Do you go for the Kindle Paperwhite or the new Kindle Voyage? We help you decide
Given Amazon’s continued mastery of the e-reader format, the Kindle maker is arguably its own biggest rival in the field.
To prove that point we thought we’d pitch arguably the two best e-readers around against each other - the Kindle Voyage and the Kindle Paperwhite.
Have the latest model’s advances really made all that much of a difference? Here's our take.
Kindle Voyage vs Kindle Paperwhite: Design
Kindle Voyage: 180g, 7.6mm thick, magnesium back, buttonless design
Kindle Paperwhite: 206g, 9.1mm thick, plastic body with soft touch back
The Kindle Voyage is definitely a step forward from the Kindle Paperwhite in design terms, though you have to really go hands-on with it to feel, rather than see, the difference.
The Voyage’s display now sits flush with the bezels rather than sitting recessed within them, as with the Paperwhite. That results in a device that’s 1.5mm thinner, as well as 26g lighter.
The Voyage also drops the functional-but-clunky buttons of the Paperwhite in favour of subtle capacitive controls, giving it a much sleeker look arguably more akin to a compact tablet than an e-reader.
Finally, the back of the Voyage is formed of a nice premium-feeling magnesium material rather than the plastic of old. Combined with a glass front (more on which in a moment), the Voyage is in a totally different class of desirability.
Kindle Voyage vs Kindle Paperwhite: Screen
Kindle Voyage: 6-inch, 300ppi, micro-etched glass, adaptive front light
Kindle Paperwhite: 6-inch, 212ppi, plastic Paperwhite Carta e-paper display
The Paperwhite may have felt crisp and bright when it first emerged - and it is, but the Voyage is on a whole other level.
At 300ppi, the Kindle Voyage display is around 35 percent sharper than the Kindle Paperwhite’s. This aids reading comfort considerably, particularly when it comes to smaller text.
It’s also worth reiterating that the Voyage’s display is the first Kindle example to be of toughened glass rather than plastic. This means that it’s more resistant of scuffs, thus allowing the aforementioned sleeker design, and is also smoother to the touch. That's despite the fact that the Voyage's display has been micro-etched to avoid reflections.
The Voyage’s display also benefits from an adaptive front light that adjusts the brightness more subtly than the Paperwhite when moving to a darker environment.
Kindle Voyage vs Kindle Paperwhite: Storage and Connectivity
Kindle Voyage: 4GB on device storage, free cloud storage, 3G and Wi-Fi options
Kindle Paperwhite: 2GB on device storage, free cloud storage, 3G and Wi-Fi options
Amazon has added loads more internal storage for the Kindle Voyage. You now get 4GB, which might not sound like a lot if you’re coming from the world of smartphones and tablets, but it’s loads in the world of e-books - the figure usually given is 1,000 ebooks per 1GB of storage.
It’s also, more pertinently, around double the capacity of the Kindle Paperwhite.
Other than that, both e-readers have similar options. Both have access to Amazon’s free cloud storage, and both come in both 3G and Wi-Fi-only options.
Kindle Voyage vs Kindle Paperwhite: Content, Stores and Pricing
Kindle Voyage: 3 million ebooks including newspapers and magazines, from £169
Kindle Paperwhite: 3 million ebooks including newspapers and magazines, from £109
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that both tablets have identical access to Amazon’s vast ebook store. We’re talking three million ebooks, newspapers, and magazines.
Amazon’s offering is pretty much the most comprehensive in the business, especially now that it’s settled its ugly differences with some of the publishers who dared to hold out for a better deal earlier in the year.
Where the two devices really differ is in pricing. We’ve established that the Kindle Voyage is a much more advanced e-reader in many ways, but then you have to pay £60 more for than for the Paperwhite equivalents.
To illustrate that, the £169 price of the Wi-Fi Voyage would get you a 3G Paperwhite. That might be worth considering if you’re on a budget and are likely to find yourself away from a Wi-Fi hotspot for much of the time.
Kindle Voyage vs Kindle Paperwhite: Battery life
Kindle Voyage: 6 weeks
Kindle Paperwhite: 8 weeks
Both e-readers last a good spell longer than your average tablet on a single charge, as is the way with ebook readers. However, the Kindle Voyage’s sharper, brighter display has clearly taken a toll on its stamina.
Amazon quotes six weeks of life from a single charge for the Kindle Voyage, but we found that four weeks was a more realistic figure for regular usage patterns.
Even taking Amazon’s quoted figure as read, that’s a notable backward step from the Paperwhite, which is quoted at eight weeks.
It’s worth considering if you really want to minimise the time your e-reader is attached to a wall socket.
Kindle Voyage vs Kindle Paperwhite: Verdict
The Kindle Voyage is a better e-reader than the Kindle Paperwhite in almost every way. It’s got a much better screen; a nicer, more compact, more tactile design; and double the internal storage.
For these reasons it is the clear winner of this contest.
However, the Kindle Paperwhite isn’t a complete write off, and victories in two notable categories should give everyone some pause for thought when considering a purchase.
The Paperwhite is considerably cheaper than its successor, and its battery life is a fair bit better. If you’re on a tight budget of around the £100 mark, or you really need your e-reader to last longer than a month on a single charge, the Paperwhite might be a better bet.
For most people though, there’s really only one option here. The Kindle Voyage is the best ebook reader in the business, and a considerable step up even from its esteemed predecessor.
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