Amazon Kindle e-reader (2024) review: Before you buy a Paperwhite, check out this screen

If you're still chugging along with an old Kindle or relying solely on the Kindle app for your phone, it's time to give serious consideration to a standalone e-reader — specifically Amazon's 11th-generation Kindle. Newly refreshed for 2024, it offers a couple iterative improvements and one very surprising one: the screen. Set side-by-side with the also-new Kindle Paperwhite, it's quite clear which has the brighter, whiter display. That's surprising — but is it actually better? And should you wait for Amazon's first-ever color Kindle, which is just around the corner? Here's my Kindle 11th-generation review.

Read more: The best e-reader for 2024

Why even buy a Kindle?

What's better than books? Nothing, duh. But print books, well, they have a portability problem. They don't exactly fit in your pocket. They're heavy and bulky. And they stubbornly refuse to glow in the dark.

That's why I'm a longtime fan of e-books, dating all the way back to PalmPilot PDA days. They weigh nothing, consume precious little storage space and actually do glow in the dark (after a fashion). Today, thanks to my phone and the Kindle app, I have dozens of books available anytime, anywhere.

Much as I love that flexibility, however, I prefer reading on an actual Kindle e-reader whenever possible. It has a larger, more paper-like screen that's much easier on the eyes, and it's a distraction-free device; my phone constantly bombards me with text messages, TikTok videos and the like. The Kindle gives me the book and nothing more.

Kindle 2024: What's going on with this screen?!

Available in black and a rather unappealing matcha-green (the previous-gen's denim color is no more), this 11th-generation model builds on the already pretty great 2022 offering, which brought higher screen resolution, USB-C charging and a much-needed dark mode (reversing the screen so the background is black and the text is white).

For 2024, Amazon mostly focused on the screen: It's noticeably brighter and whiter, especially as you increase the front-light setting, which means the contrast is better as well. In the photo below, with the older model on the right, I've got the two screens set at 18, or roughly 75% brightness.

That's not the big surprise. This is:

That's the new Kindle sitting alongside the 2024 Kindle Paperwhite, with the brightness settings once again set at 75% and the Paperwhite's "warmth" setting at zero. (Auto-brightness on the latter was turned off as well.) As you can see, the Kindle's screen is much whiter, with better contrast overall. No doubt some readers will prefer the Paperwhite's larger, warmer display, but I can't get over the fact that it is, in fact, less "white" than its smaller, cheaper cousin.

This is by design, according to Amazon. When I asked for an explanation of the disparity between the two screens, a company representative said: "Across all of our devices, it’s possible for the LEDs in the front light to have some color variation. We finely tune the color for both white and warm light so that all variations are appealing to readers."

Whether one is strictly better than the other, I can't say; it comes down to personal preference. Viewed in a vacuum, the Paperwhite's screen seems plenty bright, and the warmth option is very nice to have for nighttime reading. But when I look at them together, my eye goes to the "regular" Kindle. My wallet likes it better, too.

Kindle 2024: What else is new? (Not much)

Amazon says the 2024 Kindle is faster than its predecessor, and I agree: Page-turns are nearly instantaneous, whereas on the 2022 model there was a tiny delay. (The 2024 Paperwhite is faster still, but at this point we're talking about millisecond-level differences.)

It's still a featherweight at 5.5 ounces, and its 6-inch e-ink display is sharp and virtually indistinguishable from print. It can pair with headphones or a Bluetooth speaker to play audiobooks from your Audible library, though it lacks a built-in speaker, something you can find on some competing (but more expensive) e-readers, like the Boox Palma.

There's 16GB of onboard storage space, enough to hold at least a dozen audiobooks or literally thousands of e-books. If you want more, you'll have to step up to the Paperwhite, which has 32GB.

Setup remains admirably easy, especially if you already have the Kindle app on your phone or tablet: Just follow the onscreen instructions to copy over all your existing account info, network settings, books, etc. (Note that you may have to tweak a few settings for this to work. For example, I had to give the Kindle app Bluetooth permission so it could detect the new Kindle hardware.)

Along the way you have the option of creating up to four child profiles, each with individual content, reading goals, progress tracking and so on. Amazon does have newly refreshed Kindle Kids models as well, but I appreciate having kid-friendly options available here in case you want to share a single device.)

I also appreciate Amazon's efforts toward sustainability: The Kindle is sourced and built with 75% recycled plastics and 90% recycled magnesium, and its packaging is 100% recyclable.

Kindle 2024: Any reasons not to buy it?

My complaints with the Kindle 2024 are few. It still doesn't have the Paperwhite's flush-front screen, but that doesn't bother me when I'm reading. My real gripe: No physical page-turn buttons. I want them, readers want them, but Amazon has, for the moment, banished them from all Kindle devices. (If that's a must-have for you, check out the Boox Go 7 and Kobo Libra Colour — both of which have color screens as well!)

Meanwhile, the nature of an e-ink screen is that it doesn't respond to taps and swipes as smoothly as phones and tablets do. There's still a slight delay, and sometimes a little screen-flash as well, especially when scrolling. And while the Kindle's overall interface has improved a lot in recent years, it's still a bit unintuitive in places.

This is not a waterproof device, though that's an issue only if you like to read in the tub (and you're something of a klutz). If you want that protection, you'll have to choose a Kindle Paperwhite instead.

At $110, the Kindle 2024 is priced $10 higher than the Kindle 2022. However, the latter (like most Amazon devices) went on sale with clockwork regularity, and this one undoubtedly will as well. My guess is you'll routinely see it selling for $80-90 — occasionally even less, like during Prime Day or Black Friday. If you're not in a rush, I strongly advise waiting for the next sale.

Even if you end up paying full price, this is a great e-reader, one I highly recommend for anyone who loves books.