Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition | 32 GB with a 6.8" display, wireless charging and auto-adjusting front light | Without ads | Agave Green (Previous generation)

Last January, I finally decided I needed a new E-Reader. I’d been using the Kindle app on my phone or iPad to read all my E-Books but only because I HAD to, after the tragic death of my old device.The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, despite the fancy name, is a simple device. It's exactly the same as the new, fifth-generation Kindle Paperwhite, but it costs more and has four upgrades: 32GB of memory (up from 8GB), wireless charging, an automatically adjusting front light, and no ads.The new Paperwhite is just the right size and sat perfectly in my hand. It's also beach ready, with an IPX8 rating, which is a big deal to me, especially when compared to my iPad mini, which officially isn't water resistant at all.I have only one beef with the device's design, and that's the fact that Amazon moved the power button to the bottom from the top, which took some getting used to. (It's worth noting that this change happened on a previous iteration of the Paperwhite.)The new Paperwhite is a lot faster than my old model, but it could be faster still, especially when browsing through menus. The battery lasts forever, and having a USB-C port instead of the old microUSB connector is a blessing.One thing you won't get on this Kindle is ads. Compared to ads on certain other devices, advertisements on the Kindle aren't nearly as intrusive, but I still prefer zero ads on something I paid for.You know what they say about memory: More is always better. That said, unless you're a voracious reader, or you constantly send a bunch of periodicals to your Kindle, you won't need more than 8GB. The Kindle Paperwhite SE has 32GB, which is overkill, but it is comforting to know you'll never have to worry about storage.Whether wireless charging will be worth it for you depends entirely on whether you normally use it in other scenarios. All Kindles have great battery life, so you won't be charging them very often. I do have wireless chargers in my car and scattered all around the house, so the ability to just toss the Kindle onto them and have it charge is a nice, if marginal, improvement.Fun fact: I tried to charge the Kindle Paperwhite SE using Apple's MagSafe magnetic charger for the iPhone, and not only does it work, but the charger sticks (though just barely) to the Kindle like it does to the iPhone. Pretty great.Now for the big difference between the regular and the SE version of the Paperwhite: Automatically adjusting front light. The best way to explain the importance of this feature is to think of smartphones: Literally every single modern smartphone has this feature. You don't think about it much, but if someone took the feature away, you'd definitely notice.It's similar on the Paperwhite. The display automatically sets brightness depending on the amount of light in your environment. I like reading in very dim light, and the Kindle set the screen's brightness pretty much as I would do. The device supports dark mode (bright text on dark background), and if I switched to that, it readjusted the brightness accordingly. I love the feature and though I could live without it, I'd be slightly annoyed about having to adjust brightness manually again.

This is the sixth kindle I've bought and - aside from a 2nd gen one who's battery has given up the ghost - they all still work. This is one more step towards the platonic ideal of an e-reader and it's a doozy of a step.The last one I had was the 2nd iteration of the Oasis which I thought was wonderful for a while but it's shown a few flaws - battery is getting a bit slow and most importantly it didn't fit in any of my pockets. I didn't need a new kindle but slow eventually i fell for it and I'm so glad I did.This weights just the right amount - it's got a little heft so you can feel it but it's light in the hand. This is the first coloured kindle I've had and it's a nice subtle minty green. I'm holding off on cases for the moment.The screen response is also super snappy - I spend ages when I get a new kindle transferring all my books and previously i've done this via the web app but this is actually good enough that I scrolled through book lists and downloaded them on device. taps are easily registered.The good:* Instant on - the oasis had a start-up delay if you left it for a few days and this has none* usb-c: I'm not obsessed with charging cables but those annoying mini-usb ones need to die and now. have chargers all over the house by default* battery life - insane and doesn't seem to care about the backlight - it just runs* the backlight - this is my first kindle with the warm light settings and it really works. Plus the auto brightness feature is properly calibrated. The Oasis had a habit of dimming itself into darkness but this fades in the warmness and it just super easy on the eyes. You can get your paper like whiteness during the day if you want. The light is perfectly flat over the display.* Screen - it's gorgeous and clear and huge and perfect* Pockets - while bigger than my old paperwhite this does actually fit into jacket pockets and the like easily.* wireless - my previous kindles never had an issue here but they always seemed to have 1-2 bars of signal - this one obviously has better wireless as it's connected at full speed so book downloads ( yeah I know this happens at most every few days and its only a few seconds so who cares but better is better ) happen snappilyThe Average* The bezels have shrunk which is good for screen size but can make this a little fiddly to hold - I read a lot lying down and you have to tip the thing back slightly against your hand.The bad* There is no bad

I got back into reading recently after a holiday and started looking at e-readers as a convenient alternative to physical books. I researched quite a few, but kept coming back to the paperwhite signature edition. It had more storage (32gb), automatically adjusting screen brightness and wireless charging capability (need to buy the dock separately). I made the leap and purchased it in the Prime day sale back in July.I can safely say that it has been a great purchase! I've used it everyday since I bought it. The screen is incredibly easy on the eyes and the automatically adjusting screen brightness is really great. Not having to go into settings to change the brightness under different lighting conditions is really convenient. It's really light and comfortable to hold, even for longer periods. The battery life is fantastic and I quite like the simplicity of the Kindle ecosystem. There are millions of books available with many having great discounts.There's only one real negative and that's the placement of the power button. It's on the bottom of the kindle, right where I like to rest my finger. On multiple occasions I've knocked it accidentally and put the kindle into sleep mode. It's quite annoying and in my opinion is a design flaw. The button should be on the top or at the top of the sides, as you wouldn't naturally hold the kindle up there. I know it was probably placed on the bottom to keep the top and side aesthetics of the device clean, but it is really impractical being placed on the bottom.Even with that niggle though, it's not a deal breaker and I am very happy with my purchase.