Amazon announced on Thursday that its newest Kindle Scribe and its first-ever color Kindle Scribe will be available to purchase starting December 10. The company originally unveiled these devices in September.
The new Kindle Scribe features a larger 11-inch glare-free display. It is just 5.4mm thick and weighs only 400g. Amazon states it is 40% faster when writing or turning pages. The device uses a new texture-molded glass to improve friction as the pen glides across the screen, creating a feeling similar to writing on paper. It also comes with a new quad-core chip, more memory, and the latest Oxide display technology for a smoother overall experience.
There are two versions of the standard Kindle Scribe. One includes a front light system and will be available on December 10 starting at $499.99. The version without a front light will be available early next year for $429.99.
As for the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, Amazon says it features display technology that creates soft colors designed to be easier on the eyes than a traditional LCD display. The company developed a new rendering engine to enhance color and ensure writing feels fast and natural. Amazon notes the Colorsoft provides weeks of battery life. It will be available on December 10 starting at $629.99.
Both devices feature a new Home experience that lets users jot something down and quickly open recently used books, documents, and notebooks. Amazon anticipates both devices being used for handwritten notes and includes significant product integrations to enhance that experience. One feature will let users search their notes across all their notebooks and receive simple AI summaries. Next year, users will be able to send their notes and documents to Alexa+ for more involved conversations about the content.
Additionally, the Colorsoft model allows artists to create smooth gradients and subtle tones with a new shader tool. Users can write, draw, and annotate in one of 10 pen colors or highlight in one of five highlighter colors.
The devices will also introduce new AI reading features. A “Story so Far” feature will let users catch up on their current book up to their last read point. An “Ask this Book” feature will allow users to highlight any passage and get spoiler-free answers to questions about character motives or the significance of a scene.