Amazon Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition 32GB (2024 model) – With color display, auto-adjusting front light, wireless charging, and long battery life - Metallic Black

Let's get one thing out of the way from the beginning: if the question is "which Kindle should somebody get," the answer most of the time is probably the Kindle Paperwhite. If, however, your pre-existing Kindle is almost a decade old or you're somebody who loves the latest and greatest thing, the Kindle Colorsoft might be for you. If that's you, my experience is that you won't regret diving into a more colorful world. I've been using the Kindle Oasis since 2017. In that time, the gradual degradation of hardware becomes noticeable: the ghostly appearance of text from pages past, the leisurely page turn speed, slow navigation, etc. None of these personal details matter to you, the person reading this review, but I share them because it should help provide some context so you can take my comments about the Colorsoft with a grain of salt if you would like to do so. With that said, I am genuinely impressed with what I've experienced so far. The text is crisp, and page turns are lightning quick. The star of the show, of course, is the introduction of color. I was initially skeptical of how much the color would add to the Kindle experience, especially given the existence of smaller tablets with LCD screens. After about a week with the Colorsoft, I must say I am surprised by how impactful the inclusion of color has been. Seeing the color versions of the book covers in my library is delightful, though I'm not sure why it resonates so much with me. Of course, the colors will be more vivid on an iPad but that misses the point. I enjoy reading on Kindles because they strain my eyes so much less than tablets do. The colors on the Colorsoft may be more muted (though you may be able to goose them a bit if you fiddle in settings), but they still look good, and the trade-off is worth it if you're prioritizing your eyes or if you tend to do a lot of reading in bed. I've seen some comment in reviews that the page turn speed is a bit slower when you go from a color page to a color page, but it hasn't been terribly noticeable for me. If you've gotten this far, you might be wondering about the yellow discoloration that some have noticed at the bottom of the Colorsoft's screen. While I understand that many people had this issue with their devices, I haven't noticed it with mine. Maybe it would show up if I took a photograph of my screen, but if I can't detect the issue with my naked eye, I'm not going to worry about it. With that said, I completely understand if the discoloration would be a dealbreaker. At $279.99, the Colorsoft is priced as a premium device. A premium device should deliver premium performance. Thankfully, it appears Amazon has already taken steps to address this problem for those affected by the discoloration issue. In my experience, though, the screen has been excellent. To sum it all up: the Kindle Colorsoft is really enjoyable to use, and you might be surprised by how much color adds to the experience. However, the price point does make the Colorsoft a bit of a tough sell if you're using a more recent Kindle or don't have issues using a tablet for reading.

A perfect upgrade/2nd device to my 2018 (32gb) Kindle PW, especially considering it’s the 1st Gen of its kind. I was initially scared it’d feel a lot bigger than my current 6” reader (which I love size-wise because it fits in even the smallest of bags/pockets), but it honestly isn’t too noticeable & still light/easy to carry with me on-the-go. One of the first things I noticed was its speed & how much faster it was than my PW model. The 32gb of storage space was also something I didn’t want to compromise on because, imo, it’s such great value for the money and I really hate how they limit the other models to only 16gb (the Oasis and Scribe models just aren’t for me/too large & expensive). Regarding issues others have pointed out in reviews (and hence why I am updating my own review, after now having my CS for about a week)— I have yet to experience any *major* problems with the screen color or brightness/warmness (my device does have a very faint yellow tint at the bottom, but it’s barely noticeable so I really just…. don’t care lol, it doesn’t impact my reading at all). My favorite part is how you can switch the Color mode from “Standard” (for a more subtle, muted look) to “Vivid” (higher contrast than the latter setting, but still easy on the eyes & not too jarring). Lastly, I also love that Dark Mode + other misc things (like adding custom fonts) are still available. It IS worth noting that Dark Mode only works for [most] books & does NOT currently extend out to the Main Menu headers/Homepage— I say “most” because I have some downloaded files on my Kindles and, even though they’re the right file format (.epub), they don’t always allow for certain features to work for whatever reason. I genuinely didn’t realize that Dark Mode didn’t work across the board, so that was a little disappointing to discover later, but hopefully it’s something that can be fixed via software updates or in later Generations! For some added context: I have really bad eyes & need to wear glasses daily but, even so, I still do *not* view this as a dealbreaker on whether or not the CS device is worth it, because I still believe it is. Rather, I just use my PW at night & at home (so that I can utilize Dark Mode to the fullest), and keep/bring my CS now when I’m out or at work. Overall, my recommendation is just to do your own research on each model before buying! If some of the features (or lack thereof/limitations) are a dealbreaker for you, I’d consider holding off or buying a different model. However, if you’re just looking for a simple & new or supplemental e-reader that has plenty of space AND also just happens to be in color, I’d say this one fits the bill just fine!

This is my first kindle. I had seen them in the wild and always scoffed at the idea of an reader. I have always been the type to buy the book and either add it to my bookshelf or donate it when done. But recently I started reading in the Kindle app on my phone. Not sure why, maybe it was my mom retiring and using her kindle Paperwhite. But as I started reading books on my phone I decided getting a kindle was that next step. I weighed the Paperwhite against the color soft and the price difference left me leaning to the color soft. The black and white doesn't look much different than my mom's Paperwhite but the color is very soft in tone as the name implies. I was not surprised at that as there is many reviews online that show the color. So why color? Well if you like to read the occasional comic or graphic novel or just like to see some color covers or color highlights then the color soft is for you. If color is not the issue then go with the Paperwhite. As for memory, I am glad I got the 32gb model. After the Kindle pre installed software and such you are left with 25 gb. Black and White text books are only a few mega bites but a graphic novel is easily 250 megabytes. Of course you can always remove your books while still seeing them in your library. I did take Amazon up on the Kindle unlimited trial. Not sure I will renew as between work and my kids I can only read 3 or 4 books a month. Buying your books has the benefit of reading them at any time without a subscription and books are only 3 to 5 dollars. If you read several books a week then Kindle unlimited is for you. The colosoft is very sharp and clear. Text is customizable by size and font. Works good in sunlight and I like that it's waterproof. Not that I am taking it to the pool but if I split my drink I would know I am ok. I know there is a lot of reviews that mention the yellow bar but my Kindle has none of that so I assume that has been resolved. My only minor issue with the Kindle is there is a faint white halo around the border where you can kind of see the backlight shining through but is barely noticable once you start reading and is less of a defect than it is how it is designed. The screen is a nice glare free matt finish and the Kindle case is easily installed and a nice accessory. The battery life is sufficient but I feel like the way the battery life is advertised is a bit false. They say 8 weeks but apparently that's based on 30 minutes a day of reading. Who reads 30 minutes a day. I am a light reader and even I read more than 30 minutes a day. I would say you get about 24 hours of reading. Which is still pretty decent. Overall I would give it 4.5 out of 5 stars. I really like my Kindle and it feels like I am reading from a paper book.

I've been reading ebooks for years on a variety of platforms. But the Kindle has been my go-to one for many years because of the battery life, as well as Amazon's variety of reading material. But I've always wanted them to have a color screen model. When they announced the Colorsoft, I ordered one immediately. Once I received it set up was easy. It was nice seeing the covers in color, and viewing books with color photos much nicer that seeing them in B&W on a Signature device. I played with display settings trying to optimize the color displays and have to admit I was not impressed with them. They did not match the Amazon site displays, they were much more subdued, almost like pastel colors. I've used my iPad mini to read them on, and while I didn't expect that quality of display, it was still somewhat of a disappointment. Battery life is slightly less than the Signature that I had but given it takes more power to display color than monochrome, I expected that. I also ordered the fabric cover which fits well, a necessary accessory in my opinion. The reason I'm writing this today is I've been reading some reviews and was surprised about the yellow artifact on the lower part of the screen. I had not noticed it before. So I looked at mine today, and surprisingly there is a very subdued yellow artifact. It seems to be about the size of the menu at the bottom of the screen when it's on the library screen (that menu has a yellowish tinge to it as well). It's not a major distraction but from what I'm reading it seems to be a manufacturing or software that Amazon is aware of and is working to correct it. I can return mine up till Nov. 2025 so I'm thinking I might do that since my was one of the first ones shipped. It's a great reading device, well worth the price. Given that it's Amazon's first dedicated color reader, it's worth it. FOLLOW-UP: Since my Colorsoft warranty can be exchanged through Nov. 1, 2025, I tried to contact them and arrange for an exchange due to the yellow band. There is no way that I am able to do that, when I follow the return process is only offers suggestions for self troubleshooting, nothing else. A little dissappointed since this seems to be a current problem.

2nd UPDATE (March 12, 2025): The 2024 Kindle Paperwhite that I purchased to replace my yellowed Kindle Colorsoft in November arrived with EVEN WORSE YELLOWING. I could NOT believe it. So instead, I sent THAT Kindle back, and requested Amazon send a replacement Kindle Colorsoft instead. The replacement Colorsoft arrived in December and I sent back my original, yellowed Colorsoft. Then over the past three months, that replacement Colorsoft BEGAN YELLOWING TOO. It's ABSOLUTELY clear Amazon did not change their production process. No matter what 2024 Kindle device you buy, its display will eventually turn yellow due to the faulty display adhesive they switched to in 2024. DON'T BOTHER. Just DON'T BOTHER. If I could give my Kindle Colorsoft--for which I'll never get my money back--ZERO STARS, I would. Same with the 2024 Paperwhite. I just use my iPad now to read Kindle books. But I will NEVER, EVER buy another Kindle device. Neither should you. ____ UPDATE: After 10 days of owning my new Kindle ColorSoft, I changed my 5-star review to a 1-star review. My original review is below, and all of it still stands. But the weird, prominent yellow bar across the bottom of the display--almost like someone wrote across the display with a yellow hi-liter, is a real thing. The only way not to see it, or be distracted by it, is to pump your display warmth up so that the yellow from the warmth blends in with the bottom stripe. It's ridiculous that Amazon went to market with this display flaw. Were they hoping no one would notice? Now reviewers are saying there won't even be a hardware fix--there may instead be a "software fix". Which means either making your whole display yellow or putting a black bar across the bottom of the screen. Either way, hard nope. If you request a call from Amazon Product Services, you have options to return or exchange your dingy Colorsoft. If you return it, you'll wait 2 to 4 weeks for your funds to be processed back to you. If you exchange it, you can only do so for a new, hopefully corrected Colorsoft, and they're not shipping for "3 to 5 weeks". Until then, you get to keep on using your faulty one. If you want to exchange for a different new Kindle model, Amazon will NOT process that for you in one transaction. Instead, you have to initiate a return--triggering that 2 to 4 week wait for your refund--and purchase a different new Kindle SEPARATELY. Which means, until your refund arrives, you're essentially lending Amazon your money for a month for free. Making things EVEN MORE complicated, if you used your old Kindle for trade-in value, Amazon WILL NOT give you that value back, giving you zero options for a clean return. The Product Services representative will, however, give you a 20% discount code to purchase a new Kindle. But you still have to do the return and new purchase separately. (And wait that month for Amazon to give you back your original purchase price.) All in all, the handling of this complete launch misfire has been unacceptably customer-unfriendly. Amazon could make it SO MUCH EASIER for the people who placed advanced orders, traded in their old Kindles, and early adopted the Colorsoft to get their money back and get new devices. You would think they'd want to do that after all the hard promotion the Kindle management team did with tech media and influencers in mid-October. Instead, the nearly complete lack of proactive customer service for what is Amazon's 100% own goal and no one else's fault has turned their product ambassadors into naysayers. That's a lot of marketing money thrown in the toilet. I decided to return my Colorsoft, and use the 20% discount code to order a new Paperwhite. Amazon charged me A DOLLAR to send me a shipping label, and I have to BUY MY OWN BOX at UPS. (At this point, are you surprised? Whatever you do, DO NOT BUY THIS DEVICE. This launch has been an unmitigated disaster. If I want color book covers, I'll use the Kindle app on my iPad. You should, too. ____ ORIGINAL REVIEW: Like reading a newspaper with full-color photos. Not tablet-like photos, not meant to be. Absolutely joyful. A breath of fresh air to be able to easily browse the covers in your library, your wish list, and the Kindle Store. The Vivid mode makes the colors pop better. Auto-brightness and scheduled warmth make the device less fiddly. The alleged fuzzy look of reading B&W text due to the color layer is a nothing burger—the layer is barely noticeable at all. The layer allegedly making things darker is also mildly ridiculous. That’s what your brightness control is for—including when auto-brightness is on. Just choose your preferences once and you’re all set. And does anyone really care the battery now lasts for two MONTHS instead of three? Unless you were an Oasis owner, this will be the best Kindle you’ve ever owned. Take advantage of current generous trade-in offers and treat yourself.

Alright grab a cup of coffee or a cocktail and settle back as I spin my yarn. So, I'm a big fan of kindles. Since 2010 when we had this technology explosion, smartphones and tablets came on the scene and e-paper became an alternative to reading on LCD and OLED, I have been a "Kindle Aficionado.". I have gotten many, many kindles and sometimes paid more for them than I would have preferred, like 350-400 bucks. I usually can recoup about 100 bucks of that by selling them on later after I'm done as I take care of my devices. I got the first generation Paperwhite with the ever-so-slight visible backlight "issue" that people overeacted to. I remember when that got improved and the processor speed went up making it more usable. I remember when we got warm mode for the first time. I remember the first kindle with Auto Brightness. I remember "whispersync" when we could actually download things off wifi for free via 3G networks. I remember Kindle Voyage's glass screen and coffin-shaped back. I remember the original Oasis with the detachable and expensive "leatherette" cover. I remember the waterproof second generation Oasis. All of them were wonderful and all had pretty much steady improvements. All still usable, Still have a Voyage to this day because of it's glass screen quality, despite it not having enough space. Unlike phones, kindle devices last a long time, well past their internal technology sell by date. The kindle I replaced was relatively new for Kindles, but ancient in tech terms (2019, 6 years ago. Technology uses dog years so about 50 years old, lol). Still works flawlessly. Couple issues, one is no color and the other is no USB C (or wireless charging). So it's time, I traded one of my 2nd gen Oases in for this device and Although it's not a premium build as Kindles go, it's a color paperwhite - And probably the first of many color e-ink displays - it's features were an ABSOLUTE MUST for me. Color, wireless charging and USB C so I can start getting rid of all micro USB keyed cables in my house. These are all big deals. I skipped the scribe, it's cool but I'll wait for the eventual color version, color is that big of a deal. Now you're probably reading some of the pearl clutching reviews people have posted complaining about those things like yellow bottom border, lower resolution and less white "paper" - it's now more of a greyish color and it's a slight step back I will admit. But the fact I can see all my books in color - pretty decent color mind you - that alone is worth the cost of admission. I read comics and "graphic novels". and I'm reading the X-men series from the 80s on up atm and am loving it. Been doing it on an ipad pro, brand new and extremely expensive and fragile device also not worth what is charged for it (1100 bucks). I basically use it to browse the web occasionally and read comics. Now I can read them on my kindle colorsoft signature edition along with my books instead of not being able to. Also, books with 2 color printing like the Illustrated Silmarillion now have their colored titles show up which is refreshing and something I love about the print editions. These also have their color illustrations in color instead of a greyscale mess where before you'd try to work out what it was. It's a game changer. SImply put. For those who read books with "plates" (as long as the kindle edition supports it I assume) you now get them in color. Comics are almost like reading old yellowed comic books. It has a charm that makes it worthwhile. Now, is it as vibrant as an Ipad, no, it's not and there might be some use cases for still using your ipad first for art heavy books, but being able to see them in color with only an e-ink device is still huge, as before you wouldn't even be able to appreciate or make sense of them. You'd never open them, it was print only and no color in the print ever breaking up the monotony. The fact this is a thing of the past now ? That's fantastic and worth the tradeoffs. The trade offs - let's talk about them. They're only issues if you had bad expectations, wanted a tablet, or are OCD. That's my feelilng anyway. You get a greyer, "dirtier" background and a lower resolution of 150 DPI when images are on the screen. Sure, this is kind of noticable but not deal breakers by any means unless you're "pixel peeping" and letting your OCD get the best of you. If you are using warm mode the bottom of the screen can geta bit yellowish (I mean it's warm mode, the whole screen is getting more yellow) but it can be slightly un-uniform and I guess this freaks some folks out that want something perfect. I'm not one of them, but that's probably the reason for the returns and 3 stars I guess. It is what it is... those people will miss out on color e-ink. Also I'm sure they'll improve these very minor limitations over time. Similar thing happened with the OG paperwhite and itnever stopped me reading on it, I eventually replaced it and got a better display and more speed. Let's face it. Your average kindle you could expect to keep for 2 or 3 years until a new model comes out and then sell it for a few bob on ebay, provided you didn't lose it or damage it in that time. Or you could keep it for 10 years until it was totally obsolete and nobody wanted it and have to toss it as it fails as all electronics do these days as nobody repairs em anymore. I know what I've been doing with mine, flipping them back and getting the latest and greatest. Technology will always improve and I look forward to future kindles with improvements, but know this much... I'm not going back to black and white only. Even if it's a little cleaner and whiter. Also I have some older kindles still so If I want that experience I can have it. Some people may not be able to make this trade off and that's fine - you can keep to your paperwhite. The speed of this device is also quite good, yes it has to do page refresh more often on color but old kindles had that issue too and had worse "dirt" that accumulated, I think people today are a bit spoiled. One area I would like to see is 64 GB, with color file sizes are more, and 32 GB is not a lot. 64 GB and 128 GB ought to be the norm, come on, it's 2025, and NAND flash is cheaper than ever and getting cheaper constantly. I remember when kindles had 2 GB on them. 2 GB ! lol. All in all, I'm all in. And i'm excited where the future of color e-ink is going.

I purchased the Amazon Kindle Colorsoft so I could have color images and graphics on many textbooks in my collection, as well as the ability to highlight in different colors, a feature I used a lot on my Android Kindle app but couldn't with my 2021 Paperwhite. The book covers are nice in color, too, bringing a level of dimension to my library that I enjoy a lot. I am giving this five stars as it satisfies my main objectives: The color is good, color highlighting excellent, and the speed of page turns and library browsing is excellent (noticeably faster than my 2021 Paperwhite). The only thing missing is a satisfying "dark mode," as it only affects the book pages and not the whole interface as with the Paperwhite. Perhaps this will change in a future update, but it isn't a big issue for me and the white text on a black background is still excellent for night reading, especially with the amber glow turned to the max. Color highlighting in this mode is also excellent. I do have some caveats, however: The battery drains a lot quicker than the Paperwhite, and the 32GB storage fills up a lot quicker. Also, the "Vivid" color setting seems to switch back to "Standard" sporadically, even if it still says "Vivid" is selected (this might be happening after I select a Restart). These are not serious issues as I just need to charge more frequently and will refrain from downloading my whole library as space fills up, and a reset to "Vivid" handles the color issue until a software fix is available (assuming this isn't just my imagination). In addition, the price is very high for what it offers, so unless color is very important to someone (to view comics, highlighting in color, etc.), the new 2024 Paperwhite might be the better option. UPDATE: An unfortunate issue a lot of reviews have mentioned is a yellow band at the bottom of the screen. At first, I didn't think my Colorsoft had this issue, but now I see a very faint band at the bottom of the screen when reading with black text on a white background. To be fair, I might not have noticed this without the issue being pointed out, and it is a lot less noticeable than some photos I've seen (I have the warmth setting set to 10 normally, which might camouflage the band a little). It looks to me like an issue of the calibration of the LEDs as it doesn't appear when the backlight is off. It is also undetectable with images and using the white test on a black background. Still, it is there, and I am requesting a replacement for when the issue is resolved. I'm keeping my review 5-stars because Amazon has been very responsive regarding this yellow banding issue. Contacting customer service via a chat was a simple process and a replacement request was quickly queued up (replacements, alas, aren't available yet while the underlying issue is being investigated and resolved), and I can keep using my current Colorsoft in the meantime (while noticeable, the yellow band isn't distracting while I read). One of the reasons I keep coming to Amazon is their fantastic customer service, and this is a good example of them doing what they can for an unfortunate situation. UPDATE #2: I received my replacement Kindle Colorsoft and the yellow banding issue is resolved. Again, I feel the customer service response to this issue was excellent and it is a primary reason I continue to use Amazon. UPDATE #3: The firmware update adding system-wide Dark Mode is a game-changer and very welcome addition to the Colorsoft. I prefer reading in Dark Mode and prior to the system-wide version, going outside a book was blinding at night. That issue has been resolved and the Colorsoft system-wide Dark Mode looks beautiful.

I'm not sure if I got a unicorn Colorsoft or whatever, but I've not had ANY of the negative issues other reviewers noted. That said, I DID order this two months after the release. I kept my expectations realistic for e-ink and it's limitations goin in. This Colorsoft replaced my wife's 2014 Kindle Voyage (which still works BTW, if with a bit of an aging battery), so my expectations and experience are also based on a 10 year gap in e-reader upgrades. First, I had zero, ZERO yellow ghosting or tint at the bottom of the screen. No matter how I set the brightness and warmth sliders, a pure white background shows no tinting at all. Anywhere. Insofar as color temperature, with the warmth turned all the way down, this screen is wicked white, especially with the brightness cranked. Whiter than the old Voyage. Brightness-wise, it seems right on par with the Voyage, but MUCH more uniform. The new Paperwhite gets just a bit brighter. For clarity, from what I can see, black text and whatnot look just as clear as they do on the Voyage, but that IS a 10 year old reader that uses the original e-ink Carta technology. A great 10 year old reader, but still old. For me, it wasn't a downgrade at all. It's 300 ppi and it look like it. For color images and text, there's a SLIGHT hit on resolution, but unless your face is pretty much within eight inches of the screen, it's not noticeable. Color images will NOT look as good as and LCD or OLED screen. Period. It's not going to be an e-ink iPad replacement. Colors are a bit muted, but honestly look MUCH more saturated than on other color e-ink readers I've used, including those with the same Kaleido 3 screens. It's all in the software, and Amazon has the device auto-tune things to either standard or vivid settings. I go with vivid, myself. Why not? Color resolution drops to 150 ppi, but that's plenty from a normal reading distance. Between the matte glass, muted colors, and color resolution, think really, REALLY good newsprint quality or good (but not great) magazine quality. It's good, and like I said, the black and white sharpness doesn't seem to suffer at all. And that's what I expected. The screen gets bright, REALLY bright. And it's uniformly bright. In a well-lit room indoors, it's normally set to around 10 or 12 out of 24. In an insanely well lit room, I've had to crank it to as high as about 20. Even in that insanely well lit room, 24 was too bright. And outdoors, particularly in sunlight, the brightness can be turned off. It's e-ink. Reflected light is this thing's strength. As far as other features go, this is pretty much a carbon copy of the newest Paperwhite Signature Edition. Same 32GB of storage, same Mediatek MT8113 2Ghz CPU, same 2GB of RAM, same Qi wireless charging, the same 2300 MAH battery, and the same IPX8 rating. The screen is the same size, but has color. The device also weighs about .2 ounces or 6-7 grams more than the Paperwhite. Think the weight of about 6-7 small, metal paperclips. Compared to the non-Signature Paperwhite, there's the addition of double the storage, no special offers by default, wireless charging, and auto dimming (all of which which the Paperwhite Signature also has). For color reading (magazines, comics, etc.), this trumps the Paperwhites in every regard. If all you'll EVER do is black text reading, this may not be your best option. The Paperwhite Signature Edition's e-ink Carta 1300 screen is made for that. It's slightly shaper, slightly brighter (since the front light doesn't need to reflect through an additional color layer of the screen, in BOTH directions), and refreshes slightly faster, since there's only one layer refreshing (that being said, the Colorsoft actually refreshes faster and cleaner than my Voyage ever did). And, the Paperwhite will offer about 50% more battery life, since the simpler B&W screen is doing a LOT less work. That said, I've had my wife's Colorsoft off the charger for over eight days, with her reading at LEAST a half-hour each day, and it's just now down to 80%. Or a drain of about 2.5% a day or so. No complaints. Speed-wise and interface-wise, they're identical... great and snappy. Me personally, I can see a slight difference in the screens for B&W reading, but just barely, and only up close. Being as my wife likes the book cover art and will be reading magazines and the like on this, the color upgrade was definitely worth it. If I knew for CERTAIN that she would never read or view anything in color, the Paperwhite Signature would have been the better purchase, as it offers EVERY feature of this, except the color screen, has a SLIGHT increase in clarity, and is $80 cheaper. But for color, this is it. Compared to other color e-readers I've used, this one has BY FAR the best text and image quality, refresh rate, refresh cleanliness (ghosting), color saturation, and background clarity. No contest, all around. Compared to a great tablet, this still has tons of advantages, like no refreshing of the screen (e-ink produces a static image) and SUBSTANTIALLY more battery life. AND this is a dedicated e-reader. It does nothing else. Something to be said for that. So far, I'm impressed and very happy with the purchase.