Kaitlyn Cimino/Android Authority
I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I said that Amazon’s Kindle lineup has been fundamental to the growth of the e-reader category. Although there are now many more options in a variety of convenient sizes, the Kindle still remains the default choice for many people. While familiarity is one reason, another is the interface designed around your ebook library. However, with many recent changes, Amazon appears to be pushing readers away, including some of its oldest supporters.
This would otherwise make sense for regular devices, but seems outrageous for an e-reader, which uses minimal resources and doesn’t require a hardware bump every few years. My fourth-generation Kindle Paperwhite, purchased in 2018, still works like the day I bought it, and I plan to keep it until it dies.
Naturally, many other people are in the same boat. We recently asked our readers what they thought about Amazon’s move to effectively discontinue older devices. And the answers we received were clear and as expected.
about two-thirds Android Authority Readers who responded to the survey said they were disappointed by the change, while it was merely 6% said that they have no problem with this. Another 20% of readers said their Kindle devices purchased after 2012 are still not affected.
Most of the affected readers expressed a similar sentiment in their comments: most of them are not willing to give Amazon a second chance after this move.
“This is just the last straw. Goodbye Amazon, hello reading books (purchased anywhere other than Amazon),” commented our reader, IanoFroiston. Meanwhile, another reader, notyalcrum, noted how helpful the Kindle has been:
I used it to save carrying several kilograms of paper reports to meetings, rather than just emailing the PDF to my Kindle. Not sure what I’ll do now, but it won’t be a Kindle.
Another reader, Stewart.T.McColl, also speculates that Amazon may take a similar move for older Echo devices. “I expect Echo devices to reach an end where they stop working, and the functionality becomes so limited that people will want to replace them,” he wrote.
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Another sentiment that persisted throughout the comments was the intention to leave Amazon’s ecosystem and look for an alternative.
In another survey conducted with nearly 6,000 readers, we learned that almost half were already looking for other options. Kobo’s e-readers were the top favorite, and about 33% of respondents said they wanted a Kobo device. On another related post, our reader, Fahran.Wallace, said he’s glad Kobo is still releasing new features to its 10-year-old Aura One. “Very happy with my choice and will buy again when Kobo dies,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, the other 20% (combined) wanted either a BOOX or a ReMarkable tablet. While BOOX offers the flexibility of Android, Remarkable allows for distraction-free note taking and offers better annotation features than Kindle Scribe.
But all is not bad for Amazon yet. About 24% of our readers still chose their Kindle over other devices, and some even shared unpopular opinions in support of Amazon’s decision. “The fact that this is even news is kind of absurd to me. These devices are 14-18 years old, and were supported far longer than our most expensive phones ever. Break out that cost and it’s like $10 a year,” Mikacruz wrote.
Meanwhile, some people seemed convinced that they were better off reading on a phone or tablet. Given the convenience of the Fluid Screen as well as the Android features that enhance reading, we’d actually argue against their choice.
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