Top critical review
2.0 out of 5 starsNot sure if problem with device or service
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2019
Update new
Not sure if the device is having problems or the kindle delivery service. I frequently have to manually request that a book be delivered to device. It use to be that when borrowed (Kindle unlimited or from Public library) a book, I could just request that it be sent and it worked fine. Now I always have to go into my content and have it sent even though it shows that it is there. Not a deal killer, but very aggravating. They go to my Apple iPad with no problem. I have had the device for a bit over 2 years and battery life is way down. I get about 10 hours of reading or 3 or 4 days of sitting idle and the battery is down below 20%. (have never found battery life on this version to be as good as previous, it is still better than an iPad when it is in use), I have never found the Kindle easier to read than an iPad so am finding that unless I am in an environment where there will be glare, I am using my iPad a lot more for reading. This is my 3rd iPad and I have found they generally seem to last about 3 years before they start having problems (battery, wifi, software update issues, etc).
Update
After using the Kindle for a bit over a month I wanted to update my review. The button on bottom IS a problem. It was on the bottom on an old kindle and was not an issue. At least with the case I got, the cut outs are fairly big and the button is VERY sensitive to touch and it is easy to turn off. One very annoying characteristic is that the device actually shuts down after not being used for a while (haven't been able to figure out the cutoff, but it's not long). This happens even when the cover is closed on the case rather the old where it always went into sleep mode. Not a huge deal, but it just means another couple of second delay in opening the device that is already slower than the old one. I was hoping that if the device actually shut off that battery life would be better, but I haven't seen any change. With light reading or in standby mode, battery life is a week or more. But if you are reading consistently it goes down to a day or two (10-14 hours of reading time). Generally at a brightness of about 18 out of 24 the screen is warmer than my old Kindle, but at full brightness it turns just as blue. The lighter weight is definitely noticeable unless you get a heavy duty case. It would nice if there was a "to be read" category for books to make it easy to find books that are on your list to read soon. This is sort of possible under "categories" but it's just too complicated to do much. I didn't notice it at first, but while battery life is very good, charging times are not. Even with a USB C connection, it takes more than about 4 hours to charge from 20 to 80%.
Since my old kindle was having wifi issues and I did not want to have to depend on using usb to transfer books, I had no choice but to get a new device. But for the most part I liked my old kindle more.
Original review
Compared to my old Kindle (which was having wifi issues) the 2018 version 4th gen has some improvement compared to the 2013 2nd gen.
The screen is slightly warmer (though I see that some people complain of it being bluer so this may not be consistent within the devices) so reading is easier on your eyes. In addition, the back lighting is more even compared to my old 2013 version. But I really wish that the Kindle had the ability to invert the color so you had a bark screen with light text, for this reason (as well as the crisper text) I find that it is easier to read on a tablet, but then have to deal with the weight. Also wish that the brightness of the screen would auto adjust. I don't read much n a dark room or out in the sun, but when I do I need to manually adjust the brightness. As mentioned before, I find the text crisper on a tablet and slightly disappointed that text has not improved in sharpness (especially if make the text bold) much over the years on a Kindle. The screen is basically glare free.
The lack of raised bezels is nice, especially if that is where you rest your finger, but you now need to be very aware of where you are attempting to turn pages. It is disappointing that the bezel (black area around the screen) is still so large. You need some because you need to rest your finger somewhere, but would be nice if they were reduced slightly, especially at the top and bottom where you would never hold the device.
The water resistance is nice, but in the 7 years + I have been using a Kindle that has never been an issue, but I don't take to beach or the pool so this may mean a lot to some people.
The responsiveness is the same which means there is a slight lag when opening books or returning to the home page. It makes no sense, but books are staying queued for download longer than my 2nd gen model. I have only had the device 2 days, so this may be a fluke but I have attempted to download the same books on both devices and while the actual download time was the same, the queued time was about 2-3 seconds longer on the new version.
Be aware that it does NOT ship with a charger, just the cable (which is a nice heavy cable that looks to be durable). At this point most people probably have a charger laying around, but if not you will need to buy one. Some people have complained about the micro-usb plug being difficult. I have not found it to be any worse than any other micro usb which is to same it can be slightly difficult and it is hard to know which way to turn the plug.
The "special offers" are not at all annoying, especially since you can have the kindle default to opening to your list of books.
I was surprised that the device did not ship with the latest firmware. I was thinking about returning because the device had become unresponsive, but then got the notice that there was new firmware to install. So be aware that this may happen to you also.
If you are reading audio books (I don't and don't think I ever would), the increase to 8 GB may be important. I normally keep most of my books in the cloud and "only" about 200-300 on my device. I have never used more than 1 GB of storage (remember though that of the 8 GB the user only gets just over 6 as the rest is allocated to the O/S. If you download books with pictures they will greatly increase the size of the book, but you really don't want to look at pictures on a kindle.
I haven't had long enough to test battery life, but in previous version I have found that "battery lasts weeks" is not true if you are a heavy reader. I am sure that if you read audio books you should probably look at hours of battery life.
Some users have complained about the switch being on the bottom and turning on or off accidentally. I had this on my previous one also and don't find it an issue, especially once your get a case. Maybe their switch is more sensitive. I find the bigger problem to be, once you DO get a case that is can be hard to turn on.
The new kindle is lighter than the old one by about an ounce. Not much, but enough to notice if you are holding the Kindle. But if you get a heavy case, the weight of the device will be a small part of the total weight and the improvement in the device weight won't mean much.
Navigating to suggested books to read or buy is not bad, but if you have to try and find one its difficult, though not as much as the "experimental browser" which is painful beyond belief.
I see in the reviews that some people complain about the lack of ability to change font size or brightness. I think they are just not looking at the right menu options
I upgraded while Amazon was offering a special price for Prime members and a trade in for old devices. WIth this, I think the upgrade was worth it (the warmer screen is most important to me though others complain of the blue to the screen). I would not have upgraded at full price nor do I think its worth it unless you intend to read audio books (remember that battery life will decrease) or that the water resistance is important.
