Pros & Cons
-
- Crisp color
- Waterproof
- Ad-free lock screen
-
- Expensive
- Low storage
- No wireless charging
Amazon Kindle Colorsoft 16GB 7 eReader (Black) Specs
| Book Formats | Kindle Format 8 (AZW3), Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; PDF, DOCX, DOC, HTML, EPUB, TXT, RTF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP through conversion; Audible audio format (AAX) |
| Dimensions | 7 by 5 by 0.3 inches |
| Screen Size | 7 |
| Storage Capacity | 16 |
| Weight | 7.6 |
The Amazon Kindle Colorsoft ($249.99) is slightly cheaper than the Kindle Color Signature Edition ($279.99) while still offering many of the same features. It has the same color E Ink display, a waterproof design, and no cover-screen ads. To hit the lower price point, Amazon has reduced the storage, removed wireless charging, and the front light lacks automatic adjustment. If you have a large audiobook collection, the extra storage of the Signature Edition may be worth it; otherwise, the Colorsoft is the color Kindle to get. That said, for those who don't rely on Amazon's ecosystem, the $249.99 Onyx Boox Go Color 7 (Gen II) is a better option overall thanks to its note-taking capabilities and support for third-party apps, making it our Editors' Choice for color ereaders.
Design: Almost Identical to the Signature Edition
Placed side by side, it's impossible to tell the difference between the regular Colorsoft and the Colorsoft Signature Edition. Just look at the specs: They both have 7-inch displays that are flush with their bezels and measure 7.0 by 5.0 by 0.3 inches (HWD). And there's only a tenth of an ounce difference in their weights (the Colorsoft is 7.6 ounces and the Signature Edition is 7.7 ounces). The Onyx Boox Go Color 7 (6.1 by 5.4 by 0.3 inches, 6.9 ounces) also has a 7-inch display, but it adds dedicated page-turning buttons. The $159.99 Kobo Clara Colour (6.2 by 4.4 by 0.4 inches, 6.1 ounces) has a smaller 6-inch screen, but shares similar dimensions and is the lightest of the bunch.
(Credit: Sarah Lord)Amazon only offers the Colorsoft in black. It has rounded corners and large black bezels around the screen, with a thicker one at the bottom to facilitate one-handed reading. The bottom edge features a USB-C port for charging and data transfer, with the power button located adjacent to it. No other buttons or ports are present, so you’ll need Bluetooth headphones to listen to audiobooks.
The back is covered in a soft matte finish that is easy to hold, but picks up fingerprints easily. You’ll probably want to get a case for protection and to take advantage of its sleep/wake capabilities. Amazon sells cases with a fabric cover in Black, Jade (green), or Raspberry (pink) for $36.99 each, as well as leather cases in Ruby (red) or Walnut (brown) for $64.99 each.
Like the Signature Edition, the waterproof Colorsoft features an IPX8 rating and can withstand depths of up to 6.5 feet of fresh water for 60 minutes, allowing you to bring it to the pool without worry. The Kobo Clara Colour also has the same waterproof rating, but the Boox Go Color 7 has none.
Display: Colorful, With Even Lighting
The Kindle Colorsoft has a 7-inch color E Ink display. Amazon doesn’t specify the exact resolution, but it states that the display has a pixel density of 300 pixels per inch (ppi) for black and white text and 150ppi for color images. This is in line with the displays on other color ereaders.
All of the color ereaders I've tested have an adjustable warm and cool light that helps reduce blue light, while also allowing you to find the perfect color tone for your page in different environments. The Colorsoft Signature Edition can automatically adjust the cool light, though not the warm one, depending on the ambient light in your environment. The Colorsoft lacks this ability, although I don’t find it a significant loss. During testing, I found the automatic light on the Signature Edition to be finicky, and I often had to adjust its brightness levels manually. I was happy to see that the screen on the Colorsoft I received for testing was evenly lit and didn’t exhibit the yellow light leakage I saw on the Colorsoft Signature Edition.
(Credit: Sarah Lord)The color screen is ideal for reading graphic novels and comics. I particularly enjoy Kindle’s Panel View, which allows you to view one panel of your comic at a time. This makes it easy to read every text bubble and to follow the narrative in the intended order.
Every color E Ink display I’ve tested is considerably warmer than traditional black-and-white ereaders. As a result, black-and-white text doesn’t look as dark or as sharp as it does on the $159.99 Kindle Paperwhite, for example. Amazon automatically bolds the text in the books you download to the Colorsoft to compensate for this. You can change this in the reading settings if you want, but I find that it noticeably improves readability.
(Credit: Sarah Lord)Ereaders are known for their low-glare displays, and the Colorsoft is no different. The screen still picked up some glare when reading under direct sunlight, but not enough to make it hard to read. I was able to adjust the brightness settings to the point where I could easily see every word on my page. I like that the screen on the Colorsoft is flush with its bezels, but I find that a slightly recessed display, like the one found on the Kobo Clara Colour, results in less glare.
Performance: Fast and Responsive
The Colorsoft comes with 16GB of storage, but Amazon doesn’t specify what kind of processor or memory powers the device. It also doesn’t share this information for the Signature Edition, although that model comes with 32GB of storage. The Kobo Libra Colour features 32GB of storage and is powered by an unspecified amount of memory and a dual-core processor that operates at up to 2.0GHz. The Boox Go Color 7 features an octa-core processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of onboard storage, with the option to expand storage via a microSD slot.
Similar Products
Our Current Picks for The Best Ereaders for 2026
(Credit: Sarah Lord)The Colorsoft has enough storage to hold thousands of books and other documents. You may want to consider upgrading to the Signature Edition if you have a large library of audiobooks, as they tend to occupy a significant amount of space. It uses Wi-Fi 5 to access the internet and download books, but doesn't specify which version of Bluetooth it uses to connect to wireless devices.
Navigating the device's menus is seamless and swift. Scrolling through my library was quick and easy, while page turns happen instantaneously.
(Credit: Sarah Lord)Battery life on the Colorsoft and Signature Edition, like that of most ereaders, is excellent. Amazon doesn't reveal the size of the battery, but the company claims it can last eight weeks on a single charge. The black-and-white Kindle Paperwhite can last up to 12 weeks, while the Kobo Clara Colour lasts about six. Battery life depends on how often you use your ereader, as well as your preferred brightness levels. I prefer low brightness and reading times of an hour or so. Under these circumstances, the battery on the Colorsoft dropped 20% over five days. The Boox Go Colour 7 features a 2,300mAh battery, but the company doesn't provide an estimate of its battery life between charges. During testing, it lost approximately 30% of its battery life after a week of heavy use.
The Colorsoft charges in under 2.5 hours using a 9W charger, according to Amazon, but you’ll need your own power adapter. Unlike the Signature Edition, the Colorsoft doesn't support wireless charging.
Software: A Unified Kindle Experience
If you’ve used any kind of Kindle in the past, you’ll be right at home on the Colorsoft. The interface features two main tabs: Home and Library. The Home tab has a row of your most recent reads at the top of the page; the rest is a selection of books from the Kindle store. The Library tab displays the books you own. A search bar stretches across the top of every page, no matter what tab you're on. Next to the search bar is a cart icon that leads you directly to the Kindle store. A three-dot menu sits next to the cart. Clicking this gives you options to add to Your Lists, access your Goodreads account, or your Kindle Kids account, use the web browser, set up Household Sharing, go to the Settings menu, or create a Collection of books.
(Credit: Sarah Lord)The Quick Settings menu, easily accessible with a swipe from the top, allows you to access airplane mode and Bluetooth settings, sync your device, adjust screen brightness, and select your color mode. Standard mode balances the color and is ideal for everyday reading, while the Vivid mode enhances color in less saturated images. I used the Standard mode and found it worked well in all circumstances.
While reading a book, you can access the reading settings by tapping the top of the screen. Here you’ll see the title of the book at the top of the page, along with the icon to adjust the font and layout. You can pick from three preset layout themes (Compact, Standard, and Large) or adjust everything to your own liking. You get nine different fonts to choose from, along with 14 sizes and five levels of boldness. You can also adjust the margins and line spacing, but there are only three different options available for each. Both the Boox Go Color 7 and the Kobo Clara Colour offer more customization options than the Kindle. I appreciate the ability to customize the appearance of my page, and I find the Kindle's options to be lacking.
Adding books to your Colorsoft is easy, and you can do it in several ways. You can buy titles from Amazon, and they will be sent immediately to your Kindle. You can also email your own books directly to your Colorsoft through Amazon’s Send-to-Kindle service, as long as they are free of digital rights management (DRM) software. Finally, you can sign out library books via the Libby app, as long as your local library has partnered with OverDrive. All of your books are synced to the cloud and across your devices through Amazon’s Whispersync service, and you get unlimited free cloud storage for the books and audiobooks you purchase through Amazon.
(Credit: Sarah Lord)You'll never see ads on the Colorsoft cover or home screen, which is good. Instead, you'll see the cover of your latest book or Amazon’s colorful built-in wallpapers, depending on your settings.
Although the Kobo Clara Colour has similar software, albeit with more reading customizations, Boox products take a different approach. They run on the Android operating system and have access to the Google Play Store, which means that you can download third-party reading apps, such as the Kindle app, and read all of your books on one ereader. This makes them much more versatile, especially if you enjoy reading from various sources.