Amazon just made last year's top-tier Kindle cheaper than this year's base model.
Amazon's October Prime Day sale cuts the 2024 Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition to $169.99 from $249.99, an $80 discount. That lands oddly, because Amazon raised Kindle prices across the board in August, citing higher memory and storage costs - the standard 16GB Paperwhite jumped from $159.99 to $199.99 (it's separately discounted to $149.99 for Prime Day). The Signature Edition keeps the same 7-inch, 300ppi E Ink screen and IPX8 waterproofing as the standard model, but adds an ad-free lock screen, an auto-adjusting front light, double the storage at 32GB, and 10W wireless charging. Amazon also claims 25% faster page turns than the 2021 generation, a difference PCMag's review said was noticeable in everyday use.
At $169.99, the Signature Edition now undercuts the standard Paperwhite's $199.99 list price by $30 - a strange place for Amazon's pricing to land just days after it unveiled a full redesign. That new lineup includes an aluminum-backed Signature Edition in Seaglass Green, but it costs $249.99 and won't ship until October 28, so last year's model is still the better buy for anyone who wants a device now.
This isn't really a sale on the latest Kindle - it's Amazon clearing shelf space before the new one arrives, with the discount happening to land right where the better device should have been priced in the first place.