New Kindle Paperwhite and Colorsoft: Aluminum Frame and an $80 Page-Turn Cover
Wired's review looks at Amazon's 2026 Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Colorsoft Signature Editions, which have an aluminum-backed frame. The main draw is compatibility with the new page-turn cover, though the total price is high.
Amazon's 2026 Kindle Paperwhite e-reader and its color-screen sibling, the Kindle Colorsoft, now come in Signature Edition versions with an aluminum-backed frame and contacts for attaching accessories. Technology publication Wired concludes in its review that the main appeal of these devices is compatibility with Amazon's new Kindle Page Turn Cover. The findings may help readers weighing which e-reader to buy.
What the Signature Edition offers
The earlier Signature Editions already had automatic front-light adjustment, wireless charging and more storage, and the 2026 models keep all of that. What is new is the aluminum frame, which gives the devices a more premium look, plus pogo pins on the back for pairing with new Kindle accessories. The weight has risen from 7.2 ounces to 8.1 ounces. The reviewer says the difference is noticeable, but the taller body distributes the weight better than the shorter, lighter Kindle Aluminum.
Color choice is limited. For the 7-inch models, colored finishes are available only in Signature Editions, while the standard Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Colorsoft come only in black. The reviewer tested the Paperwhite Signature Edition in Seaglass Green and the Colorsoft Signature in a deep-purple shade called Fig. The reviewer notes that each model has just one color, even though the devices are expensive and the Aluminum version has two.
The page-turn cover
The Kindle Page Turn Cover costs $80. Amazon once made an e-reader with page-turn buttons, the Kindle Oasis, but has not done so for years. The company says roughly 5 percent of Kindle users want such buttons, so it offers them as an add-on instead of building them into a device. The reviewer considers this a smart decision.
The cover is easy to attach and turns pages quickly. It can also move backward, but the behavior feels reversed: the upper button moves forward a page, although visually one might expect it to go up.
Price and competition
Signature Editions cost $40 to $50 more than the base models. The cheapest combination, the Paperwhite Signature Edition with the cover, comes to more than $300. That is the price of the Kobo Libra Colour, which has built-in page-turn buttons and a stylus for note-taking. A cheaper option is the Bluetooth Kindle Click remote at $35, which also works with older models.
Existing Kindle owners do not strictly need the new devices. However, older models are disappearing from Amazon's website, so for a first-time buyer the reviewer still recommends a Paperwhite, and the newest one is no more expensive than the older one.
