The Amazon Kindle Scribe reader-slash-notebook has received a much-needed second generation that aims to iron out some of the original model’s flaws.
Amazon’s efforts to blur the lines between a reader housing thousands of books, and a pen and paper you can handwrite your own novel on (if desired), have gathered speed with this edition.
The display sizes are the same, with the same pixel density, and storage also goes up to 64GB. The new model is a bit more expensive with the 16GB Scribe 2024 starting at £379.99. That’s a £50 increase.
Here’s what’s new.
Kindle Scribe (2024) has an improved, life-like pen
Amazon is calling the included stylus a Premium Pen it says has been “finely crafted to deliver just the right height and balance so it feels like an actual pen.” That should improve your sketching as well as writing. The Premium Pen includes a soft-tipped eraser too for a pencil-like feel that’s so authentic Amazon reckons you’ll be attempting to brush the screen clean.
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One of the big letdowns from the Kindle Scribe was the software experience, with the writing tools undermining the overall concept. Notes are now more integrated with your reading materials, rather than sitting in a notebook away from everything else.
With the 2024 Scribe, Amazon is debuting an in-book writing tool called Active Canvas, which will make note-taking more effective.
Amazon says: “With Active Canvas, you can write your thoughts directly in the book when inspiration strikes. Your note becomes part of the page, and the book text dynamically flows around it—if you increase the font size, change the font style, or the book layout changes, the note remains visible exactly where you want it so you never lose any meaning or context.”
The new model also offers a hideaway side panel for your notes that can be recalled at will.
A more paper-like experience throughout
There’s still a 10.2-inch glare-free 300ppi display, but Amazon has adjusted the display’s texture and colour mask, while new white borders offer an appearance that looks more like a notepad. The tungsten green version actually looks like one of those overpriced notebooks you get in fancy paper and pen stores. I love it.
AI, naturally
Thanks to AI, your pages of scrawled handwritten notes can be summarised and arranged into neat bullet points in the script font so, whomever you share them with can actually read them.
