At a Glance
Expert’s Rating
Our Verdict
The Kindle Oasis is impressive with a larger screen, added light sensor, waterproofing and Bluetooth for listening to audiobooks with wireless headphones. However, you might as well buy the newer 2019 model with its warm light at a cheaper price.
It’s getting a bit confusing but this new Kindle is the 2nd-generation of the Oasis and the 9th-generation Kindle overall. Let’s take a look at what’s on offer. It’s worth noting that the Oasis has been upgraded for a 2019 model , although it’s not hugely different to this one, the main upgrade being a warm light.
Price
The fact that there is now a 2019 model ( reviewed here ), means that the 9th-gen Oasis we reviewed here has now been reduced in price. You can get it for £229 , down for £259. Pretty good when you consider that the original Oasis came in at £269.
It’s a shame that only the larger and more expensive 32GB model is available now.b With the 2019 model really only adding a warm light but it’s still cheaper at £179 , at the time of writing.
Design and build
It goes all the way down to 3.4mm and the design means that most of the weight is in your hand. It is a little harder to hold due to the bigger screen, namely for those with smaller hands though.
Once again there are physical buttons for page turns as well as the touchscreen and the wedge shape can be turned 180 degrees to be held in either hand.
The device now comes in a Champagne Gold colour too (see above).
The metal does mean it can get pretty cold, however, and we found the front edge a little sharp all the way around which is not ideal. Speaking to another Oasis owner, this may be an issue with our specific sample.
Another other major change in design is that the cover (now an optional extra) doesn’t contain a battery. It’s all within the main unit in a traditional fashion. It was a nice idea before, but perhaps unnecessarily fiddly having to charge two different things.
This, combined with the metal casing, means it’s heavier than its predecessor at 194g compared to 131g.
If you do want a cover, it will set you back £39 for fabric or £54 if you want leather . They attach neatly with magnets and fill the space created by the wedge shape of the Kindle. They also fold along the diagonal so you can stand the Oasis up on a flat surface. Take a look at our selection of the best Kindle cases and covers for more options.
Specs and features
Screen
The most important part of any eReader is the screen and the new Oasis for 2017 has the biggest of any Kindle yet. It’s 7in which is an inch bigger than the rest of the current line-up.
As you’d expect, the display uses E Ink Carta technology and has a backlight like the Paperwhite and Voyage. A small complaint with the original Oasis was not getting the adaptive light sensor but this has now been added. The backlight is once again excellent providing even coverage and a great experience when reading in the dark.
As long as you like the larger sized screen, there’s really nothing to complain about here. It’s a premium reading experience, whichever way you look at it.
Storage and audio
This really isn’t the main reason to get the new Kindle Oasis though, considering you can easily just get the app on your phone.
Battery life
We haven’t had it long enough to comment, but so far it appears to be as good as you would expect from a Kindle.
You’ll need to charge via the older microUSB socket rather than USB-C used on most new phones and other gadgets. As usual, just a cable is supplied in the box.
Specs
- 7in E-Ink touchscreen,300ppi
- Backlight with automatic adjustment
- 8/32GB storage
- 802.11n Wi-Fi (optional 3G)
- Bluetooth
- microUSB for charging
- 159x141x3.4-8.3mm
- 194g
- IPX8 waterproof
Author: Chris Martin, Managing Editor, Tech Advisor
Tech Advisor Managing Editor Chris got his break as a reporter at infamous site The Inquirer and has been with us for more than 12 years. With a BA degree in Music Technology, audio is his specialism, but over the years he has reviewed all kinds of gadgets, from smartwatches to mesh Wi-Fi to coffee machines.
Recent stories by Chris Martin:
- Amazon’s Kindle Scribe is the first with a stylus
- Amazon Kindle (2019) review
- Amazon Kindle Oasis (2019) review
