Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Let me start by saying this is my 4th overall Kindle e-reader, including owning the 4th generation Paperwhite and the Oasis 3rd generation. I have fallen in love with e-readers and reading again because of the Kindle line and this model is almost perfect. Starting with the screen, it is now 6.8”, up from 6” from the previous model. Personally, I liked the smaller form factor of the prior version, but with the bigger size, you do get more words per line. I don’t normally read books with lots of graphics, but I’m sure that would be an improvement as well. The one major feature that I loved on my Oasis was the warm lighting at night and now, that is available on the Paperwhite line. Great addition! The screen is the same 300 ppi as before and the text is sharp. Another addition to the Signature Paperwhite is an auto-brightness feature. Personally, I never used it on my Oasis and probably won’t on this one either. However, I have no complaints about the screen, it is near-perfect for an e-reader. Amazon finally updated the Kindles for USB-C charging! Personally, that should have been added in the previous generations, but it's here now. Finally, I don’t have to carry around an extra Micro USB cord just for my Kindle. In addition to that, the Signature Paperwhite also includes wireless charging. I first thought that feature was a bit hokey, but after using it on my iPhone and Kindle Fire HD 8”, it is nice to have, even if you don’t normally charge that way. One feature that Amazon really didn’t mention too much about was that they surely updated the processor in this model. It is fast, well, fast for an e-reader :) In my prior Paperwhite, sometimes I’d tap the screen for a page turn and nothing would happen, so I would tap it again, only to have it then turn 2 pages. The Paperwhite Signature Edition is very responsive and there is very little to no lag time, which is more like the Oasis line. Very nice! Personally, I much prefer the form factor of the Paperwhite over the Oasis’ asymmetrical design. I just never really liked it and although I don’t care that Amazon continues to sell them, I wanted to see a more premium version in the standard form factor, like the prior Kindle Voyage, since retired, and it here in the Paperwhite Signature Edition…ALMOST…. There is one MAJOR issue I have and that is that Amazon didn’t include page turn buttons on this model. I of course knew this before purchasing, but nonetheless, I feel it deserves mentioning. I think that Amazon would have hit a home run out of the ballpark had they included page turn buttons, but apparently, they want to keep that feature (for now) on their premium Oasis line. And because Amazon choose to exclude page turn buttons, I only gave this model 4 stars. If you’re new to e-readers, although this is a fantastic option, if you don’t care about auto-brightness, wireless charging, or unless you absolutely need 32 GB of storage (most don’t for just regular books, audio books and graphics novels are an exception), consider the regular 11th generation Paperwhite. It’s $50 less and you still get the same large screen and warm lighting. Or better yet, while they are still available, get the 10th generation Paperwhite. As of this writing, I saw them on sale for $84.99, That’s a steal for that model. Finally, one gripe I have is that Amazon did not include the latest version of their Kindle software. I went to Amazons site to manually run the update and it is not listed there either. I have it on my Oasis and it is a nicer layout. I am sure it will be available at some point in the future, but it is perplexing that Amazon would create an update and then a month later, release a new Kindle without the ability to update it. Overall, I do recommend the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, if you have a few extra bucks for the features. But they aren’t a must have to be honest, and for most people, the regular Paperwhite will be more than sufficient. UPDATE 11/5/2021 The latest software update was released a couple of days ago and I was able to update it. I wanted to comment of a couple of other complaints people had. First, the fact that this is only available in wi-fi. Personally, I thought the 3G/4G models were a bit overkill. I mean, how hard is it to download a book at home before you leave? Or for that matter, find a wi-if hotspot somewhere? I think most people are not going to miss that feature, especially since it was a pricey upgrade anyway. Secondly, the fact the power button is on the bottom of the unit. This has been there for quite a few generations now and on the prior models I’ve owned. It personally has never been a problem for me. Yes, I’d prefer that it was on top, but I’ve never accidentally pressed it while reading. And on this new model, the button itself does require a bit of force to depress, so I really can’t see too many people hitting it by mistake and actually turning the device off. Finally with the screen, well, my prior comment stands. It really is nice. Not sure how some can feel it is a downgrade. The lighting is very uniform when reading at night and there are no dead spots. Furthermore, the contrast ratio seems higher, resulting in deeper blacks and whiter whites.