Kindle Aluminum Review (2026): Gorgeous, but Expensive

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Rating:

7/10

The Kindle Aluminum has no right to be this beautiful.

Amazon announced a new Kindle lineup at the start of the month, with new versions of the Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite, and Kindle Colorsoft. The base Kindle is the first one available, with both a plastic version and an aluminum version. It's simply named the Kindle Aluminum, while the aluminum versions of the Paperwhite and Colorsoft are now the new Signature Editions with extra features (like wireless charging, an auto-adjusting front light, and a couple AI features).

The Kindle Aluminum only offers the AI features compared to the Signature Editions, while also including a different body, 32 GB of storage, and no lock screen ads. It's not really enough to validate the price change, yet still I find myself loving it.

Notably, it comes in two colors, Seaglass Green and Alpine Sky. The latter is currently sitting just a few inches away from me as I write this, glinting in the sunlight. It's the shade of blue I had hoped the MacBooks would be when Apple released its Sky Blue color in 2025, and every single reader friend I've shown it to has said they want it for the color alone. Even my editor, who strongly prefers physical books (which is hilarious given that she edits my ever-growing list of e-reader reviews, including this one), said just looking at my photos made her want one.

It's a smart move on Amazon's part. There's little reason to upgrade your Kindle if you already have one, but most generations only came in black. The last generation just had one color for the Kindle and one for the Paperwhite. Now, with the base Kindle, you have two colors of the plastic version (the classic black and Ube purple) and the aforementioned green or blue aluminum—these options could have plenty of existing Kindle owners champing at the bit to upgrade.

But it's hard to say it's worth it just for the color, since you could always buy a case instead. It's not a bad device, and there are some improvements—just not enough to justify the price tag.

New Body, Same System

The 12th-generation Kindle still has the same 6-inch screen, but the device's overall form factor has changed. The screen is flush with the rest of the body now, rather than sitting indented, and the new Kindle body is actually a quarter of an inch shorter than the 2024 Kindle's. That sounds like a small increment (and it is!), but having both devices side-by-side, it was easy to spot. The new Kindle also felt like it fit better in my palm, perhaps due to the smoother aluminum backing.

It's also heavier, thanks to the backing. Amazon says the Kindle Aluminum is 5.7 ounces, while the plastic 2026 Kindle is 4.9 ounces. (The 2024 plastic Kindle is 5.56 ounces.) Despite the tiny difference in weight between the 2024 Kindle and the new aluminum version, the aluminum felt palpably heavier to me—almost as if felt like my hand was putting more effort into holding it up. I double-checked on my kitchen scale, and it really is only a 0.2-ounce difference. I had my husband try both models, and he agreed that the aluminum felt heavier and was surprised at how small the difference really was. I think the smaller frame makes the weight sit a little differently.

Opening the 2026 Kindle Aluminum sends you to the same interface as any other Kindle. You'll have a homepage and your library page, and the same set of menus by tapping the right-hand corner dots or swiping down from the top of the page. I did find that while the page-turn speed seemed nearly identical, the new Kindle opened up books much faster than the 2024 Kindle. On the latter, I always had to wait a handful of seconds for my latest Kindle Unlimited read to open (I'll own up to it currently being Verity, my first and very likely last Colleen Hoover book), but the 2026 Kindle near-instantly opened it each time.

The other difference turned out to be the front lights. While neither model has a warm-color front light, the Kindle Aluminum's light tone seemed a touch warmer than the bright-blue tinge of the 2024 Kindle. It was still too blue to comfortably read in dark mode before bed, but side by side, I could see an improvement. It's hard to tell in my photo below, but I know I'm not hallucinating after seeing multiple similar photos already uploaded to the Kindle's Amazon reviews.

Colorful Cost

Ultimately, you don't need this Kindle if you already have one, and $190 is a steep price to pay for a model that doesn't even have a warm option for the front light. The real draw here remains the color body, and Amazon has done a good job with this. My TikTok feed is full of e-reader fans talking about the Ube shade, while the shine of the Alpine Sky is one I would've been eyeing had I not ended up reviewing it. I also like that the aluminum body really does feel like an upgrade when I hold it in my hands.

Amazon might be trying to take a page from Apple's playbook for the iPhone, encouraging you to upgrade your Kindle every two years for the new colors, the way superfans update their smartphones. While Kindle has a much lower cost of entry, that's because a smartphone comes with many more features and upgrades. The Kindle will always have one use: as an e-reader that shows you books. Unlike the second- to third-gen Kindle Scribe update, Kindle isn't providing a new homepage experience, though you will get two of the AI-powered features the Scribes have (Story So Far, to recap where you left off in a story, and Ask This Book—coming soon, to ask about a story). You aren't even getting the auto-adjusting light that aluminum versions of the Paperwhite and Colorsoft will have.

It's a good gift for Christmas for someone who already has everything, or an excuse to finally upgrade your own Kindle if it's starting to lag. But you might also want to wait and see if the Paperwhite or Colorsoft Signature Editions are the way to go instead, especially since only those two models will be compatible with the new Kindle Page Turn Cover ($80) that will give you on-device page-turn buttons. Neither the 2026 Kindle Aluminum nor the plastic version will be compatible with this accessory, making it even harder to justify upgrading, but they will at least work with the Kindle Click remote ($35).

Again, this isn't a bad Kindle. The faster book openings and slightly warmer (though still not actually warm) front light, and double the storage make it a legitimate upgrade to the 2024 model. If you don't already have a Kindle, it's not a bad choice if you want to get one of the prettiest models available. It's up to you if that's worth spending almost $200 on.

You'll likely be just as happy with the plastic Ube version and spend between $20 and $40 less, depending on whether you want ads or not (though it does have half the storage of the aluminum model, at 16 GB). Still, this is a much higher price than these basic Kindles used to be available for. Hopefully we will see these Kindles on sale for Black Friday, but I wouldn't hold my breath for any good sales this year.