In a world where notifications persistently compete for our attention, distraction-free ereaders and writing tablets have found an audience. Putting your phone, laptop or iPad aside and curling up with a Kindle or a reMarkable tablet have become an almost ironic way for the tech-savvy to disconnect from online noise and focus on reading and writing. It’s debatable how broad the appeal of these devices is, but even in what appears to be a relatively small slice of the industry, the competition is fierce.
Amazon is arguably the biggest name in the space, with its Kindles dominating the ereader market for years. When it introduced the Kindle Scribe in 2022, the company made a play for the burgeoning E Ink writing tablet category, and just last year it launched its first color ereader with the Kindle Colorsoft. Put all those features — reading, writing and color — together, and you’ve got the ingredients for Amazon’s latest contender: the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft.
This time, Amazon expanded the Scribe line by releasing three new Scribes at once. The entry-level model is the black-and-white tablet without a front light, which costs $430. For $70 more, you’ll get the front light, and then the Colorsoft version goes for $630. There are upgrades from last year’s Scribe across the trio, and for this review we’ll be looking mostly at the Colorsoft, which has all of the new features.
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Like with previous models of the Scribe, Amazon doesn’t indicate the generation number in the name, simply calling this lineup the “all-new Kindle Scribe,” attaching the word Colorsoft to the edition that renders colors. To avoid confusion, I’ll occasionally be referring to this generation of the device as the Scribe 3, and the version from last year as the Scribe 2.
Editor’s note: As I only received the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft on December 7 due to shipping delays, I won’t be assigning a score to this device until I have had more time to test it. My colleague Valentina Palladino received the new Kindle Scribe a few days before that, and has contributed testing and impressions to this review. It’s also worth noting that some new features, like “Send to Alexa+,” “Story so far” and “Ask this book” aren’t available to test yet. We will update this review with a score after spending more time with it so we can better gauge things like battery life and the usefulness of some software features.
Amazon Kindle Scribe Colorsoft Amazon’s color E Ink writing tablet is technologically impressive, but some limitations hold it back. Pros Bright, vivid colors
Snappy performance Cons Expensive $630 at Amazon
What’s new with the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft
Aside from the obvious, which is that the Colorsoft can now render colors, the latest Kindle Scribes also feature a refined design, improved front light system, updated screen architecture, new quad-core chip, more memory and Oxide display technology. It has a larger 11-inch screen compared to the 10.2-inch display on its predecessor, and still manages to weigh 33 grams less at 400 grams (0.88 pounds). There’s also a revamped Home page that houses a Quick Note for easier access to the writing interface as well as some software and AI tools that aren’t available to test yet.
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