Review: Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is a $600 stunner of an e-reader

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I love Kindles. Among e-readers, Kindles remain the best option for most readers. (I love the Kobos, though, don’t get me wrong.) But in the Kindle line, there was one dud: the Kindle Scribe. I’ve tested two previous generations of the Scribe, and it’s a pretty decent e-reader, as well as the only Kindle with writing capabilities. However, it’s always been a bit dull; it’s too big, too slow and too expensive – until now.

Announced in September 2025, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft didn’t actually hit the market until December 2025. Now that I’ve had the chance to try the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, I’m pleasantly surprised and can confidently say that this is the first Kindle Scribe worth buying. It’s faster, brighter and lots of fun for writing, reading and doodling.

There’s just one problem: it’s still way too expensive.

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft Price and Specifications

The Kindle Scribe home page has received a well-deserved overhaul.
Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

The Kindle Scribe 2025 has received a significant redesign compared to the previous two generations of Scribes. They got rid of the superfluous sidebar for a narrower, streamlined look.

Here are the full specifications of the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft 2025:

• 11-inch anti-glare display, up to 100 nits brightness, 300 ppi black and white and 150 ppi color resolution

• USB-C charging port with up to eight weeks of read time and two weeks of write time.

• 32GB or 64GB storage options available

• Premium pen included

• Includes Google Drive and Microsoft One integrations

• Available in fig (purple) or graphite (dark gray)

• Not waterproof

Classic Kindle speed and redesigned home screen

User interface improvements give the new Kindle Scribe Colorsoft a boost.
Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

Historically, I’ve found the Scribe to run slower than other Kindles, but with this latest iteration it’s caught up. The Colorsoft Scribe is a fast e-reader with writing capabilities. It moves quickly between pages and doesn’t lag when switching from one book to another. He tends to slow down when writing and using notebooks; However, it is much faster than previous models and I barely noticed the difference.

Kindles are generally already user-friendly devices; However, Amazon has made significant improvements to the new Scribe’s interface. The Scribe Colorsoft features a redesigned home screen that puts laptops front and center. This makes switching between notebooks very convenient when you need to switch from a journal to a planner.

Plus, I like that you can add documents or books to your notebook section. For students, this makes switching between your readings and notebooks really convenient, so you don’t need to move between your library and notebook sections.

It also looks better. The device now has front lighting, giving it a much clearer and brighter screen. This means the screen has a true white background rather than a muted gray like that of previous generations.

It easily collects notes

You can annotate, make notes on the page, or make notes in the margins.
Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

Another way Scribe perfects the user interface is the way it collects notes. Reviewing the Kindle Scribe came at an opportune time because I was taking a class and needed to do some required reading. Using the Scribe, I annotated, wrote notes on the page, and made comments in the margins.

Go back and find all your notes in a book in one place.
Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

The Kindle brings all these notes together in one place, allowing you to see your comments and the annotated section. From there, you can tap to go back to the page where your notes are, which was extremely helpful when I was in a class discussion and wanted to go back to read a quote or remember a thought I had about it.

Did Kindle fix ghosting?

Kindle Scribe ghosting is at its worst after erasing.
Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

So far, the Scribe has had one major performance issue across all generations: ghosting. This is the phenomenon in which traces of previous screens persist, creating shadows on images. Ghosting is a common problem that any e-reader is susceptible to, but especially those with writing capabilities.

Ghosting on Kindle Scribes has been pretty egregious in our previous reviews, so we weren’t expecting this Kindle to have almost no ghosting. When using the device as an e-reader, there is no trace of ghosting.

When writing, however, some minor ghosting appears. This usually happens after erasing on the Scribe. Some writing or drawings appear even after being erased. Even these ghostings are slight, as I found that as soon as I refreshed the page, these marks disappeared.

I feel like Lady Whistledown when I write

My writing has never looked better.
Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

Every time I need to write digitally, trying to create a signature with a finger on the screen, it looks… terrible. Luckily, with the Kindle, my writing is actually better than ever. For writing, a stylus is included, Amazon’s premium stylus that automatically connects to the device.

There are five pen styles on the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, but my favorite is the fountain pen.
Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

When writing with the premium pen, you have many writing styles, including pen, fountain pen, marker, pencil, and, for illustrators or highlighters, shader. Each pen style also has an adjustable width and color, making it something you can even illustrate.

I’m not an artist, so I can only judge him by his writing, and in that way, it makes my writing sharper and more beautiful. I particularly like the fountain pen, which makes me feel like Lady Whistledown writing with her quill.

Where can we improve? Color resolution

Even though color e-readers are growing in popularity, some features are still slow to improve. The standard color resolution of most color e-readers, including the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, maxes out at 150 ppi, half the typical black and white resolution. The result is muted colors and some pixelation.

To its credit, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft performs well within the confines of its low resolution. It uses colors skewed in the pastel range, which look more beautiful than other shades. This is best showcased in the lock screen ads, which I found delightful and beautiful, surprising since I’ve never been impressed by Amazon’s lock screen images before.

It’s still too expensive

Usually I find Kindles to be cheap e-readers, but the Scribe and Colorsoft e-readers are way too expensive. Unfortunately, that’s the case with the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, which starts at $629.99. This puts it on par with the Remarkable Paper Pro in price, although the Remarkable e-ink tablet has better color resolution and worse black-and-white resolution at 229 ppi for both.

It’s definitely an investment, and if you’re just using it as an e-reader, it’s way too expensive. However, if you’re looking for an e-reader that’s also a great e-ink tablet, it’s on par with the market price, although we still think the market price is too high.

Should you buy the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft?

Amazon has finally created a Kindle Scribe that is worth buying.
Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable

If you can stomach the price, I think the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is the first Scribe worth buying. Its redesigned construction created a smaller tablet with a larger screen that was more comfortable to hold. The added front light is visually stunning and its white background looks more true. Amazon sped up processing on the Kindle Scribe, resulting in a faster e-reader with very little ghosting.

For those who are put off by the price, I say hold on. It hasn’t gone on sale yet, but if it does on the next Prime Day, its value for money will be much better than today.