Amazon redesigned its entire Kindle lineup today, and the accessories are the more interesting story.
The lineup now runs from a $149.99 entry-level Kindle to a $319.99 Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition, all with a new flush-front design and a claimed 30% faster page turns. The standard Kindle and the pricier Signature Editions get aluminum backs, enabling a new line of magnetic accessories. Amazon also introduced a Page-Turn Cover ($79.99) that adds physical buttons to the Paperwhite and Colorsoft Signature Editions, a $34.99 Bluetooth remote called Kindle Click, and a $59.99 charging dock. The redesigned standard Kindles ship immediately; the new Paperwhite and Colorsoft models are up for preorder and ship October 28, with the remote following in November.
The timing looks deliberate. Amazon raised prices on most Kindle devices last month, with some models climbing more than 30%, a move that tracked with the broader RAM shortage squeezing device makers. By the time this overhaul landed, readers had already absorbed the hike, so there is no new sticker shock attached to the redesign. The more telling detail is the Bluetooth remote: rival e-readers have supported similar accessories for years, and Amazon only just unblocked the feature on its own devices.
Nearly 20 years into the Kindle's run, the hardware itself is iterative, not transformative. It's lighter, thinner, and a bit faster. The accessories are where Amazon is actually catching up to the competition.