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Kindle Aluminum Review (2026): Gorgeous, but Expensive
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.
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