New Kindle Scribe crowns 15 years of evolution of Amazon’s e-reader

We review the latest and most sophisticated Kindle ever made, the Amazon Kindle Scribe, and look back over the device’s 15-year evolution and how it squares up to rivals like the reMarkable 2

Amazon Kindle Scribe, 2022
(Image credit: Amazon)

There are readers who haven’t picked up a book in over a decade. What made the e-reader possible was e-ink. Also known as electronic paper, this screen technology has been decades in development. An e-ink screen consists of microscopic capsules of dark and light pigments laid across a grid, The light pigment is positively charged, and the dark pigment negatively charged. Apply a positive charge to a grid square, and the light particle rises to the surface and vice versa.

E-ink’s advantages over a ‘traditional’ display screen technologies like LED, TFT, and LCD, are legion. For a start, it uses minimal power because the display is not emitting any light. Without power, the dark pixels simply stay in place, leaving the text or image on the screen. For readers, it was a game-changer – eye strain became a thing of the past as, although e-ink is not especially responsive (making swift changes between images and layouts impossible), it is perfect for text.

Amazon Kindle Scribe 2022

Person writing on Amazon Kindle Scribe, 2022

Amazon Kindle Scribe, 2022

(Image credit: Amazon)

The new Kindle Scribe is the newest and dearest version of Amazon’s own brand of e-readers. For the first time, the Kindle is available with a pen, hugely increasing the device’s function and flexibility. Kindle Scribe is first and foremost about the books and won’t be much use unless you indulge in some kind of Amazon subscription. However, even the premium Kindle Unlimited subscription isn’t an open gateway to the world’s printed matter, and there’s still lots of content that has to be paid for separately. 

Confusingly, Unlimited allows for access to some, but not all, of the extensive Audible library (pair the device with Bluetooth headphones to listen to audio books), as well as a limited set of magazines. These are published as ‘Kindle editions’, which not only have to make the most of the black and white screen, but also lose a lot of their character and readability when text it rendered in large, unbroken chunks.

Page of text on Amazon Kindle Scribe

Amazon Kindle Scribe, 2022

(Image credit: Amazon)

As with all e-books, formatting can be an issue (typographers and graphic designers will be wincing), especially if you’re playing around with the 14 levels of font sizing. The deluge of self-published books that came with the Kindle’s launch (via Kindle Direct Publishing) further denigrated the art of book design. That being said, the Kindle has been a boon for the voracious reader, especially those less concerned with a book’s physicality and more with its content. A backlight means you can read in the dark, and you can also adjust the ‘warmth’ of the screen.

The Scribe’s Premium pen is pleasant to use and glides across the tablet’s surface. The Notebook function lets you create individual workbooks, with lined templates for diaries, notes, etc. The innovation isn’t Amazon’s, for e-ink pen input tablets are starting to proliferate. Right now, we’re regular users of the excellent reMarkable 2, and there’s also the app-enabled Boox NoteAir2 to consider.

Couple of Amazon Kindle Scribe 2022 on white surface

Amazon Kindle Scribe, 2022

(Image credit: Amazon)

Amazon Kindle Scribe 2022 versus reMarkable 2

What the Scribe gets right is having a case with a pen loop – the reMarkable’s magnetic clip is all very well but doesn’t stand up to being jostled around in a bag. If you don’t have the case (another optional extra), there’s a much more powerful magnet than the reMarkable to keep the stylus in place when not in use. Mercifully, the pens used by these devices are interchangeable and don’t require any charging of their own although they come with extra tips, as the stylus eventually needs replacing. 

To make the most of the Scribe’s 64GB storage, you’ll be entering a world of subscriptions and DRM (digital rights management). Power users will find ways of porting their libraries between devices without much hassle, but the Scribe favours the long-time Amazon user who can cope with immersion and co-operation with the company’s massive eco-system and all its probing tentacles.

Amazon Kindle Scribe, 2022

Amazon Kindle Scribe, 2022

(Image credit: Amazon)

In comparison, the reMarkable feels like a far more indie and standalone proposition. It also reads PDFs and e-books (in the widely used ePUB format), and you can scribble all over them to your heart’s content. You can do the same with the Scribe, although it won’t let you deface e-books, only add jottings to ‘sticky notes’. 

The ReMarkable is first and foremost a note-taking device, not something to read on. Artists will enjoy its wider variety of ‘pen’ types, which include calligraphic writing modes, pencils, and markers, while the screen is slightly coarser and more paper-like, creating a realistic bit of resistance to the nib. 

reMarkable 2 paper tablet, pen-powered perfection.

reMarkable 2 tablet

(Image credit: TBC)

Both offer a premium experience, but obsessive jotters will have more affinity with the reMarkable’s very analogue feel. The Scribe, on the other hand, takes e-readers to a new level of sleek sophistication.

Amazon Kindle Scribe, £359.99 (16GB model, including Premium pen), Amazon.co.uk (opens in new tab)

reMarkable 2 (includes Marker Plus and leather folio), £557, reMarkable.com (opens in new tab)

A short history of the Kindle

Fifteen years ago, in November 2007, Amazon launched the very first Kindle. Over the years, the company has managed to eke a huge number of variants out of what is essentially a very simple form factor. There’s still a veritable bookshelf of Kindle options, including models pitched at younger readers and the Paperwhite line, a more compact, not-quite-pocketable device that is more akin to a paperback book, with a screen that further refined e-Ink to make it ever more paper-like.

Amazon Kindle, 2007

The original Kindle was a chunky, faceted device that came with a built-in keyboard and a big physical button to move to the next page. Amazon’s entire stock sold out within five and a half hours of launch

(Image credit: Amazon)

Amazon Kindle 2, 2009

Kindle 2, launched in 2009, refined the design but retained the keyboard. It added text to speech so it could read books and memory expanded to 2GB.

(Image credit: Amazon)

Amazon Kindle DX, 2009

The Kindle DX followed later the same year, with a larger screen.

(Image credit: Amazon)

Amazon Kindle DX, 2010

In 2010, the DX was upgraded with richer screen contrast and a new dark finish. The keyboard was still an integral part of the Kindle experience, although less and less people were actually using it.

(Image credit: Amazon)

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, 2015

The Kindle Paperwhite debuted in 2012, and this example is from 2015, the year Amazon introduced a dedicated e-reader font (Bookerly) to make the most of the denser, higher resolution screen.

(Image credit: Amazon)

Amazon Kindle Oasis, 2018

The Kindle Oasis was the eighth-generation Kindle model when it debuted in April 2016. This example, from 2018, showcases the ultra-light, thinnest model to date.

(Image credit: Amazon)

Amazon Kindle Kids, 2019

The Kindle Kids line debuted in 2019 with a set of unique covers and bundled subscription to 1,000 books.

(Image credit: Amazon)

Amazon Kindle

The standard Kindle, 2022 edition, is light and compact. Masochists can order a slightly cheaper model that serves up adverts on the lock screen.

(Image credit: Amazon)

Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.