Amazon Slashes Prices on Kindles for Prime Day

If you’re looking to cozy up this fall with a new device and unlimited books at your fingertips, today’s 30% discount on Amazon Kindles might be your sign that it’s time to go for it.

There are four Kindle versions on sale today (in ascending price order) for Amazon’s second Prime Day: the Paperwhite, Paperwhite Kids, Signature Edition, and Oasis. Each ranges in size and features, such as dimmable lighting and a parental controls app for the kids versions.

Keep in mind, you can still grab an original Kindle (Opens in a new window)for $89.99 (with ads showing when you lock it), which is not on sale but still cheaper than any of today’s Prime Day deals. Tomorrow, meanwhile, Amazon will launch its a new Kindle(Opens in a new window) for $99.99, as well as a new Kindle Kids(Opens in a new window) for $119.99.

One last launch to be aware of before you burn through your eReader budget today: the Kindle Scribe(Opens in a new window) ($339.99). This will be the largest and most advanced Kindle to date, with the ability to write on it to take notes or draw. You can preorder now, but it doesn’t launch until Nov. 30, 2022.

Here are today’s Amazon Prime Day Kindle Deals.

Kindle Paperwhite

Kindle Paperwhite.
(Credit: Amazon)

The Kindle Paperwhite is slightly larger than the base Kindle model at 6.8 inches versus 6 inches. It charges via USB-C, and the battery lasts up to 10 weeks. It’s also waterproof (with limits), as are the others on this list.

Amazon offers covers for all its Kindles, including the Paperwhite, available separately.
(Credit: Amazon)

The Paperwhite has two-times the LED lighting than the basic Kindle, making a bright, 300ppi display. But if it gets too bright, it has a dimmable light that can also warm up the display (the basic Kindle does not have warmth settings).

Kindle Paperwhite’s warm light feature
(Credit: Amazon)

It’s on sale with 8GB and 16GB storage options. The price for both is the same with and without three free months of Kindle Unlimited (access to millions instead of thousands of books), so you may as well spring for the Kindle Unlimited Option, which renews at $9.99 per month after the free trial. For $20 more, the screen won’t display ads when you lock it.

Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition 32GB

Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition
(Credit: Amazon)

Compared to the regular Paperwhite, the Signature Edition comes with more storage and a wireless charging option (via Qi wireless charger.) It also has thinner borders to make for more reading space, and auto-adjusting brightness.

It does not seem to have a cheaper version with ads; it’s also the most expensive of the full Paperwhite lineup. Like the others, the price with and without three free months of Kindle Unlimited is the same, so you may as well go for it.

Kindle Oasis

The Kindle Oasis in Graphite.
(Credit: Amazon)

The Oasis is the most high-end (and expensive) Kindle (until the Scribe arrives). It comes in Graphite and Champagne Gold and is about as tall as the other versions, but about an inch wider to make holding the device more comfortable.

The screen is the highest quality of all Kindle devices. It’s 7 inches instead of 6.8 inches, a minor difference, but it has 25 LEDs behind it instead of 17 on the Paperwhites and four on the basic Kindle. You can customize the warmth and brightness, and, like the Paperwhite Signature, the light will auto adjust based on conditions. However, unlike the Paperwhite Signature, it cannot charge wirelessly. It charges via USB-C like the other Kindles.

(Credit: Amazon)

The pages on the Oasis also automatically rotate as you move the device, and it features page-turn buttons. It only comes in 8GB and 32GB versions; no 16GB version like the Paperwhite. Like the others, you can pay $20 to not see ads and the price is the same with or without three months of Kindle Unlimited.

Kindle Paperwhite Kids

Kindle Paperwhite Kids with Emerald Forest cover, one of three cover options.
(Credit: Amazon)

This Kindle is designed with kids in mind. It comes in black as well as two colorful case options. An accompanying app and parent dashboard(Opens in a new window) helps monitor what kids are reading and can set bed times after which your child cannot access the device. It has a warm, dimmable light as well.

The device comes pre-loaded with one free year of Amazon Kids+, but after that it’s $4.99/month. Amazon claims this is “the only service with thousands of ad-free books, games, videos, apps and Alexa skills from brands like National Geographic, Marvel and Lego.”

There are no ads or in-app purchases to ensure a distraction-free reading experience for your child, although it does seem like Amazon Kids+ comes with videos and games that would make the device more like a tablet than a book.

Keep in mind, tomorrow Amazon will launch a new Kindle Kids(Opens in a new window) for $119.99.