Amazon Kindle (2024).

The Gavler Review.

Amazon Kindle (2024) Review: The Honest Entry Point

The Amazon Kindle (2024) ranks tenth on Gavler's Best E-Readers list with a 9.0, holding down the entry-level spot with a device Trusted Reviews called "just as easy to recommend as its predecessor." Buy it as a risk-free way to find out whether e-reading is for you, or as the smallest, cheapest way into Amazon's book catalog. Skip it if you already own the 2022 Kindle — several reviewers found this refresh isn't a real upgrade for existing owners.

What it is

The base Kindle is Amazon's smallest, most portable reader: a 6-inch, 300 ppi E Ink screen in a body Trusted Reviews measured at 158g, light enough to disappear into a jacket pocket. It launched in black and a new matcha green at $89.99 with lock-screen ads, or $109.99 ad-free — the cheapest new device in Amazon's current lineup, well below the Paperwhite's $159.99 starting price.

The genuine, verified upgrade over the outgoing 2022 model is brightness. Trusted Reviews tested the two side by side and confirmed the claim directly: "I put the two readers next to each other and can confirm this claim is true, with the cheaper model getting noticeably brighter than the outgoing model" — bright enough, in fact, to match the pricier Paperwhite's peak output. What didn't change is everything else: the same 16GB of non-expandable storage, the same lack of water resistance, and a front light that stays cool-toned only, with no warm/amber option for night reading.

In use

For its single job — displaying text cleanly — the base Kindle performs well above its price. Pocket-lint's testing found it kept pace with a pricier Paperwhite through an entire 479-page novel, crediting fast page turns rather than raw processing power. More surprisingly, Tom's Guide singled it out for a use case few would expect from a budget e-reader: "the Kindle is one of the best devices for reading manga," with the sharp 300 ppi panel rendering small panel detail cleanly even in direct light.

The compromises are exactly where Amazon drew the line to hit this price. Trusted Reviews, an experienced Paperwhite user, felt the missing warm light directly: "not having this warmer light option is a loss as I find it so much more comfortable to read with. Still, I can understand why Amazon doesn't want to bring all the higher-end features to this entry-level model." There's also a design gripe worth flagging plainly — the power button sits on the bottom edge, and Trusted Reviews found "it turns on far too easily in a bag," a small but real annoyance for anyone who tosses the device into a backpack.

Battery life is rated at six weeks by Amazon, but real-world use trims that down. Trusted Reviews' own four-day test — about an hour of reading daily — showed just a 5% battery drop, tracking toward Amazon's claim, though Pocket-lint's fuller pattern of use over weeks landed closer to two to three weeks realistically once wireless and brightness stay active.

Strengths

• A screen that punches above its price. The 2024 refresh brought genuinely brighter, Paperwhite-matching front-light output, independently confirmed by Trusted Reviews' side-by-side comparison.
• Unexpectedly strong for manga and dense text. Tom's Guide specifically called out crisp small-panel rendering, a niche strength most budget e-readers don't advertise.
• The smallest, most pocketable Kindle Amazon sells. At 158g, it's the easiest of any current Kindle to carry without noticing.

The trade-offs — who should skip it

• No warm light, ever. The cool-only front light is a real comfort trade-off for night reading that no setting can fix — if that matters to you, the Paperwhite is the device you actually want.
• Already own the 2022 Kindle? Skip this one. Tom's Guide was direct: this model is "virtually identical to the 2022 version, save for a new matcha color option and a $10 price bump." The brightness gain is real but modest for someone upgrading rather than buying their first Kindle.
• No water resistance, and an easy-to-bump power button. There's no IP rating at all, and Trusted Reviews flagged the bottom-mounted power button as prone to accidental presses in a bag.

How it compares

On Gavler's list, the base Kindle sits one rank below the Onyx Boox Page — a fundamentally different proposition that trades Amazon's closed, frictionless ecosystem for full Android flexibility and a much higher price. For anyone weighing the two, the base Kindle wins on simplicity and cost; the Boox Page wins on control. Two ranks up, the Kobo Clara BW makes the strongest case for the same money spent slightly differently — a sharper Carta 1300 screen, a warm-and-cool front light, and IPX8 waterproofing, all inside Kobo's more open ecosystem rather than Amazon's larger bookstore.

The Gavler verdict

A 9.0 that reflects a nearly perfect execution of a narrow job: get a reader into e-books as cheaply and simply as possible. Pocket-lint's 4.5-star Editor's Choice and Trusted Reviews' unreserved recommendation both center on the same idea — this is an easy device to hand to someone who's never owned an e-reader. The honest limits are real and worth internalizing before buying: no warm light, no water resistance, and very little reason to upgrade if you already own the 2022 model. For a first Kindle, though, it remains exactly what Gavler's data shows: the lowest-friction, lowest-cost entry point into the category.

Common Questions

Is the Amazon Kindle (2024) worth it in 2026?

Yes, as a first e-reader or an impulse-priced way into Amazon's ecosystem. It ranks tenth on Gavler's Best E-Readers list with a 9.0. Trusted Reviews called it 'just as easy to recommend as its predecessor,' and Pocket-lint gave it an Editor's Choice. The honest catch: if you already own the 2022 Kindle, several reviewers found this refresh isn't worth upgrading for.

What's actually different about the Kindle (2024) versus the 2022 model?

The core upgrade is the screen: Trusted Reviews confirmed the 2024 model's front light hits the same brightness as the pricier Paperwhite, a real, verifiable jump. But Tom's Guide called the 2024 Kindle 'virtually identical to the 2022 version, save for a new matcha color option and a $10 price bump' — everything else, including the cool-only light and 16GB non-expandable storage, carried over unchanged.

Amazon Kindle (2024) or Kindle Paperwhite — which should I buy?

Buy the base Kindle (2024) if budget and portability are the priority — it's the smallest, cheapest current Kindle, and Tom's Guide found it handles even manga panels crisply. Buy the Paperwhite instead if you want a warm-toned front light for night reading and IPX8 waterproofing, neither of which the base model offers at any price.