Summary
- Paper-like writing: stylus with 10 pen colors, 5 brush types and 5 highlighters; very tactile and responsive.
- 11-inch glare-free color display with 12ms latency; thin (5.4mm) and light (400g) design.
- AI tools: notebook search, “Story So Far” recaps and Ask This Book for spoiler-free Q&A.
During its fall device event, Amazon revealed the brand-new Kindle Scribe Colorsoft. Working off the foundation laid by the Kindle Colorsoft, the new device quickly caught my eye purely based on how easy it is to take and share notes.
Kindle Colorsoft already felt like the pinnacle of Kindle devices. Incorporating vibrant colors when reading graphic novels, I’ve adored the display innovations made by the Kindle developers. Now, the company is going one step further by bringing those same perks to the Scribe series. The new device offers a large 11-inch glare-free display with all the colorful bells and whistles you’d hope to see brought over for the Scribe.
During a quick hands-on demo, I got to try the device itself and see how fluid and responsive the device is, while impressively offering an ultra-thin design to boot.
- Storage
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32GB, 64GB
- Brand
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Amazon
- Screen Size
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11-inch glare-free display
- Battery
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Up to 8 weeks
- Weight
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400g
- Front light
-
Yes
Replicating that pen-to-paper feeling
Writing on Kindle Scribe Colorsoft feels as tactile as writing on paper
Amazon utilizes quite a bit of ingenuity to replicate the feeling of taking notes or doodling on a real piece of paper. Using the included stylus, I was able to select from 10 basic pen colors. Providing all the standard selections from black to purple, green, blue, red, and beyond, I was able to begin jotting down notes in an instant.
Kindle Scribe Colorsoft supports five brush types, so whether it’s notetaking or you have a most artistic vision, the new device offers brush types for it all. You can get a more fine-point pen type for everyday writing as well brush types that mirror markers, fountain pens, and pencils to cover the entire spectrum.
The new device also sports five highlighter colors. This way, if you’re reviewing a school note or project for work and want to highlight different pieces based on importance or topics. What boggled my mind during my demo was how different the tactile feeling was between using the penstrokes and highlighter styles. Amazon somehow replicates that true-to-life writing experience, even with subtle scratch audio as well.
Evolving Kindle Colorsoft technology
The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft leverages the same basic display technology as the Kindle Colorsoft. However, Amazon engineers took into account how important low latency would be to the user. Thus, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft supports a fluid and responsive 12ms latency, which is practically unnoticeable to the eye when writing. Using what the company calls its color-render engine, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft enhances the color and ensures writing feels natural during the process.
This is all accomplished while maintaining a thin and light design. The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is 5.4mm thick and only measures 400 grams. Sure, it’s still a long way from the weight and thickness of a piece of paper, but at no point during my notetaking and doodling demo did the device feel too heavy to use for longer sessions, and will be a great solution for students looking to leave stacks of spiral notebooks behind.
Incorporating AI to catch up quickly
Similar to X-Ray Recaps, Kindle Scribe Colorsoft can recap a novel you return to
Much like nearly all of Amazon’s devices at this point, Kindle Scribe Colorsoft incorporates AI features to assist users. For instance, the device offers a notebook search feature. Users are able to ask Kindle to search for specific notes or references across those taken in the past. Kindle can then look through your notes to find those that are relevant and provide sources all in an AI-generated summary. Users can then leverage follow-up questions to better refine the results. The device also allows users to use the handwriting keyboard to write in a question using the stylus.
Arguably, the coolest AI feature is the ‘Story So Far’ recap. Similar to Prime Video’s X-Ray Recap, Kindle Scribe Colorsoft can provide a recap on a novel or book and summarize what you’ve read so far. This was a perk that immediately interested me, someone who often walks away from a book and returns, wondering where I left off with the characters.
Kindle Scribe Colorsoft also supports an ‘Ask This Book’ feature. Leveraging AI once more, the device lets users highlight text and get spoiler-free answers to questions. Using this, users can achieve a better understanding of character motivations or lore of a novel.
All-in-all, Kindle Scribe Colorsoft provides the best parts of the vibrant display of the Kindle Colorsoft with thoughtful and useful notetaking features and brush types. As someone who’s looking to ditch the tactile notebook, I’m now convinced that Amazon’s new Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is a viable option for both students and professionals looking to lighten their backpack or briefcase.
