However, given the impact of the global memory-chip shortage driven by the AI boom, the new Kindles also debuted with pricing that had increased by $40 to $50 across the lineup. That makes it more difficult for the average consumer to consider buying one of the more premium devices. For that reason, the Kindle I most wanted to get my hands on was the 6-inch entry-level device, which starts at $169.99 for the ad-free version. With the price hikes, this is the Kindle that will remain the most affordable to new e-reader buyers. The question I weighed was whether or not the basic Kindle is even worth buying at this price when there are arguably better Kindles on the market. The answer, after a couple of weeks of testing, is yes — if you can live without the bells and whistles and prefer a smaller, lighter device. On the 6-inch Kindle, there’s no warm light to reduce eye strain, no color display, no autoadjusting brightness, no option to use the page-turn cover, and it’s not waterproof.
Obviously, because of its size, the screen is smaller, as is the battery. Battery life is 6 weeks compared with the Paperwhite’s 12 weeks or Colorsoft’s 8 weeks. Still, even this basic Kindle has seen improvements of its own, mostly from a physical design perspective. The plastic 2026 Kindle is 11 percent lighter and 14% thinner than the 2024 model, weighing 140g versus 158g and measuring 6.85mm thick versus 8mm. While this seems like a small change, the 18-gram difference is noticeable and particularly welcome for a device you’re likely to carry in your purse or bag. Plus, it makes it easier to hold for hours on end when you’re really binging your way through a book. (The aluminum version, meanwhile, is slightly heavier at 162g, or 4 grams more than the 2024 Kindle, though it still benefits from the slimmer design). And despite being the “starter” Kindle, the 6-inch basic device still received the new flush-front screen update.
This makes it more comfortable to hold in your hand, especially for those long reading sessions. Amazon explained that you don’t have to worry about no longer having a bezel to rest your thumb upon, either, as the new Kindles have been updated to detect a dead zone in the capacitive touch that will readjust to account for the fact that your finger is there. In practice, that doesn’t mean you can just press your thumb down anywhere on the Kindle’s screen as you hold it — doing so would register this as an attempt to highlight or look up a word. Instead, it means you can rest your thumb or fingers on the outer edge of the Kindle’s screen (the colored border) without triggering an unintentional tap, even though some of your finger will be touching part of the Kindle’s capacitive screen.
In terms of the software, the new basic Kindle is a bit snappier than its 2024 predecessor. This is most noticeable when opening books, which Amazon claims to be 30 percent faster. If you’re coming from the 2019 Kindle Basic, the 2026 version is an even bigger upgrade, as you gain USB-C, more storage (from 4GB to 8GB to now 16GB or 32GB), the new flush screen, and the screen resolution jumps from 167 ppi to 300 ppi. It’s faster, thinner, and lighter, too, and the battery lasts weeks longer.
