Amazon Kindle (2024) vs Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2021)

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

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Kindle (2024) compared with Kindle Paperwhite (2021)

	AmazonKindle (2024)	AmazonKindle Paperwhite (2021)
Overview
Released
Released	October 2024	October 2021
Screen
Screen size
Screen size	6″	6.8″
Sharpness
Sharpness	300 pixels per inch	300 pixels per inch
Colour
Colour	No	No
Front light
Front light	Yes	Yes, adjustable warmth
Display detail
Display detail	Glare-free display, 16-level grey scale; dark mode	Glare-free Paperwhite display, 16-level grey scale; flush front with thinner borders than the previous Paperwhite
Front light
Front light	Adjustable front light, 25% brighter at its highest setting than the previous Kindle	Adjustable front light with adjustable warm light
Page turns and refresh
Page turns and refresh	–	Amazon says page turns are 20% faster than the previous Paperwhite
Reading and writing
Stylus
Stylus	No	No
Page-turn buttons
Page-turn buttons	No	No
Audiobooks
Audiobooks	Yes	Yes
Storage
Storage	16 GB	8 GB, 16 GB
Software
Software	Kindle	Kindle
Formats
Formats	Kindle Format 8 (AZW3), Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI and PRC natively; PDF, DOCX, DOC, HTML, EPUB, TXT, RTF, JPEG, GIF, PNG and BMP through conversion	Kindle Format 8 (AZW3), Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI and PRC natively; HTML, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG and BMP through conversion; Audible (AAX)
Book store
Book store	Kindle Store	Kindle Store
Connections and battery
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 6 weeks	Up to 10 weeks
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 6 weeks at half an hour of reading a day with wireless off and the light at 13	Up to 10 weeks at half an hour of reading a day with wireless off and the light at 13; Audible streaming over Bluetooth shortens it
Charging
Charging	USB-C; full charge in about 2 hours with a 9 W USB power adapter, or about 4 hours from a computer	USB-C; full charge in under 2.5 hours with a 9 W USB power adapter, or about 5 hours from a computer
Connectivity
Connectivity	Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz; WEP, WPA, WPA2, WPA3 and OWE)	Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz; WEP, WPA and WPA2)
Audio
Audio	Bluetooth audio for Audible and the VoiceView screen reader	Bluetooth audio for Audible and the VoiceView screen reader
Design
Weight
Weight	158 g (better)	205 g
Water resistance
Water resistance	–	IPX8
Water resistance detail
Water resistance detail	–	Tested to withstand immersion in 2 metres of fresh water for 60 minutes
Size
Size	157.8 × 108.6 × 8.0 mm	174.2 × 124.6 × 8.1 mm
Colours
Colours	Black, Matcha	–
In the box
In the box	Kindle, USB-C charging cable, Quick Start Guide	Kindle Paperwhite, USB-C charging cable, Quick Start Guide