Amazon Kindle Scribe

November 30, 2022

Amazon announced the Kindle Scribe on September 22, 2022, with a release date of November 30. Notably it is the first Kindle to include a 10.2 inch, 300 ppi display; and stylus functionality for writing. Additionally, it is also the first Kindle sold without an option for a discounted ad-supported model since the Kindle Keyboard was introduced in 2010. Owners can choose to enable Special Offers but do not receive a discount or reimbursement for doing so. Amazon offers two Wacom EMR compatible stylus pens for use with the Scribe: a basic pen and a premium pen. Both pens feature standard Wacom interchangeable nibs and magnetic attachment to the edge of the Scribe, and have pressure and tilt features. The premium pen adds an eraser to the end and a configurable shortcut button on the pen body. Either stylus is available for purchase separately.

The Scribe is offered in three storage tiers: 16 GB, 32 GB, or 64 GB. The base 16 GB model is available with either the basic stylus pen or a premium stylus pen. The 32 GB and 64 GB models come with the premium stylus pen.

Upon release the Scribe received mixed reviews, reviewers criticized the lack of software features compared to the competition, but praised the hardware and build quality. The Verge gave the Kindle a 6 out of 10, praising its long battery life, large display size, and pen feel, but noting its “lackluster software” and “outdated document syncing” held the device back.

Amazon released several firmware updates that added features that were missing at the original release. New features in Scribe firmware include:

Conversion of handwriting to text during document export

Lasso select tool with cut, copy, and paste between notebook pages, different notebooks, and Sticky Notes

Enhanced handling of PDFs uploaded and converted via Send to Kindle

Added Store content and categories for "Write-on Books" or “On-page writing”