Amazon Kindle Gen 11 (2024) eReader Review: Small, Lightweight, and Fast

For its price point and convenience, it’s hard to beat the Amazon Kindle 2024 (Gen 11). While it’s a budget-friendly, intro-level eReader without many bells and whistles, it does its job (almost) flawlessly while keeping the interface uncluttered, simple, and speedy.

Amazon Kindle (2024)

Even in the budget department, the Amazon Kindle is a stellar value, from its light and compact design, to its adjustable front light and 6-inch display.

Pros & Cons

• Ultra-lightweight build makes it comfortable to hold for hours
• Very compact and portable
• Bright screen with Dark Mode function
• Simple UI that gets straight to the point

• No IP rating
• No reading speed stats like some other eReaders have
• No color screen

Price and Availability

The Amazon Kindle (2024) is now available to order on Amazon or Best Buy. It retails for $109.99 in both colors.

Comfortable, Lightweight, and Easily Portable

The classic Kindle design gets a more portable upgrade in the Kindle 2024, which is, in my opinion, one of its highest selling points. Amazon calls it “the lightest, most compact Kindle.” I found this claim 100% accurate. Having reviewed other eReaders of various sizes, I was pleased when I unboxed this one and saw how small it was. Inside the box, I found the basics—the Kindle 2024 in a gorgeous matte green shade dubbed Matcha, a USB-C charging cable, and a quick start guide.

The latest Kindle weighs less than 6 ounces (coming in at an ultra-portable 5.56 ounces). To truly show its size, I compared it to my Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. While the Kindle is wider, its length is shorter, and its weight has less heft than my brick of a smartphone.

Because of its tiny size, I could fit it in nearly any purse I owned. But most impressively, it also could fit in large coat pockets without making me feel weighed down. Holding it in my hands for hours at a time was much more comfortable than larger devices, and it didn’t fatigue my hands or wrists as much (which is a pro for anyone who marathon-reads as I do).

Its body has two unassuming logos for Kindle and Amazon on the front and back of the device. The power button and the USB-C charging port are on the device’s bottom edge, which I found to work well when using the Kindle. If the power button had been on the side, I would have accidentally put it to sleep periodically as I was reading.

While I’ve also used eReaders with smart pens and more controls, the simplicity of the Kindle Gen 11(2024) is what makes it a great entry-level eReader or as a highly portable option for bibliophiles who simply want to read without worrying about what else their eReader does.

Sadly, the Kindle 2024 is not water-resistant, which is a real bummer for readers like me who enjoy a book and a bath or a poolside read. You can still take the chance of getting it wet at your risk, but I prefer to prevent the inevitable (especially if you have butterfingers, as I do).

The Kindle Gen 11’s Display: Crisp and Bright

The Kindle Gen 11 (2024) also has an upgraded display. Amazon bumped up the brightness by 25%, and I noticed it was a lot easier for me to read in any environment and achieve the perfect, comfortable reading experience. What else made it a pleasure to read was its higher contrast ratio, which made the dark print better stand out against the white background.

At 330ppi, the Kindle 2024 had an excellent, crisp display that was easy to read, whether I was reading an ebook, browsing books in my Kindle library, using the internet browser, or looking for new books in the Kindle store.

I’ll be the first to tell anyone that I typically avoid eReaders because I get sick of staring at screens all day only to stare at yet another screen. (Aside from the other complaints, which are the enjoyable book smell, the feeling of paper underneath your fingers, and the satisfying action of turning a page). However, the Kindle 2024 has such a pleasant feel, weight, and crisp display that I overcame this avoidance and found myself constantly reaching for it at night.

In addition to the adjustable brightness, it also included Dark Mode, which exists on earlier Kindle models. With the higher contrast ratio, however, I found Dark Mode to work better than before.

It was easier to read the white type against the black, and this setting was a godsend when it came to nourishing my current reading obsession in the wee hours while preventing further eyestrain.

A Simple, Easy-to-Use UI and Speedy Processing

While the Kindle Paperwhite SE (2024) is perhaps the winner in the speed department as the “fastest Kindle ever,” the Amazon Kindle (2024) also takes its speed up a notch with faster processing that makes reading so much easier and all the more enjoyable. One of my gripes with past eReaders has been their speed. A constant refresh of the screen or lag every time you turn the page can make reading feel more like a chore. Luckily, one of Amazon’s upgrades for the Kindle 2024 is faster processing.

In my time with the Kindle 2024, I sped my way through five books in two weeks. While this was partially due to my penchant for reading, it was also due to the Kindle’s speed, convenience, and stand-out performance. Because I experienced next to no ghosting upon turning pages, didn’t have to wait for (or feel distracted by) slow page turns, and didn’t have the dreaded hand fatigue from a heavy or awkward build, I could not put the Kindle down.

The simple UI has two well-organized sections for the Home page (which shows your library and Kindle book suggestions in various categories) and the Library page, where all the books you own or have downloaded live.

Kindle Unlimited

For my reading library, I opted to use a Kindle Unlimited free trial (after the trial, it’s $11.99 per month), which gave me access to four million books and the ability to borrow and read up to 20 books at a time. I could also have imported other ebooks I owned by emailing the files and downloading them on the Kindle or connecting my smartphone to my laptop to transfer files to the Kindle app. Additionally, any ebooks and audiobooks I had already purchased from Amazon auto-populated in my library, so I had plenty of options.

I downloaded Minka Kent’s “The Stillwater Girls” to listen to via Bluetooth. While I used the audiobook capability, I felt this feature was serviceable but imperfect. However, it’s still useful for road trips, flights, and other travel when you don’t want to put your eyes on a page. The interface wasn’t as smooth as using the Audible app on my phone, and there was a slight delay when going back or forward 30 seconds.

I mostly read titles from Kindle Unlimited, including buzzy bestsellers in the suspense category, like Alex Michaelides’ “The Silent Patient” and Freida McFadden’s “The Housemaid.” While you can purchase plenty of options in the Kindle store, Kindle Unlimited offers great value for people who want to read various titles at a monthly price. (The only bummer here is you don’t own any of the ebooks you’ve downloaded through Kindle Unlimited).

Features and Settings

While there aren’t many features on the Kindle 2024 to speak of that aren’t basic, I appreciated the simplicity of a top drop-down menu, where I could easily adjust the brightness, toggle on Bluetooth or Dark Mode, and access the Settings page.

Under Settings, the most customization you can do is to filter or personalize the lock screen ads (yay, bloatware), connect to your Goodreads account, manage the language options and dictionaries, set a security pin, and adjust the sleep timer.

However, there are some convenient (albeit still basic) features you can access while reading that are standard for Kindles. These include highlighting text, writing basic notes, and looking up words in the integrated dictionary. When I highlighted a word or phrase, I could swipe right from the dictionary to a Wikipedia page or swipe again for Google Translate to look up words from other languages.

One feature I wish was included in the Kindle 2024 is a simple reading speed statistics page. I’ve seen this incorporated into other eReaders (like the Kobo Elipsa 2E) and am unsure why Amazon hasn’t taken the initiative to include it in their standard Kindles. Checking my reading speed isn’t essential, but I enjoy seeing how long it takes me to get through a book or how many pages I’ve read in an hour, and I know many other readers would appreciate this, too.

A Long-Lasting Battery and Quick Charging

Depending on how much reading I did, the Kindle 2024’s battery life varied. When I was lightly reading (only for an hour or so at night), the battery drained slowly (maybe about 5 to 10% per day). Amazon claims its battery lasts up to six weeks, but this is based on keeping the Wi-Fi off, reading at a brightness level of 13, and only reading for 30 minutes daily. If you did, you might get those six weeks of battery life, but I expect more readers would have an experience that is more aligned with mine. I read for at least one hour per day most days, left Wi-Fi on, and usually had the brightness at a minimum of 17.

However, my reading soon became a marathon (not a sprint), so in general, my battery life on the Kindle lasted about five days before I needed to charge it. The good news is that charging the Kindle didn’t take long (especially considering the length of the battery life). I regularly got about a 26% charge after just 16 minutes on the charger and hit 100% in roughly an hour or so.

Should You Buy the Amazon Kindle Gen 11 (2024) eReader?

The Amazon Kindle Gen 11 (2024) is one of the best options available in the entry-level eReader category, especially if you prefer the convenience of Kindle’s vast library of titles. Its uncomplicated, well-organized UI makes it easy to focus on reading rather than a plethora of clutter. At the same time, its speedy processing, lightweight design, and crisp display will keep you reading comfortably whether you’re at home or traveling.

However, you may want to increase your budget if you prefer an eReader with more features, such as better annotation, note-taking, or a color screen. For a more paper-like feel, opt for the Kindle Paperwhite SE (2024) or enjoy color on the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition. If you want to annotate like a pro, the Kobo Elipsa 2E or Onyx Boox Note Air3 C performed well in that department (though they’re in a higher price range).

Amazon Kindle (2024)

Even in the budget department, the Amazon Kindle is a stellar value, from its light and compact design, to its adjustable front light and 6-inch display.