Amazon’s redesigned Kindle is thinner, lighter, and comes in white

Amazon has a new and upgraded Kindle, and it comes in white. This new base model is the first update to the company’s most affordable e-reader in two years, and it joins the pricey Kindle Oasis in Amazon’s 8th generation of the e-reader line. It’s also the first Kindle to come with a white color option since 2010’s Kindle Keyboard. The Kindle Paperwhite, Amazon’s $119.99 e-reader, is now available in white as well. Both units are available for pre-order today.

The new base model Kindle will still cost just $79.99, but it now has twice as much memory as the previous model for speedier navigation. It’s also slightly thinner and lighter, and it has a more rounded design to make it easier to hold with one hand. Like the 2014 model, this Kindle has a touchscreen display. It does not, however, have the 300 ppi screen of the Kindle Paperwhite. Amazon touts the device’s weeks of battery life; it does not specify precisely how long it will last, per usual.

The changes here are as subtle as we’ve come to expect from Amazon. So they likely won’t push any owners of the Kindle Voyage, Paperwhite, or Oasis to spring for this new, less featured model. But they do give the cheapest device of the bunch a fresh coat of paint and a slight speed boost. That may push some paper hold-outs toward purchasing an e-reader at last. Or at the very least, it gives long-time Kindle owners a reason to replace a four- or five-year-old e-reader, especially if they’re a sucker for ivory color options.