The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft shocked me

I’ve owned a Kindle e-reader since 2009. The E Ink show is timelessly acquainted and has allowed me to take tons of of books on planes, trains, and cars — plus maintain studying as soon as I arrive at my vacation spot. Nicely over a decade later, Amazon launched the very first Kindle Scribe, which sought to switch the stack of notebooks sitting on the nook of my desk. To my shock, it’s accomplished precisely that.

The one factor that would’ve made my workflow even higher was if the Kindle Scribe got here in colour. Again in September, Amazon announced simply that: the model new Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, alongside a third-generation common Scribe with and with no entrance gentle.

The brand new Scribe Colorsoft promised to carry hues and shading again to my notebooks, and I used to be desperate to reintroduce the color-coding tendencies I would beforehand sacrificed for the comfort of a digital pocket book.

I spent the previous few days with the brand new Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, and this is the whole lot I gathered.

4.5/5

Storage

32GB, 64GB

Model

Amazon

Display Dimension

11-inch glare-free show

Battery

Months of studying, weeks of writing

Amazon’s Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is an 11-inch note-taking pill and e-reader with a colour show, quicker quad-core processor, and new AI-powered productiveness options.

Worth, specs, and availability

You will get the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft on Amazon for $630. It is available in basic charcoal Graphite or a purple-leaning Fig colour. The entry-level mannequin consists of 32GB of storage, with a 64GB improve obtainable for a further $50.

It weighs 400 grams with an 11-inch show — 0.8 inches bigger than the Kindle Scribe 2. The Kindle Scribe Pen is included and is barely thicker and extra rounded than its predecessors. It has no inner battery, and Amazon packs 10 substitute ideas within the field. It additionally options the identical grip button that highlights when held, and you may program it for varied actions. The eraser finish feels extra like an actual eraser on paper than any stylus I’ve tried.

Amazon doesn’t explicitly state battery life past “lengthy,” nevertheless it guarantees as much as weeks of studying or writing on a single cost. For those who’re simply studying, I am assured the battery will outlast any creative endeavors you try with the ten colours and 5 writing instruments.

First impressions of the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft

Bezel begone, now with magnetic insanity

Whereas introduced earlier, I used to be nonetheless shocked to see Amazon ditch the asymmetrical look and take away the broader bezel from one lengthy facet of the pill. Now, the bezel wraps evenly across the 11-inch show. At first, I nervous about not having a screenless grip space, however my issues disappeared once I realized my thumb wasn’t unintentionally turning pages each time it grazed the display screen. The pill’s lightness additionally makes it simple to carry with no agency grip, and I rapidly stopped eager about the bezel altogether.

The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft weighs just below a pound and is barely 5.4 millimeters thick, which is thinner than an iPhone Air. It is a good little advertising dig at Apple’s latest brainchild, however not something revolutionary within the pill world the place issues are getting so skinny that I would not be shocked if a sheet of printer paper ultimately turned the brand new normal.

Nonetheless, the pill is noticeably thinner than the brand new stylus, which is the place my consideration instantly went. The magnetic connection between the pen and the best facet of the Scribe is shockingly robust. It audibly snaps into place when the rounded pen rolls throughout my desk and requires actual effort to take away. You possibly can really carry all the pill by the pen (please do not).

Not like the older Kindle Scribes, I can not simply leisurely pull the stylus off casually — I’ve to carry the pill with one hand and pull the pen with the opposite.

It is a welcome enchancment for anybody liable to shedding their stylus, although I do want Amazon discovered a center floor between “falls off immediately” and “requires a crowbar.”

On the stylus itself, in comparison with the first-gen Kindle Scribe’s extra slippery really feel, the Scribe Colorsoft’s texture has nearly extra friction — prefer it’s rubbing on actual paper.

My solely qualm is that the older mannequin erased full pages quicker, however after a couple of days with this new one, I am prepared to sacrifice that for the extra pure writing really feel.

Software program standing

You’d suppose the digital ink was within the pen itself

Kindle Scribes are recognized for his or her fluidity. In any other case, they’d by no means stand an opportunity at being true pocket book replacements.

Paper will all the time have the tactile benefit, however the Scribe Colorsoft is a worthy contender with latency below 12 milliseconds. It is a delay any untrained eye probably will not even discover, and even I had a tough time detecting it with my nostril inches from the display screen.

The hardly-there delay comes is made doable by a brand new processor that additionally makes web page turns 40% quicker. After I opened my present learn, As soon as Upon a Damaged Coronary heart by Stepahnie Garber, I used to be impressed with the fast refresh fee. I needed to offer it a whirl with one thing extra applicable for the pill referred to as ‘Colorsoft,’ so I downloaded The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse from Kindle Limitless and tapped via as quick as I might — the illustrations blinked previous me as I tore via the heartwarming story, and I used to be finally glad with the pace.

Do the colours dwell as much as the associated fee?

The colourful Kindle Scribe Colorsoft

Let’s get one factor straight — the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is promoting for $630 and the common third-generation Kindle Scribe is promoting for $430. That locations a $200 premium squarely on the addition of colour. I am going to say what you are most likely considering: are a couple of additional shades actually price $200?

That reply is dependent upon your price range and the way a lot colour issues to you, however I am going to get to that in a minute.

The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft comes loaded with ten colour decisions: Black, Grey, Pink, Orange, Yellow, Inexperienced, Aqua (my favourite), Blue, Purple, and Pink. They’re vivid and distinct, not washed out grayscale mutations like another E Ink shows I’ve encountered. They’ve a peaceful, barely chalky nature that jogs my memory loosely of watercolor pigment. The hues sit in the identical softness household (so the orange will go together with the blue) however stay simple to tell apart.

The one two shades that look remotely related at a look are Blue and Purple — although that is perhaps as a result of I would been looking at screens for 12 hours. As soon as side-by-side, they’re clearly completely different.

The colours are stunning — I am impressed with the aesthetic I am growing with my color-coded notes, and it is fairly simple to rapidly change between them, due to the quicker refresh fee. Nonetheless, $200 is a jaw-dropping premium to pay for color-coded notes in the event you aren’t connected to the thought. For those who actually cannot dwell with out completely different coloured notes and are itching so as to add a Scribe to your workflow, I would say it is price it. However in the event you’re uncertain in the event you’d even use the colours a lot within the first place, maintain studying this assessment to assemble extra ideas.

You possibly can select between 5 writing utensils: Pen, Fountain pen, Marker, Pencil, and Shader — excluding the highlighter software. There’s additionally 5 completely different thickness choices, however I have a tendency to stay with the default center thickness. My two favourite instruments are the Pen and the Fountain pen, and I significantly get pleasure from writing in Inexperienced and Aqua.

The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft’s new look and expertise

A well-recognized however optimized structure

The previous Kindle Scribe structure felt siloed. It took a number of faucets to get from one part to a different, which created ample alternative to overlook what you have been going to put in writing down within the first place. That is why the very very first thing that caught my eye was the ‘Fast notes’ part on the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft’s homepage, which is a devoted shortcut for these fleeting two-second ideas.

The remainder of the homepage is the hub I did not know I used to be ready for. The structure supplies fast entry to all the most important options, together with a ‘Bounce again in’ part for lately opened notebooks or e-books, in addition to a row of ‘Just lately added’ e-books and information despatched to your Kindle account. You possibly can scroll all the way down to see extra really useful content material from Amazon, although I hardly ever enterprise previous the highest.

It is night-and-day in comparison with the older UI. Nonetheless, the siloed tabs can be found on the backside for anybody who prefers them: Residence, Library, Workspace, Extra, and a shortcut to your final opened pocket book or ebook.

On the prime sits an AI-powered search bar. For those who’re cringing, bear with me. It is really helpful. The AI indexes the whole lot you’ve got written on the Scribe (sure, hand-written) and might group collectively varied matters to reply particular questions on them.

After I typed, “What articles do I’ve deliberate for Thursday?” it surfaced the 2 items on my docket. I can see this being extremely useful when recapping calls, monitoring duties, or digging up monetary notes.

Amazon additionally conveniently added cross-compatibility with Google Drive and OneDrive. The combination is lengthy overdue, however I am glad that Amazon lastly realized that individuals maintain their paperwork… in all places. “Ship to e mail” continues to be obtainable however now feels much less important.

A “Ship to Alexa+” characteristic can also be arriving in early 2026, letting Alexa reference your notes in dialog. Hopefully, meaning you may always remember a grocery checklist once more.

Must you purchase the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft?

Passes with flying (however costly) colours

I need to say, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is sort of good. If my solely actual hesitations are the stylus magnet being too robust and the ultra-realistic friction of erasing, it is arduous to not suggest it to anybody wanting a colourful E Ink pill.

However the fact is that $200 is a steep worth for 10 colours. Sure, the Scribe doubles as a stunning 11-inch display screen good for graphic novel readers too, nevertheless it’s nonetheless an simple leap.

If worth is not a difficulty, I would say that each color-coding note-taker ought to scramble to get their arms on the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft. For those who’re unsure, I’ve a robust feeling the Colorsoft will hit vacation reductions in late 2026 — particularly for the reason that common Kindle Scribe acquired one of many greatest markdowns of all the lineup this Black Friday.

However at full worth, it is a arduous purchase for a ‘single use’ gadget. All its capabilities attraction to my color-coding nature, and the response fee makes me overlook I am writing with E Ink within the first place. I feel it is certainly one of Amazon’s greatest Kindles so far, which says quite a bit contemplating I have been a consumer since 2009.

Storage

32GB, 64GB

Model

Amazon

Display Dimension

11-inch glare-free show

Battery

Months of studying, weeks of writing

Amazon’s Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is an 11-inch note-taking pill and e-reader with a colour show, quicker quad-core processor, and new AI-powered productiveness options.