Amazon has not yet officially announced the next generation of its Kindle e-readers, but after several models were leaked, British retailer John Lewis previously sold the entry-level 12th generation Kindle and the new Kindle Kids Edition through its website today, as discovered by Good e-Reader. Both entries have now been deleted.
The 12th generation Kindle Paperwhite recently appeared in an eBay listing, also removed, that included images of the new e-reader's packaging that revealed minor improvements such as a slightly larger 7-inch e-ink screen.
John Lewis' listing for the entry-level 12th generation Kindle seemed to confirm the leaked details from September. According to these leaks, the upgraded e-reader will feature a six-inch, 300ppi E-Ink screen with a higher contrast ratio, illuminated by a frontlight that is now 25 percent brighter at maximum setting. However, the new entry-level Kindle's frontlight still lacks the color temperature adjustments you get on Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite and other more expensive e-ink devices.
According to the listing, the 12th generation Kindle also introduces a new Dark Mode that inverts its black-and-white E Ink screen for easier reading in the dark, enables faster page turning, and has 16GB of storage. John Lewis had the new e-reader listed for £94.99, which is about $124.
The store's offering for the 12th Gen Amazon Kindle Kids Edition had the same specs as the entry-level 12th Gen Kindle, with brighter backlighting and an E Ink screen that offers better contrast. As with previous versions of the Kindle Kids Edition, the 12th generation model comes with a case, an extended two-year warranty, a subscription to Amazon Kids+ with e-books and audiobooks for children, and a dashboard with parental controls. The price was £114.99 or about $150.
Previous versions of the Amazon Kindle Kids Edition included a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids+ (even in the UK), but the John Lewis listing says the 12th generation model only includes a six-month subscription to the service. After that, monthly plans for Amazon Prime members start at $5.99/month, excluding $7.99.