Amazon could be readying a new Kindle device for launch sometime later in 2024. Almost all of it is shrouded in secrecy and the only clue we have to that happening is a code snippet included in the firmware version 5.16.21 that was introduced recently. The said code referred to a Kindle device that would come powered by a MediaTek processor.
Apart from that, as the eBook Reader pointed out, there also are a few other indications all of which may not be considered hardcore evidence of a new Kindle being in the offing but does point to that happening nonetheless. For instance, it has been around three years since Amazon launched the Kindle Paperwhite 10th generation. Amazon has been launching Kindle Paperwhite devices at an interval of three years or so. That makes it high time for it to come up with a new Kindle Paperwhite model now.
There have been no Kindle devices launched in the entire 2023, which in itself is quite unusual. The only other time there have been no new Kindle devices launched was in 2009. Thereafter, the same was repeated again in 2020 when there was no new Kindle launched, something that can be attributed to the Covid pandemic.
Yet another tell-tale sign of there being a new Kindle in the works is that the official covers of the Kindle Paperwhite have been on sale for several weeks now. It’s likely the company is keen on finishing existing stocks of the Kindle covers before the new Kindle takes over. Maybe the new Kindle will have a glass cover.
The company had earlier revealed in a blog post the testing process that new Kindles are subjected to before they are launched. One of the tests had its display shattered completely, something that’s possible only with a glass cover. The current Kindle comes with a plastic cover and isn’t expected to shatter completely under impact.
With just a few months left for the year to draw to a close, a safe bet perhaps will be to predict the launch taking place around September or October. Stay tuned!