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I love reading, and each year I set a lofty reading goal, stacking my TBR pile with fiction, non-fiction, biographies, and anything else that piques my interest on Goodreads. All of this is great, but the amount of space my tomes take up and the money they cost is less than ideal. Thus, I sought a space-saving and more budget-friendly avenue for devouring novels, landing on a Kindle. And, I just got my hands on the newest model: the Kindle Paperwhite (Signature Edition).
It is important to note, Dear Reader, that I am not new to the world of Kindles. I purchased a Kindle Oasis — a model Amazon discontinued in 2024 — during the pandemic. I loved it. It has a 7-inch display and buttons that you can use to scroll forward and backward through your book. You can also use the touchscreen for this, but I relied almost solely on the buttons. The font, brightness, and page tone are easily adjustable and, like most Kindle models, it is waterproof.
Now, you may be asking yourself why I got a new Kindle when I loved this one so much. The answer is unfortunately characteristic of my clumsiness: I cracked the screen. I gave it the funeral it deserved (I put it on my partner’s nightstand and told him to use it if he could get over the crack, which fortunately, he did), and now I'm fully invested in my new gadget.
The good news? I love the new Kindle Paperwhite just as much as its predecessor, if not more. I found switching to the touchscreen-only model to be second nature, as I use a smartphone and tablet regularly. I also found that the battery life was much better (it promises up to 12 weeks of battery on a full charge). I actually tested this out firsthand as my partner and I fully charged our Kindles before a two-week vacation, he had to charge his once, but mine still had 50% battery by the end of the trip. Yes, some of this is because it is older and probably on its last legs, but I truly believe the battery life is better overall. The screen responsiveness is far better, with each page and the store loading much, much faster.
One thing I’d like to highlight, though not new at all, is the Kindle Unlimited library. I hadn’t really taken advantage of it before, and I love it. You get a three-month subscription with your purchase, and that gives you access to millions of titles for free, like a built-in library. Not everything I want to read is included on the platform, but it does keep my book-buying costs down.
There are really only two negatives in my opinion. Firstly, it doesn’t come with a charging brick, you have to buy that separately. This definitely shouldn’t be a dealbreaker, but I do believe it should be included. Secondly, it is expensive, ringing in at $229. I did opt for the model with more storage space (32GB) and I do read a lot, so I think it’s worth it. If you don’t need as much space, there is also a 16GB model that costs under $200.
Screen Size: 7”
Display: Glare-free and auto-adjusts to your surroundings
Speed: It offers 25% faster page turns than the previous model
Battery: Lasts up to 12 weeks
Storage: 32 GB
Waterproof: Yes
Colours: Black, Pink
Reviewers are big fans of this new Kindle model, giving it an average rating of 4.5 stars. They say they saw a serious improvement compared to their older devices, and love the upgraded design (especially those that ordered the pink model). They’re thankful that Amazon switched to using USB-C as they can now share cords with other devices (older models used a micro USB cable).
Sign up for an Amazon Prime account if Amazon Canada is your go-to site for shopping. It costs $99 a year (plus tax), but students can get it for only $49 (plus tax). If you’ve never tried it out, you can sign up for a 30-day trial period.
Disclaimer: The prices displayed are accurate at the time of publication. We’ll do our best to keep them as up-to-date as possible, but you may see slight changes.