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 a whole lot of books on planes, trains, and cars — plus preserve studying as soon as I arrive at my vacation spot. Properly 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 completed precisely that.

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

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

I spent the previous couple of days with the brand new Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, and here is every part I gathered.

4.5/5

Storage

32GB, 64GB

Model

Amazon

Display Measurement

11-inch glare-free show

Battery

As much as 8 weeks

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

Value, specs, and availability

You may get the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft on Amazon for $630. It is available in basic charcoal Graphite or a purple-leaning Fig shade. The entry-level mannequin contains 32GB of storage, with a 64GB improve obtainable for an extra $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 suggestions within the field. It additionally options the identical grip button that highlights when held, and you may program it for numerous 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,” but it surely guarantees as much as weeks of studying or writing on a single cost. If you happen to’re simply studying, I am assured the battery will outlast any inventive 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 aspect of the pill. Now, the bezel wraps evenly across the 11-inch show. At first, I anxious about not having a screenless grip space, however my issues disappeared after I realized my thumb wasn’t by chance turning pages each time it grazed the display screen. The pill’s lightness additionally makes it straightforward to carry with no agency grip, and I shortly stopped eager about the bezel altogether.

The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft weighs slightly below a pound and is barely 5.4 millimeters thick, which is thinner than an iPhone Air. It is a good little advertising and marketing 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 finally turned the brand new commonplace.

Nevertheless, 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 suitable aspect of the Scribe is shockingly sturdy. It audibly snaps into place when the rounded pen rolls throughout my desk and requires actual effort to take away. You’ll be able to truly elevate all the pill by the pen (please do not).

In contrast to 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 susceptible 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 virtually extra friction — prefer it’s rubbing on actual paper.

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

Software program standing

You’d assume 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 beneath 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 attainable by a brand new processor that additionally makes web page turns 40% quicker. Once I opened my present learn, As soon as Upon a Damaged Coronary heart by Stepahnie Garber, I used to be impressed with the short refresh fee. I wished to present it a whirl with one thing extra acceptable 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 may — the illustrations blinked previous me as I tore via the heartwarming story, and I used to be in the end happy with the velocity.

Do the colours stay as much as the 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 shade. I will say what you are in all probability considering: are a number of further shades actually price $200?

That reply will depend on your price range and the way a lot shade issues to you, however I will get to that in a minute.

The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft comes loaded with ten shade decisions: Black, Grey, Crimson, 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 relaxed, 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 straightforward to tell apart.

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

The colours are lovely — I am impressed with the aesthetic I am creating with my color-coded notes, and it is fairly straightforward to shortly change between them, due to the quicker refresh fee. Nevertheless, $200 is a jaw-dropping premium to pay for color-coded notes should you aren’t connected to the concept. If you happen to actually cannot stay with out totally different coloured notes and are itching so as to add a Scribe to your workflow, I might say it is price it. However should you’re uncertain should you’d even use the colours a lot within the first place, preserve studying this evaluate to collect extra ideas.

You’ll be able to select between 5 writing utensils: Pen, Fountain pen, Marker, Pencil, and Shader — excluding the highlighter software. There’s additionally 5 totally 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 format

The previous Kindle Scribe format felt siloed. It took a number of faucets to get from one part to a different, which created ample alternative to neglect 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 format supplies fast entry to all the main options, together with a ‘Soar again in’ part for lately opened notebooks or e-books, in addition to a row of ‘Just lately added’ e-books and recordsdata despatched to your Kindle account. You’ll be able to scroll right down to see extra really useful content material from Amazon, although I not often 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: Dwelling, Library, Workspace, Extra, and a shortcut to your final opened pocket book or guide.

On the high sits an AI-powered search bar. If you happen to’re cringing, bear with me. It is truly helpful. The AI indexes every part you’ve got written on the Scribe (sure, hand-written) and may group collectively numerous subjects to reply particular questions on them.

Once 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 preserve their paperwork… in all places. “Ship to electronic mail” remains 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, which means you will 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 almost excellent. If my solely actual hesitations are the stylus magnet being too sturdy and the ultra-realistic friction of erasing, it is onerous to not advocate it to anybody wanting a colourful E Ink pill.

However the reality is that $200 is a steep worth for 10 colours. Sure, the Scribe doubles as a beautiful 11-inch display screen excellent for graphic novel readers too, but it surely’s nonetheless an plain leap.

If worth is not a problem, I might say that each color-coding note-taker ought to scramble to get their arms on the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft. If you happen to’re unsure, I’ve a powerful feeling the Colorsoft will hit vacation reductions in late 2026 — particularly because the common Kindle Scribe acquired one of many greatest markdowns of all the lineup this Black Friday.

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

Storage

32GB, 64GB

Model

Amazon

Display Measurement

11-inch glare-free show

Battery

As much as 8 weeks

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