My Honest Kindle Oasis Review

Kindle Paperwhite vs. Oasis? Here’s my honest Kindle Oasis review. 

Real talk, my Kindle Oasis was one of the best things to happen to me in 2020 (and I only had it for the last two weeks of the year, so it’s really made a big impression in a short amount of time). Now that I’ve been using it for a little over two months, I wanted to share my full Kindle Oasis review—what I like, what I don’t like and if it’s worth the money, plus a Kindle Oasis vs. Paperwhite comparison. (Wondering what I’ve been reading? See all my fav reads from last year here.)

I got my first Kindle, the second-generation keyboard Kindle, almost 10 years ago. It was amazing, still works great, and is in near-perfect condition, but after moving in with my boyfriend who usually goes to bed earlier than I do, the no-light thing kind of became an issue. I got a clip-on book light for my Kindle keyboard, but it still wasn’t great lighting and died pretty quickly. I was definitely due for an upgrade. And since I waited 10 whole years to do so, I decided to go big with the champagne gold Kindle Oasis. 

The exact model I have is the Kindle Oasis with adjustable warm light without ads in the champagne gold color with 32 GB of storage. To be clear, that is a TON of storage. Literally nobody needs that much storage. It can hold something ridiculous like 22,000 ebooks (or 1,000 audiobooks). But the gold color only comes in 32 GB, so here we are.

The new Kindle Oasis has an ergonomic design, page turn buttons, adjustable warm light, and it’s waterproof—it can survive in up to 2 meters of fresh water for up to an hour, so perfect for worry-free reading at the beach/pool or in the bath. The screen is also larger than the other Kindle models (a 7-inch glare-free screen) and has a resolution of 300 ppi (the same as the Kindle Paperwhite, and more than double the resolution of the standard Kindle). 

It’s definitely more of a splurge: the Kindle Oasis starts at $249, and to upgrade to the gold color with higher storage and no ads it totaled $299. The Kindle Paperwhite starts at $129 (or $149 with no ads). Side note: The ads mostly include covers of steamy romance novels or Amazon promos. Some people don’t mind the ads, but basically you’re choosing between being spammed with half-naked men and artistic shots of writing utensils, so you do you.

If you’re looking for something more budget-friendly, try the Kindle Paperwhite. Or, if you’re new to ereaders all together, maybe start with the basic Kindle for $89 to see how you like it. I read almost every day, so the Oasis was worth it for me. (Either way, I recommend waiting until Prime Day or Black Friday/Cyber Monday for any Kindle purchase to get the best price. That made the price of the Oasis way more manageable and saved about $75.) 

Kindle Oasis vs. Paperwhite

• The Kindle Oasis and Kindle Paperwhite both have the same storage options (8 or 32 GB), 300 ppi resolution, weeks-long battery life, can play audiobooks with Bluetooth headphones or speakers, and are waterproof. They both also come with a 1-year limited warranty.
• The Kindle Oasis comes in graphite and champagne gold, and the Kindle Paperwhite comes in black, twilight blue, sage or plum. (The OG Kindle is the one that comes in white.)
• The Kindle Oasis has a bigger screen, which I love (7 inches vs. 6 inches).
• The Kindle Oasis has page turn buttons. (Maybe these are a must for me because I came from the Kindle Keyboard, which also has page turn buttons, but I feel like everyone raves about this feature.)
• The Kindle Oasis has more front lights (25 LEDs compared to just 5 LEDs on the Paperwhite—the other models have 4 LEDs, for reference).
• The Kindle Oasis also has the adjustable warm light, which is a game changer for reading at night, and you can set a timer so the warm light automatically turns on and off between certain hours.
• The Oasis also has auto-adjusting light sensors, so it can automatically adjust the screen to be brighter or dimmer depending on your environment. 
• The Oasis has an ergonomic design that’s super thin with one side that’s thicker for a more comfortable grip in your hand.  
• The Oasis also has automatic rotating page orientation, so if you flip it upside down to switch hands while reading, the page will also rotate. 

Kindle vs. iPad

• While the Kindle has a smaller screen, the biggest benefit here is the e-ink technology, which is so much easier on your eyes and looks more like pages in a real book, especially with the new warm light feature. If you love reading physical books, you’ll definitely prefer the Kindle Oasis over the iPad.
• The Kindle battery life lasts for weeks compared to days, which is a huge plus. When I’m traveling I never have to bring my Kindle charger, just charge it up before your trip and it’s one less thing to pack. It’s also significantly lighter and better for reading on the go.
• The Kindle is glare-free, so it’s better for reading outside or at the beach or pool. And it’s waterproof, so you don’t have to worry about getting splashed or dropping it in the water.
• Because the Kindle isn’t meant for scrolling the internet and is for reading only, it’s easier to stay focused and not get distracted by texts, notifications, YouTube, social media, etc. 
• The biggest difference for me, aside from the glare, is the Kindle’s front light feature, which has tiny LEDs that point toward the display, so there’s no backlight—unlike the iPad or a smartphone. You’ll be exposed to significantly less blue light, making it easier to fall asleep easier at night. 
• The Kindle isn’t just another screen. After working on a computer all day, the last thing I want to do is sit in front of my iPad at night. The Kindle is a nice break for your eyes that feels more like a book and less like work. 

All that said, I am obsessed with reading on the Kindle Oasis for all of the reasons above, but there are a few things things I’m not crazy about.

Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t totally get the hype about the ~ergonomic~ design. I find it kind of awkward and wish it was slim all the way around. Other people love it, I’m not crazy about it and find myself switching hands often.

It’s also super annoying that you can only get the champagne gold color in 32 GB. Like, of course they did this to up-sell the fools like me who will pay a premium to have it in gold, but there’s no way I need that much storage. It would be nice to have the gold option in the 8 GB version as well. (I justify this because mine was a gift—thanks, Alex—so I probably wouldn’t have splurged for the gold myself, but I really do love it.)

And then, there’s the case issue. The case covers the entire back of the device. So if you pony up for the gold color, then you can’t have a case without entirely covering it up and defeating the purpose. For this reason, I opted for a sleeve instead of a case. I read my Kindle without a case at home, and found this gorgeous handmade leather sleeve on Etsy to use while traveling—I am obsessed with this sleeve, so it all worked out. The one I got is the tan leather tablet case from HappyHedgerow. and it’s handmade with real leather in Scotland, and I had it personalized with my initials stamped into it. For a real leather case, it only cost $38 plus an extra $3 for personalization and $10 for shipping. 

Those small gripes aside, the Kindle Oasis is one of my all-time favorite things and was for sure my best buy of 2020 that I’ll have and love for years to come.

I hope this helps you find your perfect ereader—you won’t regret it!

Happy reading! (Need a few book recs? Here are a few of my favs.)