Amazon announced a revamped Kindle Paperwhite family last month, but the standard Kindle remains one of the best options if you're looking for a reliable and relatively affordable e-reader. It's normally priced at $90, but you can get it for $60 right now in a limited-time sale. The only time we've seen the e-reader drop to a lower price was during Prime Day back in June when it was $55.
We gave this model of the Kindle a score of 91 when it came out in 2019 — while it doesn't have as many bells and whistles as the Paperwhite has, it will be exactly what some need in an e-reader. Key upgrades include a higher contrast display and four LED front lights that make it easier to read in dark environments. Amazon also refined the design to be sleeker, although this Kindle is not waterproof like the Paperwhite is.
The Kindle excels at being a basic e-reader and it will be an upgrade if you're used to reading books and articles on your smartphone's screen. The anti-glare display is much easier on the eyes, the built-in 8GB of storage can thousands of titles and the battery will last weeks on a single charge. The only major downside to the Kindle is one that all other Kindles have, too: you'll have to deal with Amazon's lockscreen ads, unless you pay extra to remove them.
If you are interested in the extras that come with the Paperwhite, Amazon seems to be trying to get rid of the previous version as it anticipates the arrival of the 2021 e-reader, which will ship at the end of this month. The 2018 Kindle Paperwhite in twilight blue is currently on sale for $75, which is a record low. This model gives you a higher density display, a waterproof design and Audible support, so you can listen to audiobooks saved on the device when you connect a pair of wireless headphones. Both e-readers are good choices, so it ultimately comes down to which features are necessary to you and how much you're willing to spend.
Buy Paperwhite (2018) at Amazon – $75
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