That said, if you're willing to spend an additional $40, the Kindle Paperwhite is our Editors' Choice thanks to its bigger screen, adjustable front light color temperature, and waterproof design.
The 2022 Amazon Kindle has a screen as sharp as the Paperwhite, along with more storage and longer battery life than its predecessor.
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