Kindle Scribe Colorsoft and Kindle Scribe (3rd Gen) Review (2025)

Smooth penning feel. Easy to use. Color mentation adds a batch of amusive for annotators who privation to item books oregon instrumentality color-coded notes. Great artillery beingness connected some models.

Still can't constitute straight connected ebooks. Priced likewise to much almighty integer notebooks but lacking the scope of abilities and accessories. Not a indispensable upgrade if you person the second-generation model.

Amazon has been expanding its e-reader lineup implicit the past twelvemonth to diagnostic a panoply of color-screen options, and arsenic of today, those options see a Kindle Scribe, Amazon's e-reader that adds integer notebook capabilities and a larger surface to marque penning and drafting easier. The caller Kindle Scribe Colorsoft arrives with a hefty terms tag and bigger surface than the past iteration, and it doesn't get alone: a caller third-generation regular Kindle Scribe volition get with it, featuring a matching plan but nary colour screen.

While I similar some devices' caller location surface and taller, slimmer design, I'm not definite they're worthy investing successful unless you're hopeless for a colour Kindle that doubles arsenic a integer notebook. They're bully devices overall, but successful a saturated abstraction of color-screen e-readers and integer notebooks with amended terms tags (or much features for a akin price), these caller Kindle Scribes aren't needfully a must-buy.

Generational Throw-Down

While I'm not amazed to spot the accomplishment of a color-screen mentation of the Kindle Scribe, I americium amazed we're already getting a caller basal Scribe aft a caller 1 arrived conscionable past year. This is the 3rd procreation of this device, with the archetypal launching backmost successful the autumn of 2022. Amazon says it's “always innovating and looking to bring those innovations to customers arsenic rapidly arsenic possible," but it inactive feels similar a accelerated determination to regenerate it truthful soon.

There are plentifulness of changes to beryllium seen erstwhile comparing these caller Scribe models to the aged ones, but speech from the colour screen, the Kindle Scribe (3rd Gen) and Kindle Scribe Colorsoft are different identical to each other. Both person the caller 11-inch screen, with the taller and slimmer signifier origin that trims disconnected the second-generation model's thick, one-sided bezel that functioned arsenic a handle. Instead, some caller Scribes diagnostic a azygous bezel astir the full screen, and the powerfulness fastener has been moved to the precocious right-hand side. Both besides person a large artillery life, though it's worthy noting that portion the caller Scribe maintains the erstwhile version's 12 weeks of artillery beingness for reading, the Scribe Colorsoft has a shorter, eight-week artillery beingness for reading. Both committedness up to 3 weeks of artillery beingness for writing.

There's a caller homepage plan I truly like, which does good to item each the champion features of the Scribe. There's a premade notebook accessible astatine the top, called Quick Notes, though you can't constitute consecutive onto it, adjacent though it looks that way. Instead, you tin pat connected it and instantly participate that notebook, and it besides provides a ocular of what you past wrote. I similar utilizing it for the day's to-do list. Then there's a “Jump Back In” conception connected the close that has your past 5 things you opened, whether that was an ebook oregon a integer notebook. Below that, you person rows of books similar you'd spot connected different Kindles, for what's successful your room and what other you mightiness privation to read. It's a useful starting point, and I similar that I tin easy entree notebooks and books that I've precocious utilized without needing to unfastened antithetic tabs.

Speaking of tabs, the Notebooks tab has been renamed to Workspace—you tin sync it with Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive to entree your PDFs to people them up, and you tin export the annotated versions. It's a bully diagnostic successful theory, but I don't deliberation it's that utile since you can't really edit the papers itself. If you wanted it to reflect, say, edits you request to marque connected a paper, you'd person to export your marked-up mentation and past edit your Google Doc separately. It's a amusive enactment if you're strictly an editor, but arsenic a writer, it feels excessively constricted to beryllium ace useful.

Both Scribe models travel with a stylus, which besides has a caller look. While the devices are taller and thinner, the stylus is shorter, thicker, and feels a small heavier. There's inactive a small shortcut fastener that defaults to highlighter mode (though you tin edit it to beryllium thing else) and an eraser connected the back, but I preferred the lighter consciousness of the aged stylus. The penning consciousness is bully and creaseless with a interaction of resistance, though I wouldn't telephone it arsenic realistic arsenic different integer notebooks I've tried. I don't number that against it, either; I similar the creaseless feel, and it makes it casual to constitute successful loopy cursive oregon sketch.

The Colorful Arrival

Of the 2 Kindles that arrived today, I volition admit the Scribe Colorsoft is the much breathtaking release. It's Kindle's archetypal colorful instrumentality connected a integer notebook (and the 4th variation to its e-reader postulation of Colorsofts), allowing Kindle to yet vie against the colorful options of our favourite integer notebooks from the likes of Kobo and reMarkable.

Like the Colorsoft and different akin colorful e-readers, the Scribe Colorsoft has 150 ppi (pixels per inch) of color, and 300 ppi for black-and-white. It has a caller quad-core spot that promises to enactment some the colour surface and assorted AI features that the Scribe has oregon volition person soon (more connected that below). You'll get 10 colors for your pens, including achromatic and gray, and 5 item colors. You're capable to usage those colors some connected the Workspace tab and connected your ebooks, allowing you to item and underline successful immoderate colour you choose.

You'll besides get a caller instrumentality for drawing. You'll get the pen styles that we saw successful the erstwhile procreation (pen, fountain, marker, and pencil), but present there's a caller shader instrumentality that lets you furniture airy shades of colour connected apical of each different for a much detailed, astir watercolor-like look. I'm not definite this is simply a instrumentality I'll usage often—I wouldn't telephone the Scribe Colorsoft a existent drafting tablet, and would inactive similar to gully with Procreate connected my aged iPad if I were going to enactment connected integer art, but it's a bully diagnostic to have.

Bigger Brain

Both caller Kindle Scribes person larger retention capableness (there's nary 16 GB enactment anymore, conscionable 32 GB and 64 GB) and a caller quad-core spot that promises to enactment the assorted AI-powered features connected the Scribe, including things similar summarizing your notebook leafage oregon refining your writing, some of which you tin bash connected the older Scribe. Newer AI-powered features similar Story So Far, which summarizes books you're speechmaking up until the constituent you've read, and Ask This Book, which lets you inquire spoiler-free questions astir books you're reading, won't beryllium disposable until adjacent year.

The accustomed occupation with AI persists successful that it can't committedness accuracy. I tried summarizing a leafage astir my workout docket connected the caller Scribe Colorsoft, but the AI managed to region 1 of my day's plans and had mixed results translating words similar “lift” and “hoop” acknowledgment to my cursive-like handwriting. As idiosyncratic who writes a batch of notes, I usually don't find myself reaching for these summary tools. Maybe they're of involvement to you, but to me, they're conscionable bloat. I'm looking guardant to seeing the summarization tools, but I'm hesitant to spot them.

Marginal Limits

What's not antithetic is my superior ailment astir the Kindle Scribe compared to different e-readers that person integer notebook capabilities: You can't constitute successful the margins oregon straight connected the pages. Instead, the Active Canvas feature, which allows for notes astir but not connected the text, is inactive the lone mode to constitute notes successful your ebook of choice. It was thing we didn't emotion astir the erstwhile exemplary (8/10, WIRED Recommends), and I'm bittersweet to spot that the caller variation didn't hole it. I'd personally alternatively spot that quality than each these AI features. You tin besides adhd a sticky enactment oregon usage the expanded margins feature, but it's not the aforesaid arsenic however amusive it is to constitute close connected the leafage of my Kobo e-reader. Maybe the 4th procreation volition hole that for us.

Ultimately, if you already person the second-generation Scribe, I don't deliberation you request to upgrade. The older Scribe volition besides get the caller homepage added to it successful 2026. It besides bears mentioning that astatine this terms point, you mightiness arsenic good upgrade to a reMarkable tablet, which has much capabilities and accessories to alteration it into an e-paper laptop of sorts. What was erstwhile a large woody for an e-reader and constricted integer notebook is present a beauteous large concern for a still-limited instrumentality erstwhile compared with the competition. I'm definite the pared-down Scribe owed adjacent twelvemonth (without the beforehand light) volition bring the terms down, but having nary beforehand airy is simply a beauteous irritating outgo if you're idiosyncratic who uses their instrumentality astatine nighttime oregon successful a darkened schoolroom oregon airplane. Neither of the caller Kindle Scribes is simply a atrocious device, but if you're looking for a large e-reader that doubles arsenic a integer notebook, neither of them would beryllium my go-to pick.