I've covered the ereader space for decades and watched as the industry struggled to make usable color E Ink displays. The early displays were slow, with low contrast and faded colors, and were roundly rejected by those who happily scooped up and held onto monochrome ereaders like the iconic Kindle Paperwhite.
One ereader changed all that, and now the Amazon Kindle Colorsoft, which we called "the fastest, smoothest e-reader we've ever used," is on sale for Prime Day for $159 in the US and £154.99 in the UK for the 16GB model.
• Browse all early Prime Day deals at Amazon
Here's what makes these Prime Day prices more remarkable: the Colorsoft is, in the US, just $35 more than the Kindle Paperwhite, and about £20 more than it is in the UK. So basically, the cost of two or three Matchas to switch up from black and white to thousands of colors? Feels like a no-brainer.
Today's best Kindle Colorsoft deals
What's exciting about the Colorsoft is not just that it finally brings color to a reflective screen, but that it does it so well. I remember seeing the 7-inch, waterproof ereader for the first time in 2025. Initially, it looked and felt much like the Kindle Paperwhite I was familiar with, but the new color screen was a revelation. It's sharp, bright, crisp, and the colors pop across a range of content styles. Graphic novels are especially well-suited to the screen technology. You can tap or swipe through various full-screen panels, or view the full page of panels as you might on a physical graphic novel.
Books and, especially, magazines like National Geographic look good, too.
Best of all, there are no real trade-offs here. You get 16GB, which is more than enough space for thousands of tomes. As a reflective display, battery life is still strong, at 28 hours (according to our tests), which means multiple days or even weeks of multi-hour reading sessions. And like the monochrome Kindles, it has side illuminators that bathe the screen in light.
Plus, it's just as durable and waterproof as monocrhome Kindles.
Of course, even though it's color, you can still read your black and white text book and novels on the device. I suggest you get the latter from your local library by using an app like Libby.
My point is that there's very little reason to just buy a Paperwhite when, for just a little more money, you can have the best of both worlds: all the features of a Paperwhite and that really cool full-color reading experience. If you're a fan of graphic novels, there's no way you can pass this Prime Day deal by.
More early Prime Day deals in the US
- Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
- Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
- Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
- Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
- Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
- Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
- Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
- Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
- Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
- Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
- Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
- Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34
More early Prime Day deals in the UK
- Amazon Prime: sign up for a 30-day free trial
- Amazon Devices: Fire TV, Ring & Blink from £24.99
- Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
- Apple: AirPods Pro 3 for a record-low price
- Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja, Tefal & Sage
- Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
- Essentials: household goods from under £10
- Fashion: up to 50% off
- Father's Day: up to 50% off gifts & drinks
- Headphones: up to 50% off
- Laptops: from £149.99
- Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £125
- Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
- TVs: from £129.99
- Vacuums: up to 40% off Eufy & Roborock
- Wearables: Garmin & Huawei from £36.99