With a sleek design and laser sharp display, the Amazon Kindle (11th generation) eBook reader makes it easy to take all of your favourite books wherever you go.
While you might keep a smartphone in your pocket and/or a tablet in your bag, dedicated eBook readers are far from obsolete. They offer avid readers a much lighter device that’s comfortable to hold in one hand for extended periods, with a screen that’s easier on the eye and a battery life that’s measured in weeks rather than hours.
As you’d expect after 11 generations, Amazon’s iconic Kindle eBook reader offers a slick and tightly-integrated reading experience. Also known as the ‘All-new Kindle (2022 release)’, the new Amazon Kindle (11th generation) extends the current Kindle line up to five.
As the second cheapest Kindle at $179, there are few surprises with Amazon’s latest eBook reader. Instead, it continues to hone the user experience and trickle down advanced features from the more expensive Kindle models.
Review: Amazon Kindle (11th generation)
| Australian website | Amazon |
| Price | $179 RRP |
| Warranty | 1 year |
| Other | You can read other GadgetGuy Kindle news and reviews here |
First impressions
The Amazon Kindle (11th generation) is ridiculously slender and light. The longer it is since you’ve held a Kindle, the more impressed you’ll be with how they’ve evolved over the years.
Weighing in at a mere 158 gm, the minimalist design doesn’t feature any buttons on the front for turning the page, you simply tap or swipe the screen. Across the bottom of the unit you’ll find a power button and USB-C charge port, but no headphone jack or speaker. Instead, you can connect headphones via Bluetooth to listen to a screen reader, but this Kindle can’t play audiobooks.
This new Kindle sports a 6-inch display, similar to the entry-level $139 Kindle. Like all Kindles, it’s a monochrome e-Ink display which only uses power when it refreshes the screen as you turn the page – in some ways it’s like an old Etch-a-Sketch.
Like all the current Kindles, the screen has a built-in adjustable front light so you can read indoors and outdoors, in any lighting conditions. Unlike the more expensive Kindles, the light in the 11th gen doesn’t adjust automatically to allow for ambient lighting conditions and you can’t adjust the warmth of the light.
Amazon has added a dark mode, which inverts the page to display white text on a black background. It also steps up from 8 to 16 GB of onboard storage, which is more than enough considering it only supports eBooks and not audio books.
More importantly, the big improvement with this new Amazon Kindle (11th generation) is that it bumps up the screen resolution from 167 to 300 dots per inch (dpi). As a result, pages look as sharp as if they were just spat out from a laser printer.
This is now the most affordable 300 dpi Kindle (previously you needed to spend at least $239 for the Kindle Paperwhite). Considering how much of a difference the leap 300 dpi makes, it’s hard to see why you’d spend $139 on the entry-level 167 dpi Kindle when this new Kindle is only an extra $40.
Amazon Kindle (11th generation) specs
| Screen size | 6 inches |
| Screen resolution | 300 dpi |
| Screen technology | e-Ink 16-level greyscale |
| Screen lighting | manully adjustable front light |
| Storage | 16 GB |
| Book formats | Natively: Kindle Format 8 (AZW3), Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC Through conversion: HTML DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, PMP, EPUB, TXT, RTF |
| Connectivity | USB-C Bluetooth Wi-Fi 2.4 and 5.0 GHz |
| Battery life | up to 6 weeks |
| Dimensions | 157.8 × 108.6 × 8.0 mm |
| Weight | 158 gm |
| Colours | Black, Denim |
Features
Amazon ensures the Kindle is very easy to set up, with the option to automatically configure it via Bluetooth using the Kindle app on a smartphone or tablet. Once it’s connected to your Wi-Fi network, the Kindle will automatically grant you access to your library. There’s also an option to create a profile for a child and add content from your Kindle library.
The Amazon Kindle (11th generation) lacks a built-in SIM card for accessing books via 4G “Whispersync” when you’re on the move, that’s only available in the top-of-the-line Kindle Oasis.
The USB-C charging port will be welcome if you’ve been steadily upgrading to USB-C devices. There’s a charge cable in the box but not an AC adaptor.
Amazon cites a battery life of up to six weeks, which is a step up from the entry-level Kindle. Even so, six weeks is rather optimistic considering that it’s based on only 30 minutes of reading each day with Wi-Fi disabled and the backlight turned down to 13 (it’s at 18 by default).
It’s worth noting that the 6-inch display is smaller than the 6.8 and 7-inch displays on the more expensive Kindles. Realistically, once you’re engrossed in a good book, you’re unlikely to notice the difference other than needing to turn the page more often. After a while you don’t even notice yourself turning the pages, just like reading a physical book.
The only real disappointment with this new Kindle is that it lacks IPX8 waterproofing. For that you need to step up to the $239 Kindle Paperwhite, which is protected against accidental immersion in up to two metres of fresh water for up to 60 minutes, or up to 0.25 metres of seawater for up to three minutes. There’s also a $289 Kindle Paperwhite Signature edition, but you might not consider it worth the extra $50.
Of course, the other key feature with every Kindle is the slick integration with Amazon’s eBook store. It’s easy to buy books directly from the eBook reader and keep your progress in sync with the Kindle app on your other devices. There’s also the Kindle Unlimited subscription, which grants you access to a wealth of titles for $13.99 per month (Amazon throws in a free 30-day trial).
Depending on where you want to buy your eBooks, some people might prefer the greater freedom granted by rival eBook readers like Kobo, which support the widely available EPUB eBook format. Amazon is reportedly expanding Kindle EPUB support later this year, but how well this works remains to be seen.
Quality
As the names suggest, the screen on the Amazon Kindle (11th generation) isn’t as white as the Kindle Paperwhite. While a Paperwhite screen does offer a nicer reading experience, this isn’t a dealbreaker and you wouldn’t notice unless you were downgrading from a Paperwhite model.
The lack of a Paperwhite screen does mean the contrast isn’t quite as high, although the step up to 300 dpi helps compensate for this in terms of readability. It’s also easy to adjust the font size to something that’s comfortable for you to read for extended periods.
The eBook reader also offers fast page turn times, to help you get lost in your book and forget that you’re using technology. “Refresh display with every page turn” is now diabled by default, meaning the screen doesn’t flash black every time you turn the page.
The low screen glare and adjustable backlight make for an excellent reading experience in a wide range of lighting conditions. Plus the unit is so small and light that you won’t tire of holding it in one hand for hours at a time, after which it’s easy to slip in your bag or even a large jacket pocket. Amazon sells a fabric screen cover for $49.95 in a range of colours.
GadgetGuy’s take
The Amazon Kindle (11th generation) is the new sweet spot in terms of price and features. If you’re in the market for a Kindle eBook reader and you don’t need all the bells and whistles of the high end models, you should be weighing up this new $179 Kindle and the $239 Kindle Paperwhite.
If you’re looking for an easy way to hold a vast book library in your hand, and you’re happy to buy your books through the Amazon ecosystem, the Amazon Kindle (11th generation) could be the eBook reader for you..
Would I buy it?
Yes, if I was sure I could live without the Kindle Paperwhite’s whiter screen and IPX8 waterproofing.
If it has Bluetooth on board, can it play audible books? I’m struggling to find a kindle that does.