Enlarge / The new $100 Kindle is Amazon's best entry-level model ever, though it still has to live in the Paperwhite's shadow. (credit: Andrew Cunningham)

Amazon’s Kindle Scribe is the e-reader lineup’s exciting new high-end device, the one that's pushing the Kindle experience forward. But it’s just as important for Amazon to keep pushing the baseline forward for the people who want to hop into the ecosystem but don’t want to spend too much.

So we come to the new $100 Kindle (or $120, with no ads). Also called the “2022 release” or “Kindle (11th generation)” on Amazon’s product pages, this model costs $10 more than the one it replaces (inflation comes for us all), but it has new perks to help justify the price bump. For the first time, the basic Kindle has the same 300 PPI screen density as the rest of the lineup, and Amazon has streamlined the top and side bezels around the 6-inch screen to make the device smaller and lighter. USB-C, Bluetooth support for audiobooks, and a boosted 16GB of storage round out the spec sheet.

We’ve had the new Kindle for a few days, not long enough to read more than a few hundred pages or put a dent in the battery but long enough to develop some impressions about the device's strengths and weaknesses. The main question to answer: Who should buy this Kindle, and who should spend $40 more on the waterproofing and larger, nicer screen of the current Kindle Paperwhite ?

Enlarge / Amazon's newest Kindle e-reader. (credit: Amazon)

For years, Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite has been the best Kindle for most people to buy, compared to the standard no-adjective Kindle. It was the first to get a front-lit, high-resolution screen; waterproofing; and USB-C... the list goes on. But today, Amazon announced a new $100 Kindle that includes almost all of the best features from the latest Paperwhite for $40 less. The new device is available for preorder now and will be released on October 12.

Compared to the previous-generation Kindle, the new 11th-generation model bumps the pixel density from 167 PPI up to 300 PPI, the same level as Amazon's other Kindles. This makes text appreciably sharper and nicer-looking. Storage is doubled from 8GB to 16GB, not something you'll notice if you primarily read text but more useful if you listen to lots of audiobooks. And the micro USB charging port is gone, replaced by a modern USB-C port that will let you charge the device using the same connector you use for most modern laptops, phones, tablets, and game consoles.

The new Kindle is $10 more expensive than the one it replaces, and the price goes up to $120 if you want the version with no lock screen ads. A Kindle Kids edition with an extended two-year warranty, one of three colorful covers, and a one-year subscription to Amazon's Kids+ service is also $120 (it won't show your kids ads by default, but Amazon says it will display ads if you exit Kindle Kids mode).