I purchased the Amazon Kindle Colorsoft so I could have color images and graphics on many textbooks in my collection, as well as the ability to highlight in different colors, a feature I used a lot on my Android Kindle app but couldn't with my 2021 Paperwhite. The book covers are nice in color, too, bringing a level of dimension to my library that I enjoy a lot.
I am giving this five stars as it satisfies my main objectives: The color is good, color highlighting excellent, and the speed of page turns and library browsing is excellent (noticeably faster than my 2021 Paperwhite). The only thing missing is a satisfying "dark mode," as it only affects the book pages and not the whole interface as with the Paperwhite. Perhaps this will change in a future update, but it isn't a big issue for me and the white text on a black background is still excellent for night reading, especially with the amber glow turned to the max. Color highlighting in this mode is also excellent.
I do have some caveats, however: The battery drains a lot quicker than the Paperwhite, and the 32GB storage fills up a lot quicker. Also, the "Vivid" color setting seems to switch back to "Standard" sporadically, even if it still says "Vivid" is selected (this might be happening after I select a Restart).
These are not serious issues as I just need to charge more frequently and will refrain from downloading my whole library as space fills up, and a reset to "Vivid" handles the color issue until a software fix is available (assuming this isn't just my imagination).
In addition, the price is very high for what it offers, so unless color is very important to someone (to view comics, highlighting in color, etc.), the new 2024 Paperwhite might be the better option.
UPDATE: An unfortunate issue a lot of reviews have mentioned is a yellow band at the bottom of the screen. At first, I didn't think my Colorsoft had this issue, but now I see a very faint band at the bottom of the screen when reading with black text on a white background. To be fair, I might not have noticed this without the issue being pointed out, and it is a lot less noticeable than some photos I've seen (I have the warmth setting set to 10 normally, which might camouflage the band a little). It looks to me like an issue of the calibration of the LEDs as it doesn't appear when the backlight is off. It is also undetectable with images and using the white test on a black background. Still, it is there, and I am requesting a replacement for when the issue is resolved.
I'm keeping my review 5-stars because Amazon has been very responsive regarding this yellow banding issue. Contacting customer service via a chat was a simple process and a replacement request was quickly queued up (replacements, alas, aren't available yet while the underlying issue is being investigated and resolved), and I can keep using my current Colorsoft in the meantime (while noticeable, the yellow band isn't distracting while I read). One of the reasons I keep coming to Amazon is their fantastic customer service, and this is a good example of them doing what they can for an unfortunate situation.
UPDATE #2: I received my replacement Kindle Colorsoft and the yellow banding issue is resolved. Again, I feel the customer service response to this issue was excellent and it is a primary reason I continue to use Amazon.
Product contains recycled material.
As certified by
Recycled Content Certification for Electrical and Electronic Equipment
Recycled Content Certification for Electrical and Electronic Equipment
Recycled Content Certification for Electrical and Electronic Equipment certifies the total percentage of recycled material in covered products. Covered products are required to achieve certification with more than one recycled material input to promote the use of more recycling inputs and most material impact. The minimum total recycled content to be eligible for the certification ranges from 10-50% depending on the product type. This certification is third-party verified by SCS Global Services.
