Kindle Paperwhite
The perfect blend of price and features
The Kindle Paperwhite is an excellent e-reader that balances the line between price and features really well. Its larger 6.8-inch screen is perfect for getting lots of words on the screen, and its 17 LED lights keep that screen nice and illuminated, so you’re able to read regardless of the time of day. Although it doesn’t have a physical button to turn pages like the Kindle Oasis, the $140 price tag makes it a better buy for most people.
Kindle Oasis
Physical page turn button, but has some drawbacks
The Kindle Oasis has faded a little into the background because the Paperwhite model offers a similar screen size and a USB-C port, but the Oasis still has some important advantages. The physical page turn buttons are fantastic if you require a more tactile experience, and the ergonomic design is much easier to hold in your hands. Still, at $250, you really have to want those features to make it worth it.
Your digital library of books and audiobooks needs a home, and since Amazon has long been producing some of thebest e-readerswith its Kindle lineup, it’s no surprise that one or two of its Kindle devices may have caught your eye. Both the Kindle Paperwhite and the Kindle Oasis offer a great reading experience and deserve to be in your top consideration for your next e-reader, but is the premium price of the Oasis really worth it?
Price, availability, and specs
It’s not surprising that Amazon’s Kindle products are widely available on the online shopping titan’s website, and for most people, that’s likely the best way to get them. Amazon Prime’s shipping is always an option on either Kindle, and you know that they usually go on sale during the big sale days (like Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday). you may always get either of these models and Best Buy as well.
As it stands now, the Kindle Paperwhite starts at $140, but there is an option to increase the storage onboard from 8GB to 16GB, which will only cost you an extra $10, bringing the price up to $150. The Kindle Oasis, on the other hand, starts out at $250 for 8Gb of storage and increases its cost to $280 if you want to jump up to the 32GB storage option on the device. Plus, all the models start out with Lockscreen ads, but you can fork over an additional $20 to get versions without Lockscreen ads. |
Design and display
Reading books for an hour or two on your e-reader requires a good screen, and you’ll be happy to know that either device should serve you just fine. In comparison, the Oasis screen is just a tad bigger — measuring 7-inches instead of the 6.8-inches found on the Paperwhite — but both devices feature a resolution that offers 300 pixels per inch (ppi), so the words you’re reading will be just as sharp no matter which one you choose.
Reading during the daytime is a little easier with the Oasis thanks to its front light having 25 LEDs that provide a bit more even coverage across the display than the Paperwhite’s 17 LEDs do. It’s not a really big difference, though, since auto-brightness is on both models, so they should adjust accordingly to your surroundings. Plus, both devices will also light you adjust the warmness of your display, so if you’re reading in the evening, you can ensure that nasty blue light is filtered out.
The Oasis is designed to be held
Put these two devices side-by-side, and you’ll notice a big difference in design philosophy. The Oasis is a bigger screen and a bigger device thanks to its aluminum body that’s thicker on one half to provide an easy grip, making t a tad more comfortable to hold in your hands than the Paperwhite. This thicker side is also where the physical buttons of the Kindle Oasis can be found, something that is not included in the Paperwhites more straightforward slab design — turn the Paperwhite screen off, and it will pretty much just look like a tablet.
Reading at the beach is no problem with either device, thanks to the IPX8 water-resistance rating each device carries. This means a little water shouldn’t hurt it at all, and it can even survive being dunked into the bathtub by accident for a few minutes. Of course, neither device is superbly durable, and if you expect any accidents, you’ll likely want to pick up some greatAmazon Kindle Paperwhite casesor one of thebest Amazon Kindle Oasis cases.
Software and performance
Amazon doesn’t get into specifics about what kind of processor or the amount of RAM its e-readers have, and in all fairness, for a device made for a specific non-intensive task, it kind of makes sense, but that does make it hard to compare in terms of performance. The good news is that both devices have the same intuitive interface, making Amazon’s operating software run nicely and smoothly on each machine. You shouldn’t have difficulty navigating your library or looking for new books, magazines, or newspapers to download and read at your leisure.
Connectivity is a minor difference
You’ll find that both models can use Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, but only the Oasis has the ability to connect to a cellular network. Of course, if you want that, it costs a lot extra, as you’ll be looking at a model that starts at about $340 instead of the normal $250. Still, if having access to data for travel with your e-reader is important, only the Oasis will provide that for you.
Battery life and charging
The battery’s exact capacity (in terms of mAh) isn’t something Amazon shares about its e-readers and instead focuses on battery life in weeks. The Kindle Oasis is rated for up to six weeks while the Paperwhite is rated to last up to 10 weeks, which is a sizable difference; however, it’s important to note how Amazon tests battery. Both estimates that Amazon gives for the devices are based on only 30 minutes of reading a day. Still, the Paperwhite should come out on top in the battery life comparison in either case. Since the Oasis has a bigger and brighter screen to power, it stands to reason that its battery life would suffer a bit.
When we reviewed theKindle Paperwhite SIgnature Edition, we got about 4-5 weeks out of a single charge with pretty heavy use, so your mileage will vary depending on how much you read or listen each day.
The Paperwhite also has a USB-C port, whereas the Oasis (a bit of an older product) still has a micro-USB port to charge. Getting anything with a micro-USB port nowadays is pretty annoying; still, even with the port being much less fast, Amazon rates the charging speed about the same. Both devices should take about three hours to charge up from dead to full charge.
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite vs. Kindle Oasis: Which should you buy?
In reality, most readers will likely be thrilled with the Kindle Paperwhite. It’s got all the essential features you expect in an e-reader without being too expensive. Its 6.8-inch sc green is plenty big enough, and the extra lights in the Oasis model will only really be noticeable if you’re trying to read in direct sunlight all the time. Plus, it’s just so much more affordable than the Kindle Oasis, and even if you think 8GB of storage is too stingy, you can upgrade to a model with 16GB for only an extra $10.
Everything you need in an e-reader
The Kindle Paperwhite is an excellent e-reader that balances the line between price and features well. Its larger 6.8-inch screen is perfect for getting lots of words n the screen, and its 17 LED lights keep that screen nice and illuminated, so you can read regardless of the time of day. Although it doesn’t have a physical button to turn pages like the Kindle Oasis, the $140 price tag makes it a better buy for most people.
Of course, if you want or need physical buttons and prefer something that’s a little more comfortable to hold onto, then the Kindle Oasis could very well be worth the extra money. Plus, as a bonus, you get a screen that’s both bigger and brighter than the Kindle Paperwhite, too.
Amazon Kindle Oasis
Physical buttons and a more ergonomic design
