Tech
The Best Kindle for You, According to a Book Lover
Comparing Our Favorite Kindles
What About the New Kindle Scribes?
Courtesy of Amazon
Amazon announced not one, not two, but three new Kindle Scribes at its fall hardware event. The lineup will now be the third-gen Kindle Scribe ($430), Kindle Scribe With Frontlight ($550), and Kindle Scribe Colorsoft ($630). These new Kindles are promised to be faster and thinner than the current model, but the most exciting part is getting a Kindle Scribe with a color screen—and the slew of new features coming to these models.
Those new features will include an AI-powered notebook search, a new digital scratch pad called Quick Notes, and Kindle Workspace, which allows you to compile books, documents, and files in one workspace and send files to or from platforms like OneDrive and Google Drive. There’s also Story So Far, which will recap the book you’re reading to the point you’re at, and Ask This Book, which lets you ask questions about characters, plot lines, and story arc. Amazon says both tools are spoiler-free.
The Kindle Scribe With Frontlight and Scribe Colorsoft will launch later this year, and the basic version will be available early next year. We’ll update these guides with our thoughts once we test these new devices.
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 $18: 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 PopGrips aren’t just for your phone. They also work great on e-readers if paired with a MagSafe case or adhesive ring. 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. My personal favorite is the Heart of Silver ($40), since it’s a larger PopSockets and I have small hands. The Heart of Silver one makes the seven-inch Kindle Paperwhite and Colorsoft really comfortable to hold, and comes with an adapter ring to convert any case you have into a MagSage one.
Nomad 65W Slim Power Adapter for $55: 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 for $29: 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 $9: 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.
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 $23: 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.
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 is 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?
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?
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.
Do All Kindles Have Dark Mode?
Dark mode is a big appeal of any e-reader, whether it’s a Kindle or another brand. And just about all models have it now that most e-readers include a front light. (Older Kindles don’t always have one, so if you’re getting an older refurbished one, double-check it.) However, one new model doesn’t have a true dark mode: the Colorsoft. The Colorsoft can’t have a full dark mode due to its screen design, according to Amazon, but instead you can switch the page color to black in the Quick Actions menu. It’s not the same, though, especially if you are reading something that isn’t a regular book (like a file sent to your Kindle) or want the menu pages to also be dark, you’re out of luck.
What Else Can a Kindle Do?
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?
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?
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. Amazon Prime Day (and Amazon Big Deals Day, which it named this year’s October sale event) has passed, but Black Friday and Cyber Monday are only a few weeks away.
Amazon refreshed its line of Kindles just last year, so we don’t expect any to be replaced any time soon except for the Kindle Scribe, which Amazon announced in September will have three new models later this year and early next year. Still, those models will cost more than the current one, which you’ll likely find on sale for both Prime Day and Black Friday ahead of the new Kindle Scribe’s launch. I recommend buying the current model while you can if you don’t want to spend more than $500, which is what the new models coming out this year will retail for. There will be a cheaper one next year, but it won’t have a front light, which the second-generation Scribe that’s currently available does have for a cheaper price. The only reason to wait to buy a new model is if you want a color option, as one of the new models will be the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft ($630), Amazon’s first-ever color screen Scribe device.
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Running with wet feet, in wet socks, in wet shoes is the perfect recipe for blisters. It’s also a fast track to low morale. Nothing dampens spirits quicker than soaked socks. On ultra runs, I always carry spares. And when faced with wet, or even snowy, mid-winter miles, the lure of weatherproof shoes is strong. Anything that can stem the soggy tide is worth a go, right?
This isn’t as simple an answer as it sounds. In the past, a lot of runners—that includes me—felt waterproof shoes came with too many trade-offs, like thicker, heavier uppers that change the feel of your shoes or a tendency to run hot and sweaty. In general, weatherproof shoes are less comfortable.
But waterproofing technology has evolved, and it might be time for a rethink. Winterized shoes can now be as light as the regular models, breathability is better, and the comfort levels have improved. Brands are also starting to add extra puddle protection to some of the most popular shoes. So it’s time to ask the questions again: Just how much difference does a bit of Gore-Tex really make? Are there still trade-offs for that extra protection? And is it really worth paying the premium?
I spoke to the waterproofing pros, an elite ultra runner who has braved brutal conditions, and some expert running shoe testers. Here’s everything you need to know about waterproof running shoes in 2026. Need more information? Check out our guide to the Best Running Shoes, our guide to weatherproof fabrics, and our guide to the Best Rain Jackets.
Jump To
How Do Waterproof Running Shoes Work?
On a basic level, waterproof shoes add extra barriers between your nice dry socks and the wet world outside. If you’re running through puddles deep enough to breach your heel collars, you’re still going to get wet feet. But waterproof shoes can protect against rain, wet grass, snow, and smaller puddles.
Gore-Tex is probably the most common waterproofing tech in footwear, but it’s not the only solution in town. Some brands have proprietary tech, or you might come across alternative systems like eVent and Sympatex. That GTX stamp is definitely the one you’re most likely to encounter, so here’s how GTX works.
The water resistance comes from a layered system that is composed of a durable water repellent (DWR) coating to the uppers with an internal membrane, along with other details like taped seams, more sealed uppers with tighter woven mesh, gusseted tongues, and higher, gaiter-style heel collars.
After a long time of resisting significant price drops, the Asus Zenbook S 16 has finally dropped down to $1,000, which is $500 off its retail price.
It’s normal for laptops to dip in price toward the end of their lifespan, close to when an update comes out. But the Asus Zenbook S 16 has held on. To be fair, it’s an extremely high-end Windows laptop, one of the prettiest to come out last year. It’s sleek, portable, and has a striking design. It even gets fantastic battery life, on par with a MacBook. Speaking of MacBooks, this Zenbook is the laptop I saw tech journalists traveling with more than anything else. Given how much tech they review, that’s quite an endorsement.
But the S 16 has always been hard for me to recommend when the cheapest model available was $1,500. I was always on the lookout for a more significant price cut, but it never dropped more than a couple hundred bucks. And even though it always came with 24 GB of RAM and a terabyte of storage, the price was a hard pill to swallow. Well, the day has finally come. It’s now down to $1,000 over at Best Buy as part of the store’s Presidents’ Day sale. That’s an incredible price for this much laptop.
The previously mentioned memory and storage still apply here, along with the 2880 x 1800 OLED display with a 120-Hz refresh rate. This laptop basically has every high-end feature you could imagine, but one of my favorite aspects is the ports. Despite the thin profile, the S 16 keeps all the legacy ports you might want, including HDMI, USB-A, and even a full-size SD card slot.
There is also a smaller, 14-inch model, but its discount is not as strong as the 16-inch model. It comes in at $1,300 right now, which is still a solid price for this configuration.
I should say that Asus has an update in the works for 2026 with the latest Intel chips, but it’s only coming to the 14-inch model. I won’t lie: Based on my testing, these CPUs will make a significant difference in performance—especially on the graphics front. But I have a feeling Asus will be selling this device for an even higher price for much longer, especially with the recent development around memory shortage.
While the Zenbook S 16 is certainly the best deal at Best Buy for its Presidents’ Day sale, I would also recommend the Asus Zephyrus G14, which is also $500 off. This configuration comes with a powerful RTX 5070 Ti graphics card and is one of our favorite gaming laptops.
Tech
‘Uncanny Valley’: ICE’s Secret Expansion Plans, Palantir Workers’ Ethical Concerns, and AI Assistants
Brian Barrett: They’ve got 80 billion or so to spend 75 billion of that I think they have to spend in the next four years. So yeah, they’re going to keep expanding. And when you think of how much of an impact 3000 agents officers had in Minneapolis alone, that’s like an eighth of the, they can repeat some version of that in a lot of different spots.
Leah Feiger: And I’ve been fielding, honestly, shout out to the many local reporters around the country who’ve been contacting me in the last day or so, just to ask questions about the locations that we named that are near them or in their states or cities. And the thing to me that keeps coming up is that in addition to new buildings, they’re getting put into preexisting government buildings, preexisting leases, or that that appears to be the plan. And then we’ve also found that a bunch of these ICE offices are being located near plans for giant immigration detention warehouses, and we’re looking at offices being set up, say 20 minutes, an hour and 20 minutes away for these. Yeah. So we’re looking at different, the triangulation of this around you have to have your lawyers, your agents, have a place to get their orders and put their computers and do in some ways very mundane things that are required of an operation like this one.
Brian Barrett: Well, Leah, that’s a good point. I think when people hear ICE offices or when I do just instinctively, I think of ICE as guys with guns and masks and all that, but that’s not exactly what we’re saying here. Do you mind talking through what these offices seem to be queued up to be used for and by whom? Because ICE is not just the masked guys with bad tattoos.
Leah Feiger: Yes, absolutely. So what we reported in this story as well was some of the specific parts of ICE that actually reached out to GSA and asked them to expedite the process of getting new leases, et cetera, included in that, for example, where representatives from Ola, Ola is ICE’s office of the principal legal advisor. So that’s the lawyers, those are the ICE lawyers that are working with the courts and arguing back or deportation orders saying yes, no, et cetera, signing the documents, putting everything in front of judges. This is a really important part of this entire operation that we’re not talking about a ton. There’s a lot of focus on the DOJ. There’s a lot of focus. There was an excellent article this week in Politico talking about all of these federal judges that are really, really upset that DHS and ICE are ignoring their requests for immigrants to not be detained anymore.
The missing level of that is the lawyers that are part of this that are representing ICE to the US government here, and that’s ola. So they’ve reached out to GSA extensively as we report to get these leasing locations, specifically with the OLA legal request. I just want to get across how big this is. How massive is this ICE repeatedly outlined its expansion to cities around the us And this one piece of memorandum that we got from Ola stated that ICE will be expanding its legal operations into Birmingham, Alabama, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, and Tampa, Des Moines, Iowa, Boise, Idaho, Louisville, Kentucky, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, grand Rapids, Michigan, St. Louis, Missouri, rally, North Carolina, long Island, New York, Columbus, Ohio, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina, Nashville, Tennessee, Richmond, Virginia, Spokane, Washington and Cord Delaine, Idaho and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We have other locations as well throughout the rest of the article, but those are the requests from OLA.
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