The Kindle I Didn't Expect To Use For Work Is Now My Top Productivity Device - Here's Why

Amazon Kindle Scribe Colorsoft

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is disposable now starting astatine $629.
• It offers a awesome penning acquisition pinch a colour display, integrations pinch Google Drive, and a equilibrium of features and minimalism.
• It's expensive, and champion for consumers who already usage of Amazon's e-book ecosystem.

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Amazon's caller Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is its first colour Scribe device, boasting a sleek shape factor, awesome penning acquisition pinch an improved pen, and an exceptionally vibrant colour show -- 1 of nan brightest integer insubstantial tablets I've used.

In an progressively competitory integer insubstantial tablet market, Amazon's Kindle lineup offers a polished personification experience, entree to its extended integer library, and now, immoderate caller integrations that position it arsenic a tin productivity tablet successful either a 32GB aliases 64GB configuration. 

Also: The 40 champion products we tested successful 2025: Editors' picks for phones, TVs, AI, and more

Last year's Kindle Scribe was a bully device, but nan 2025 Scribe Colorsoft has a much eager perspective, featuring Google Drive and OneDrive integrations, nan expertise to hunt and summarize your ain notes pinch AI, and notebooks to shape your ain documents.

On apical of each this, nan ultrathin, 400-gram (0.88 pounds) shape facet is sleek and modernized, pinch nitride LEDs, constrictive bezels, and texture-molded solid for a matte show that's very satisfying to constitute on. 

The full show stack was redesigned, and it shows. It stands retired from different colour insubstantial tablets, utilizing nitride LEDs for precocious opposition while opting for a cohesive colour palette. The pen glides perfectly crossed nan textured solid surface, and nan kit of brushes offers a different penning acquisition without overwhelming pinch options. 

I'm going to opportunity it, though: nan Kindle Scribe Colorsoft takes immoderate artistic and functional inspiration from nan ReMarkable Paper Pro, nan astir premium insubstantial tablet connected nan marketplace correct now. From nan UI to nan Scribe's caller poised business focus, Amazon astir apt saw an opportunity present to merge nan existing inferior of nan Kindle pinch a premium merchandise that consumers subordinate pinch productivity and efficiency. 

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

It besides takes inspiration from nan ReMarkable's value constituent -- $200 much costly than last year's Kindle Scribe astatine a alternatively pricey $629. Some will surely spot this arsenic excessively costly for a Kindle, but Amazon has its oculus connected nan premium consumer, particularly pinch its much office-ready features.   

Integrations pinch Google Drive and OneDrive connection one-tap record sharing of your notes aliases drawings, either arsenic a PDF aliases converted into text. Converting handwritten notes into matter couldn't beryllium easier.   

Also, while nan ReMarkable Paper Pro exists pinch axenic minimalism successful mind, Amazon's tablet is still a Kindle: connected to nan immense room of integer books galore consumers person spent years curating. It's little concerned pinch heavy thought and out-of-the-box imaginative workflows, and much astir providing an enjoyable acquisition wrong Amazon's ecosystem. 

Also: Kindle Scribe vs. Scribe Colorsoft: Here's who should walk $600 connected an Amazon tablet

Practical features, specified arsenic navigating your ain notes, are easy arsenic well. The AI-powered hunt useful reliably successful my testing, moreover pinch very sloppy handwriting. The "Ask Notebooks" characteristic takes things a measurement further, enabling users to inquire nan AI questions and chat successful earthy connection astir their notes. 

I sewage immoderate absorbing results pinch this characteristic successful particular. It useful good astatine pulling retired circumstantial words, numbers, or, if you're referencing drawings, descriptions. But statement that nan AI cannot yet observe handwritten matter successful overseas languages. I wrote immoderate notes successful Russian, and it confidently asserted that it was, quote, "an unidentified aliases perchance made-up language." 

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

In practice, each of these features create a polished acquisition without nan exhaustive group of customizations and apps recovered connected Android tablets, specified arsenic nan Boox Note Max. Instead, it's cleanable for e-book readers who want entree to businesslike note-taking and annotating features, but don't request to delve into much complex, freeform imaginative tasks.

The beingness shape feels much modern than past year's device, arsenic well. It has thinner, azygous bezels astir nan edges and resembles an iPad much than a integer insubstantial tablet. In fact, you mightiness correction it for 1 if not for nan "Kindle" logo connected nan back. 

Also: I tested nan Kindle Scribe 2 for months, and it hit my ReMarkable successful respective ways

The display's brightness pushes it into tablet mode, arsenic good -- pinch a max brightness of 100 nits, it's 1 of nan brightest integer insubstantial tablets connected nan market, enabling usage extracurricular successful wide daylight. The show is crisp and clean, acknowledgment to nan integer ink's oxide technology, which enables a accelerated refresh complaint pinch minimal ghosting and precocious contrast. 

The colors look great, arsenic well. Amazon created a cohesive palette that doesn't effort to maximize saturation but has a soothing ocular theme. The pen features 10 colors and 5 different highlighter colors, each of which are chopped and don't bleed into 1 another. Obviously, nan colors popular a small much erstwhile nan brightness is turned up, but moreover pinch nan beforehand lighting astatine 0, they're different.

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

Speaking of nan pen, location are immoderate awesome improvements here. First, location is nan stronger magnet connected nan correct broadside of nan tablet that locks nan pen into place, which I was gladsome to spot aft past year's device's alternatively anemic magnet strip. 

Second is nan "eraser" connected nan backmost of nan pen that is nan closest point to nan rubber connected a existent pencil I've utilized yet. You tin set nan size of nan eraser successful nan toolbar, opting for a finer statement aliases a chunky eraser for wide coverage.

Lastly, there's a fastener connected nan apical extremity of nan pen, correct wherever your scale digit is positioned, that tin beryllium customized pinch a fistful of different actions. It comes default arsenic a highlighter, allowing you to quickly item matter aliases capable successful colour without having to alteration brushwood sizes successful nan toolbar. 

Amazon

There's a flimsy learning curve pinch being alert of nan button's presence, arsenic I often fat-fingered it erstwhile I didn't mean to, highlighting each complete nan page, but you quickly get nan bent of it. 

Also: How to toggle shape your old, obsolete Kindle into nan eventual open-source reader

Lastly, let's mention nan battery. Amazon advertises weeks of artillery life connected a azygous charge, and though I've had nan Kindle Scribe for little than a week astatine nan clip of penning this review, I person yet to complaint it, and it's presently astatine 55%. Obvious factors (turning nan brightness up, mainly) will drain nan artillery faster, but it's surely a battery-efficient instrumentality that slows to a trickle erstwhile not successful use. 

ZDNET's buying advice

Amazon's Kindle Scribe Colorsoft -- its first colour Scribe tablet -- is disposable now, starting astatine $629. If you're a Kindle personification and want to incorporated notetaking and annotations, nan 11-inch show is an easy waste arsenic 1 of nan astir premium Kindles yet. The colors are distinct, nan pen-to-paper acquisition is lovely, and its characteristic group is focused. 

If you're looking for a pro-grade integer insubstantial tablet much geared towards artists, you'll person overmuch amended luck pinch thing for illustration nan Boox Note Max. If you're looking for a premium tablet pinch enhanced customizability for nan penning experience, see nan ReMarkable Paper Pro.