In this article, we compare two heavyweights, the Amazon Kindle Oasis vs. Kindle Paperwhite. If you’re a voracious reader and you like to travel, an e-book reader is the ideal device for you. Many of the best e-book readers are made by Amazon, but working out which model to go for is easier said than done. Much depends on what features you crave. Should you push the boat out and go for the top-of-the-line Kindle Oasis? Or, should you save yourself some cash to buy more books and opt for the latest Kindle Paperwhite?
Amazon has continued to refresh its range over the years, but the choice between its two top models is still a tough one to make. Here’s how the choice between the Kindle Oasis and Kindle Paperwhite breaks down and which one you should buy.
You might also want to check out our comparison of the Amazon Kindle vs. Kindle Paperwhite.
Looking to grab yourself a Kindle? Check out our guide to the best Black Friday Kindle deals and this great Kindle Unlimited deal.
Specs
Design, durability, and display
There’s a big difference between the Oasis and Paperwhite in the looks department. While the Oasis boasts a svelte aluminum body, with a thicker section at one side that houses physical turn page buttons, the Paperwhite is matte plastic, with chunkier bezels around the smaller screen and no physical turn page buttons. The Oasis comes in a choice of graphite or champagne gold, but the Paperwhite turns the tables with a selection of black, sage, plum, or twilight blue.
Both e-book readers have an IPX8 rating, which means splashes and rain are nothing to worry about; in fact, they’re protected against immersion in up to 6.5 feet of fresh water for up to an hour.
But the new Oasis has really shown its quality where the display is concerned. While the Oasis and Paperwhite both have sharp screens rated at 300 pixels per inch, there are some important differences. For a start, the Oasis has a bigger 7-inch screen, while the Paperwhite has a 6-inch display. But, most importantly in our book, only the Oasis allows you to filter out blue light at night if you want to, making nighttime reading a more pleasurable experience.
While both devices use LEDs to light up the screen, the Oasis also boasts more LEDs than the Paperwhite, so it offers more lighting levels and better uniformity around the screen. Both devices support automatic brightness, but we found that it worked a lot better with the Oasis, whereas we often had to manually adjust the Paperwhite.
Winner: Kindle Oasis
Performance, battery life, and charging
Amazon doesn’t specify processors and RAM in its e-book readers, but the Kindle Oasis and the Kindle Paperwhite were both responsive and slick to navigate. Side-by-side, the Kindle Oasis is a touch faster to turn pages and respond to touches a little faster, so it seems likely that it has a little extra processing power under the hood.
There’s no stated battery capacity, as Amazon prefers to describe battery life for both Kindles as up to six weeks from a single charge based on half an hour of reading a day. However, it stands to reason that the Oasis must have a bigger battery, since it has a bigger display to power. Both, unfortunately, it relies on a Micro USB port for charging — and this particularly stings on the $250 Oasis. However, the Oasis wins back some goodwill, with it taking just two hours to fully charge from a 5W charger and around three hours from a computer USB port. The Paperwhite, on the other hand, took three hours and four hours, respectively, to do the same.
With weeks of battery life, you’ll not need to worry about longevity with any Kindle. However, with a touch more smoothness, the Oasis wins here.
Winner: Kindle Oasis
Software and updates
The software on the Kindle Oasis and Kindle Paperwhite is largely identical; there are just a few extra options with the Oasis. That means both have features like Whispersync, which lets you keep your place across devices, and both come with optional ads on the lock screen, which lowers the price. They both come with either 8GB or 32GB of storage and, while there’s no room for expansion via MicroSD card, you do get free cloud storage for all your Amazon content. We would expect software updates to be on the same schedule for both devices.
Winner: Tie
Special features
Neither of these devices comes with speakers or a headphone port; However, both have Bluetooth capabilities and can support streaming Audible audiobooks to a separate Bluetooth speaker or headphones. For the users willing to pay a bit more, try upgrading either device to receive cellular and Wi-Fi services. We think the only other truly notable features are the page turn buttons on Oasis, which can help ease readers who are wary about using an e-reader, and the blue-light filter. You’ll be able to read for others without worrying about the screen robbing you of your sleep.
Winner: Kindle Oasis
Price and availability
At the time of writing, the Kindle Oasis comes with a price tag starting at $250. The Kindle Paperwhite is quite a lot cheaper at $130. We always encourage shoppers to keep an eye out for bargains, which typically appear during Prime Day deals, but it’s fair to say you’re always going to find the Paperwhite for a lot less than the Oasis. Also, keep in mind the value propositions in play here. While the Oasis has more features, it’s worth asking yourself if those features are worth $120 to you. The Paperwhite offers a lot for over $100 less than the Oasis, and that’s $100 that could be spent on a massive amount of e-books instead of the different display or design of the Kindle Oasis.
What’s great is that you can almost always find Amazon Kindle devices on sale. As one of Amazon’s biggest sellers, you’ll find several Kindle varieties available wherever Amazon is available. Furthermore, the devices with LTE will work anywhere there’s a reliable 4G signal. On top of that, the devices function similarly over Wi-Fi; you’ll be able to download books wherever you have a Wi-Fi connection.
Overall winner: Kindle Oasis
When narrowing down Amazon’s e-book readers, it’s clear that the Kindle Oasis is the superior choice. It comes with a larger display, a blue light filter, and looks the most unique. The biggest differences are evident in the main design features, though, so if you want to opt for the cheaper Kindle Paperwhite, you’ll still find a comparable and excellent product. You’ll get a crisp display and a waterproof design, plus an extra $120 to spend on e-books.
So, if you want the best and money is no object, then the Kindle Oasis should be your choice. But if the Oasis’s high price gave you a double-take of any kind, consider that the Paperwhite offers basically the same experience for almost half the price. That’s nothing to be sniffed at.