Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition review: The best all-round ereader gets even better

Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition: 60-second review

The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is undoubtedly a brilliant ereader – taking the already great Paperwhite and beefing up the specs to make it even better.

This device comes with a generous 32GB space of storage, which is ideal if you use your Kindle to download audiobooks, plus you won’t find annoying adverts popping up on the screen as standard.

It also has a few tricks up its sleeve when compared to the cheaper Paperwhite – namely support for wireless charging as well as a sensor which automatically adjusts the front light, depending on how much light you have in your room.

These upgrades are all great additions, but whether it’s worth spending the extra money on the Paperwhite Signature Edition over the regular Paperwhite really depends on your own personal needs.

If you download a lot of audiobooks then the added space on the Signature Edition will come in handy, while if you regularly read at night the automated front light will be a convenient tool.

Otherwise, if you want to save money the standard Paperwhite – which is a brilliant ereader in its own right – will more than meet your needs.

Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition Review

The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is one of two Paperwhite models that Amazon launched last year.

The online shopping giant upgraded its existing Paperwhite to increase its screen size from 6inch to 6.8inches, added an adjustable warm light to change the yellowish colour of the page, and finally switched the charging port to USB-C.

A number of these features had previously only been available on more expensive Kindles such as the Oasis and Voyage.

All of these upgrades helped make the Paperwhite arguably the best all-round ereader you can buy, with Express.co.uk giving it a glowing five out of five star review.

Alongside this Paperwhite Amazon also released a more expensive model – the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition – which offers a number of key improvements.

But is it worth the extra money?

Put the Kindle Paperwhite and the Signature version side-by-side and you won’t be able to tell the difference.

But that is no means a bad thing, as both Kindle Paperwhite models have a premium look and feel about them, with shiny black plastic on the front that surrounds the generous 6.8inch display and a more grippy, softer feeling rear.

The standout feature of the 2021 Paperwhite ereaders compared to previous versions is the new 6.8inch screen.

Previously Paperwhites boasted a 6inch screen, and while this may not seem like much of an increase in size it creates a considerable amount of extra screen space.

Not only does this help with packing in more words on each page, but if you read comics or mangas on your Kindle this will give you an even better view.

The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition shares plenty in common with the Paperwhite.

Both models have a 6.8inch display, a USB-C port, a 300 ppi glare-free display, an IPX8 rating which provides waterproofing so you can read in the bath or at the beach, as well as a front light powered by 17 LEDs.

But there are a few areas where the Signature Edition comes out ahead.

Firstly, the Paperwhite Signature Edition has considerably more storage – 32GB compared to the Paperwhite’s 8GB.

If you mainly read ebooks and comics then you may not feel like you need this extra on-board space.

However, if you download a lot of audiobooks this extra storage (which is quadruple what the usual Paperwhite has) will come in especially handy.

It’s worth remembering that there’s no way to expand the storage on your Kindle so if you feel like you could do with this extra space further down the line this is a key difference.

Also, if you love to read at night the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition has a sensor which automatically adjusts the front light.

Brightness will be tweaked based on lighting conditions, which is a nice convenient feature and gives you one less thing to do if you’re engrossed in a page-turner.

And finally, in a first for the Kindle range, the Paperwhite Signature Edition supports wireless charging.

Not even the more Kindle Voyage or Kindle Oasis ereaders feature this, which gives the Paperwhite Signature Edition another standout, eye-catching feature.

The 6.8inch display found on the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is the same as the one found on the regular Paperwhite.

If you’re only used to reading on the cheaper, entry-level Kindles this will feel like a huge, generational upgrade.

The Kindle Paperwhite 2021 ereaders boast a glare-free 300 ppi display, as well as a front light powered by 17 LEDs to help illuminate the screen.

The most recent Paperwhite models also, for the first time, have an adjustable warm light so you can change how much the screen glows a yellowish colour, and adjust it to your taste so it looks more like the colour of traditional printed paper.

This all helps to create a gorgeous display, with crystal clear words and illustrations that pop off the page.

If you had been on the fence about ereaders you may even be left wondering if you can go back to traditional books.

Not only that, but page turns on the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition are nice and speedy, which will help you motor through a book you’re deeply invested in and speed up your reading time in general.

As always, the Kindle ereaders are deeply linked to the Amazon ecosystem.

So if you already have ebooks purchased that are attached to your account, or regularly shop at Amazon and have a Prime membership you’ll benefit the most.

With any Kindle ereader if you’re with Prime you’ll be able to access the Prime Reading library of over a thousand ebooks, comics and magazine subscriptions.

This will give you plenty to read when you get your Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition.

Membership of Kindle Unlimited – which offers access to a library of over a million ebooks – or a subscription to Audible will also enhance your experience.

The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is priced at £179.99. That’s £50 more than the Kindle Paperwhite model which is supported by ads, or £40 more expensive than the Paperwhite without ads.

It’s important to point out though that the Paperwhite Signature Edition, as standard, doesn’t come with those annoying sponsored messages which, along with the improved specs, definitely helps justify the extra cost.