Amazon’s redesigned Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Colorsoft have reached Australia. The two e-readers, announced on 1 October and on pre-order since, were listed by Amazon Australia for release on 11 November, and when we checked on 12 November its store showed both the Paperwhite and the Colorsoft Signature Edition in stock, with prices from A$369 for the Paperwhite to A$499 for the Colorsoft Signature Edition.
They are thinner, more colourful and come with new page-turning accessories. But early hands-on reports and side-by-side comparisons suggest the reading screens have changed far less than the design, the more expensive Signature Editions drop standard Qi wireless charging, and every model costs more than its predecessor did earlier this year. Here’s what you get, what it costs and who should upgrade.
What’s on sale in Australia, and what it costs
These are Amazon’s Australian recommended prices, from its local announcement and its store listings for the Paperwhite and Colorsoft Signature Edition:
- Kindle Paperwhite, 16GB (Graphite): A$369
- Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, 32GB, aluminium back (Graphite or Seaglass Green): A$399
- Kindle Colorsoft, 16GB (Graphite): A$449
- Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition, 32GB, aluminium (Graphite or Fig): A$499
The redesigned 6-inch base Kindle has been on sale in Australia since Amazon’s 1 October announcement, at A$279 (16GB), or A$299 with an aluminium back and 32GB, prices 7NEWS also reported at launch. New accessories are sold separately: the Kindle Click Bluetooth page-turn remote (A$49.95), a Page-Turn Cover with physical buttons (A$119.95), a Charging Dock (A$89.95) and covers from A$54.95. In the US, the Paperwhite and Colorsoft shipped earlier, on 28 October, according to Gizmodo and PCMag; Tech Times reported that the UK, Germany and Japan were also due on 11 November.
What Amazon says is new
Amazon describes the range as redesigned “from the ground up”, built around what it calls a reverse stack display construction. In practice, the changes it lists are:
- Thinner, lighter bodies with the device colour wrapping from the back around the front, which Amazon calls edge-to-edge colour.
- For the Paperwhite, an oxide thin-film transistor backplane that Amazon says gives the highest contrast of any Paperwhite, plus up to 12 weeks of battery life, IPX8 waterproofing and an adjustable warm light.
- For the Colorsoft, a redesigned light guide with nitride LEDs and “micro-deflectors” that Amazon says improve colour, brightness and uniformity.
- For both Signature Editions, an aluminium back, 32GB of storage, an auto-adjusting front light, double-tap page turns and charging through pogo-pin contacts on the back.
Independent measurements put numbers on the slimming down. Popular Mechanics and The eBook Reader both list the standard Paperwhite at 6.8mm thick and 204g, against 7.8mm and 211g for the 2024 model. The aluminium Signature Edition goes the other way: about 229g, up from 214g. The power button has also moved from the bottom edge to the upper-right side, where it is harder to press by accident.
What reviewers have found so far
The verdict from the first reviews is that this is mostly a design refresh. PCMag’s Will Greenwald, who handled the range at Amazon’s launch, wrote that “very little has changed under the hood” and that the E Ink screens are the same as on the previous models. Gizmodo reported that the Colorsoft’s chip, storage and colour e-paper display are unchanged, and Popular Mechanics notes that the Paperwhite is still a 7-inch, 300 pixels-per-inch screen.
The most detailed side-by-side we found, from The eBook Reader, which owns both Paperwhites, found the 2026 screen “slightly better”, mostly in dark mode, and said the difference was “not really” noticeable in normal reading. It found its new Paperwhite’s front light unusually even, though it stresses that front lights vary between units, and said its 2026 Colorsoft looked noticeably bluer at the cool end. The same site reports that the new Kindles have removable back panels and user-replaceable batteries; Amazon’s Australian announcement doesn’t mention this.
Engadget’s review of the Paperwhite Signature Edition, headlined “Updated In All The Right Places”, praised the polish, but concluded that it is “more of a splurge than an essential purchase” compared with the standard Paperwhite. We haven’t tested the new Kindles ourselves.
The catch: Signature Editions drop Qi wireless charging
The 2024 Paperwhite Signature Edition could be charged on any standard Qi wireless charging pad. The 2026 version can’t: Engadget, Popular Mechanics and The eBook Reader all report that Amazon replaced Qi with pogo-pin contacts on the back, and Amazon lists the same pogo-pin dock charging for the new Colorsoft Signature Edition. To charge either without a cable you now need Amazon’s A$89.95 Charging Dock, and the A$119.95 Page-Turn Cover also connects through those pins, so it only works with the two Signature Editions.
If you already charge your Kindle on a Qi pad or a phone charging stand, that’s a step backwards. The cheaper Kindle Click remote is more flexible: Amazon says it works with the new Kindles and any Kindle from 2024 or later.
Every model costs more than it did in April
In April 2026, 7NEWS listed the regular Amazon Australia prices of the previous models as A$299 for the 16GB Paperwhite, A$329 for the Paperwhite Signature Edition, A$399 for the 16GB Colorsoft and A$449 for the 32GB Colorsoft. Compared with those prices, the new Paperwhite and Paperwhite Signature Edition are A$70 dearer (about 23 and 21 per cent), and the two Colorsoft models are A$50 dearer (about 13 and 11 per cent), by our calculation.
Amazon hasn’t explained its Australian pricing. In the US, Gizmodo reports that Amazon raised Kindle prices in August, before the new models arrived, so the 2026 range launched at the higher prices; Tech Times says the August rise was put down to higher memory and storage costs. We haven’t confirmed whether Australian prices changed at the same time.
Should you upgrade?
Our read: if you own a 2024 Paperwhite or Colorsoft, there is little reason to replace it. The screen, battery life and waterproofing are essentially the same, and you would give up Qi charging if you moved from a 2024 Paperwhite Signature Edition to the new one. If your Kindle is older, or this is your first e-reader, the new models are the ones to buy, but the standard A$369 Paperwhite covers what most readers need. The Colorsoft makes most sense if you read comics, graphic novels, cookbooks or travel guides, since early reports say its screen is unchanged from the previous Colorsoft.
With Black Friday sales approaching, it may be worth watching for discounts before you buy. Amazon Australia’s listing for the Colorsoft Signature Edition says purchases made between 1 November and 31 December 2026 can be returned for change of mind until 31 January 2027, which is useful if you’re buying one as a Christmas gift. Elsewhere in Amazon’s hardware family this week, Amazon-owned Ring put a US price on its flying Drone Cam.
What we don’t know yet
- Battery life and contrast figures are Amazon’s own claims; full lab reviews of the 2026 Colorsoft were still thin on the ground when we published.
- The 11 November date comes from Amazon Australia’s product listings; Amazon’s Australian announcement didn’t give a date. Delivery times may vary by retailer and colour.
- Our price comparison uses the regular prices 7NEWS listed in April 2026. Amazon may have changed Australian prices between April and the 1 October launch.
- Amazon hasn’t confirmed The eBook Reader’s report of user-replaceable batteries, or said whether replacement batteries will be sold in Australia.
Featured image: an earlier-generation Amazon Kindle Paperwhite in a folio case, photographed in 2023, not the 2026 model. Photo: Jacek Halicki via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; cropped to 3:2, resized to 1200×800 and converted to PNG. The adapted image is shared under the same licence. Kindle and Amazon trademarks are shown for editorial purposes and do not imply endorsement.
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