Gaming Gear

Comparing Our Favorite Kindles

Accessories for Easier Reading

Photograph: Nena Farrell

If you’ve ever had a long reading session that gives you hand cramps, these accessories might help. You can check out more options in our Best Kindle Accessories guide.

Strapsicle E-Reader Hand Straps for $20: Attach one or both of these to the back of your Kindle—one is angled for your right hand and the other for your left—and slide your hand in. Your hands won’t cramp, you won’t accidentally hit the screen and flip pages, and the reader won’t slip out of your hands. There are three sizes meant to hold different types of e-readers. You should see exactly which models they work with on the Amazon pages, as well as on this page on the Strapsicle website.

Lamicall Gooseneck Tablet Holder for $22: I love this device. While I wouldn’t call it completely hands-free, it’s a super convenient and comfortable experience, particularly if you have chronic pain in your wrists. The clamp is easy to attach to bed frames and side tables (there’s also a floor stand version for $60). It’s lightweight to deploy anywhere and has enough resistance to the neck that it doesn’t fall forward or out of the position you place it in. It did wobble a bit when I touched it to turn the page (or it got bumped by a curious cat), so I usually keep a rest hand on it to hold it steady. If you want to go fully hands-free, add a page-turner remote so you can read without lifting a finger.

PopSockets PopGrips starting at $10: PopSockets grips aren’t just for your phone; they also work great on e-readers. Whether you have a Paperwhite or a basic Kindle, it’s another great solution for reducing hand cramps. The more affordable PopSockets work with adhesive, while the more expensive ones use MagSafe adapters, letting you take them on and off without leaving sticky residue behind.

Hello Clio the Original Kindle Belt Bag for $58: If you’re always traveling with your Kindle but don’t want to carry a larger bag, this is a great accessory. It has a soft interior to keep your screen safe, along with additional pockets for your phone, keys, and wallet. It can fit the basic Kindle, Paperwhite, Oasis, and Colorsoft.

The Bookish Goods Bookish Crossbody for $50: Need a bag for your Kindle Scribe? The Bookish Crossbody from Bookish Goods fits the Scribe in its main large crossbody pocket, and fits a smaller Kindle or Paperwhite in the front pocket. It’s a great size to bring a few things with you along with a Scribe—catch me with this bag and my e-reader of choice in the park this summer with my kiddo.

Nomad 65W Slim Power Adapter for $49: Kindles have long battery life, but former WIRED reviewer Brenda Stolyar liked to carry a charger with her on the go just in case. This one from Nomad is her favorite. It’s super thin and comes with two USB-C ports, so she uses it to charge her e-reader and phone simultaneously (the left side delivers 45 watts and the right delivers 20 watts when charging two devices at the same time). The prongs also fold up, so it fits nicely in the side pocket of a bag.

Best Kindle Cases & Covers

Photograph: Nena Farrell

Amazon Kindles are, thankfully, not as fragile as our pricey smartphones, but you may still want to add a cover to protect the screen if you’re frequently toting it around in a bag. These aren’t padded for serious drops, but are the best kindle cases we’ve found for daily protection from scratches and scuffs. The Kids’ editions come with cases.

PopSockets PopCase Kindle for $40: These Kindle cases are designed with a MagSafe adapter in the back, so you can easily add a Magsafe PopSockets grip to the back. You used to have to adhere the grip or buy a MagSafe adapter to use PopSockets on your Kindle, but now you can customize freely with these cases. These cases are also a nice quality, but they don’t include a cover, and the grip can only be attached to the predetermined lower center spot. If you have smaller hands like I do, get one of the bigger PopGrips, like the Heart of Silver ($40), to more easily reach it.

Fabric Covers for Kindle for $32 and Paperwhite for $37: These open like a book and come in some variation of black, blue, pink, or green. They’re made from postconsumer recycled fabric.

Fabric Cover for Scribe for $60: This one flips up and over like a notepad, and you can position it into a stand too. There’s also a slot for the pen if you don’t want it to attach magnetically all the time. It’s also made with recycled materials.

The Bookish Kindle Cases starting at $36: I really like that this cover also has a built-in strap, so you can enjoy the security of a hand strap while reading and have the protection of a cover when you’re not. There are a bunch of fun colors too.

The Quirky Cup Collective E-Reader Sleeve starting at $28: Our team loves these gorgeous sleeves, particularly the Sun and Moon version. They’re beautiful and will protect your device when you aren’t using it, so you can throw it in your bag without worry. The outside is velvet and the inside is satin, with some padding in between and a zip closure. On the back is a small zip pocket. On each product page, you’ll see which devices fit, but consult the measurements. There are also separate, larger book and iPad sleeves (starting at $35).

CoBak Clear Case for $8: The best part about having a clear case is that it protects the back of your Kindle and allows you to decorate it with stickers underneath. We recommend this fun sticker pack ($6).

Great Reading Lights

Photograph: Simon Hill

If you read before bed but don’t want to disturb sleeping partner, kids, or roommates, invest in a reading light. All the Kindles now have a front light, so you don’t need one, but these can still be handy, especially if you switch between your e-reader and physical books. Below are a few of our favorites. You can find more in our Best Reading Lights guide.

Vekkia 14 LED Book Light for $16: This is our top pick. It’s a clip-on light with an adjustable gooseneck and two swiveling light bars that pack seven LEDs each. You can cycle through five levels of brightness and three warm colors. It’s relatively large, though, so it’s not great for small paperbacks. The clamp opens as wide as 2.1 inches and serves as a stable base to place on a nightstand.

Glocusent LED Neck Reading Light for $22: This reading light wraps around your neck, so it looks silly. But it’s an excellent alternative to a clip-on reading light while remaining hands-free. It’s lightweight, adjustable, and comes with three color temperature modes as well as six brightness settings. It’s rechargeable and offers up to 80 hours of battery life at dimmer settings.

Black Diamond Wiz Headlamp for $28: This is our favorite headlamp for kids. It’s comfortable, and the adjustable straps come in various colors. It has three brightness settings and an IPX4 water-resistance rating, so you don’t have to worry about splashes. It turns itself off automatically after two hours, in case they fall asleep with it on. It takes two AAA batteries.

About Those Older Kindles

Amazon doesn’t release new Kindles often—the company usually takes a few years between models. Whenever a new one arrives, its predecessor’s stock starts to dwindle. It’s not that we don’t recommend these per se, but we only suggest these if you can find them on sale for the right price. Otherwise, we recommend buying the latest version.

Before making your purchase, cross-check the price with the latest model to make sure you’re spending a fair amount less on the older device.

• Kindle (2022, 11th Generation): This is the smallest of the lot at 6.2 inches tall and 4.3 inches wide, with a 6-inch screen. If you find tablets too cumbersome to hold with one hand, consider this one. With this model, Amazon doubled the storage to 16 gigabytes and upgraded the display to 300 pixels per inch (PPI) resolution (up from 167 PPI). It’s tough to find, but if you manage to snag one, you shouldn’t spend more than $50.
• Kindle Paperwhite (2021, 11th Generation): This is the next step up from the basic model. It has a bright 6.8-inch screen with adjustable warm lighting, a fast page-turn rate, a USB-C port, and 16 gigs of storage. It’s waterproof too. We like the Signature Edition, which also includes auto-adjust brightness and 32 gigabytes of storage. Don’t recommend spending more than $100 if you can find them.
• Kindle Scribe (1st Generation): The original Scribe is a great option for note-takers. It has a giant 10.2-inch screen for taking notes, marking up PDFs, or drawing, and numerous paper formats you can choose, like college-ruled or dotted. It also comes with the Basic Pen, which feels natural to write with and attaches to the side of the Scribe magnetically. It’s only worth it for $230 or less.
• Kindle Kids (2022): This an older kid-friendly model. It comes with a cover, a year’s subscription to Amazon Kids+, parental controls, and a two-year warranty. Don’t spend more than $70 on this one.
• Kindle Paperwhite Kids (2021): This older Paperwhite version is a step up from the previous basic Kids models. It has a high-resolution 300-ppi display with an adjustable warm screen and is also waterproof. You shouldn’t spend more than $110 on this one.

FAQs

What’s the Best Way to Buy or Sell an Older Kindle?

AccordionItemContainerButton

Have an old Kindle lying around? Are you looking at a used one for sale? If you’re trying to figure out what model it is, this Amazon page includes photos, specs, and release years for the entire lineup. Once you know which one you have, you may be able to trade it in for credit toward a newer model.

Most old Kindles probably still work, just with fewer bells and whistles. It’s best to avoid Kindles with keyboards or any other physical buttons other than page-turn buttons. Some older models lost the ability to browse, purchase, or borrow new books directly from the device. However, you’ll still be able to do this via Amazon.com on your computer or phone and have it sent to your Kindle, which is a better experience anyway. These models include the Kindle 2nd Generation (International), Kindle DX International, Kindle DX Graphite, Kindle Keyboard, Kindle 4th Generation, and Kindle 5th Generation.

How Do You Get Free Ebooks on a Kindle?

AccordionItemContainerButton

If you buy every single book you want to read on a Kindle, it can add up! But there are ways to save some money while reading as much as your heart desires. You may want to subscribe to Kindle Unlimited for $12 a month. You can only choose from the Unlimited catalog, but there are millions of titles there, including audiobooks and magazines. Start out with the 30-day free trial.

If you already pay for a Prime account, you’re eligible for some free ebooks through Prime Reading. There are not as many options as with Kindle Unlimited, and in a lot of cases, you’ll see both Unlimited and Prime options lumped together; you’ll have to look closely to find the free ebooks. It’s still something, and there are even a few magazines.

If you don’t want another monthly subscription and don’t want to continue giving your money to Amazon, take advantage of the ebooks available with your library card. Browsing a digital catalog is not as magical as spending an afternoon looking over every shelf in a library, but such is the ebook life (no one says you can’t read both!). We have a detailed how-to on this you should check out, but here are some of the takeaways:

• Get a library card for your local branch.
• Check your branch’s website for its ebook offerings. Many libraries use a service called OverDrive.
• Download directly to your Kindle library. They’ll automatically be removed when they’re due back.

If you know someone else with a Kindle, you can lend books between your libraries, just as you would with a physical copy. Follow these instructions from Amazon if you want to share an ebook, but keep in mind that not all books can be loaned.

What Else Can a Kindle Do?

AccordionItemContainerButton

Kindles have helpful features you may want to take advantage of. Long-press a word or phrase to see its definition, highlight it, or take notes. You can also search the entire book for that particular word or phrase or translate it to or from other languages.

Word Wise shows short definitions in small text within the lines. Unfortunately, it’s not available for all books, but when it is, you can turn it on or off and choose more and fewer hints. Clicking the short definition opens a longer one from Word Wise and the New Oxford American Dictionary or Oxford Dictionary of English (you can switch between the two), plus translations, and a Wikipedia page, if applicable.

While reading, tap the top of the screen and click “Aa” to change font size or type—there’s even a font called OpenDyslexic that helps make reading easier for people with dyslexia. You can control margin sizes and line spacing from that menu too.

When a Kindle is connected to a Bluetooth speaker or headphones, VoiceView Screen Reader (accessed through Settings > Accessibility) allows you to use gestures to navigate your device and reads aloud what you’ve pressed. It will also read a book aloud, though it doesn’t sound nearly as nice as an audiobook.

Amazon owns Goodreads, so it syncs seamlessly to Kindles (press the three-dot menu > Goodreads). If you have a Goodreads account, you can review the Kindle books you’ve read or browse your bookshelf and recommendations. Long-pressing a word or phrase, in addition to what is mentioned above, opens up an option to share quotes directly to Goodreads.

There’s a web browser too if you’re connected to the internet (three-dot menu > Web Browser). It’s not the best, so I’d reserve it for emergency searches.

How Do You Update a Kindle?

AccordionItemContainerButton

When Amazon releases a new software update, it will download and install to your Kindle automatically when it’s connected to Wi-Fi. You can check if you’re on the latest software by going to Settings > Device Options > Advanced Options > Update Your Kindle. If it’s not on the latest software version, you’ll see an update available and the Kindle will then prompt you to download and install it.

Is This a Good Time to Buy a Kindle?

AccordionItemContainerButton

Yes. Amazon refreshed all of its Kindles across the board in October 2024, with a new Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Scribe, and Kindle Kids editions. The company also released the Kindle Colorsoft, its first-ever color Kindle, and in July 2025 Amazon added two more color Kindles to its collection. However, the best time to buy a Kindle is during a major sale event like Amazon Prime Day or Black Friday, because Amazon often has steep discounts.

Power up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting and exclusive subscriber content that’s too important to ignore. Subscribe Today.

Source link