Amazon announced the first Kindle in 2007 and since then we have seen eight generations go by. The most recently announced is the new Kindle Oasis and it heads the current line-up of the Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Voyage.

All four Kindles vary in price points and features, making the decision of which to buy a little more complicated than just adding an eBook reader to your Amazon basket and checking out.

We have compared the Kindle Paperwhite that launched in 2015, the Kindle Voyage that arrived in 2014 and the latest Kindle Oasis to help you work out what the differences are between them and how the three high-end Kindles compare.

Amazon Kindle Oasis (2017)

Amazon

Amazon Kindle Oasis (2017) vs Kindle Voyage (2014) vs Kindle Paperwhite (2015): Display

  • All have 300dpi resolution
  • Paperwhite and Voyage have 6-inch displays
  • Oasis has a 7-inch display

The Kindle Voyage and Kindle Paperwhite both offer a 6-inch E Ink Carta display with touchscreen technology, while the new Kindle Oasis has a 7-inch display. There is a lot more to it than just size though.

One of the most important things on an ebook reader is resolution. When Amazon launched the 2015 model of the Paperwhite, it doubled the resolution, putting it on par with the Kindle Voyage with both offering a pixel density of 300ppi. The new Kindle Oasis also offers a 300ppi, meaning all three offer the same resolution.

In terms of contrast, the Kindle Voyage has a higher contrast than the Paperwhite, and although the Oasis contrast hasn't been detailed, we suspect it will be the same as the Voyage, if not higher.

Another thing to note regarding displays is all three Kindles have touchscreens as well as built-in front illumination, with the Voyage and Oasis also offering an adaptive front light. This adaptive front light will dim and brighten depending on where you are, which should make going inside or outside effortless as the Kindle adapts brightness to make reading as easy as possible.

Amazon Kindle Oasis (2017) vs Kindle Voyage (2014) vs Kindle Paperwhite (2015): Design

  • Oasis is the slimmest, Voyage is the lightest
  • Oasis has a square design, while Paperwhite and Voyage is rectangular
  • Oasis is waterproof

The Amazon Kindle Oasis is the slimmest Kindle available. It measures 3.4mm at its thinnest and 194g, which is 10g lighter than the Paperwhite, but a tiny bit heavier than the Voyage.

The Oasis is squarer than its siblings and the design is entirely different, as well as IPX8 waterproofing, making it the only Kindle that can handle a dunk in the tub or swimming pool. The weight is all within the block on the right, which is where all the hardware now sits compared to being distributed across the entire device like the other Kindle models. This makes the Kindle Oasis very comfortable and easy to hold as it has been designed to move the centre of gravity to your palm for one-handed reading.

There are leather and water-safe fabric covers available. The covers are attached via magnets so it is easy to take off if you want to read without a cover. When on, it is designed to open like a book, waking the display up when it does and fitting closely around the bezel, while also doubling as a stand if you need it.

The Kindle Voyage has a glass screen that sits flush with the front of the device for clear reading. This is also "micro-etched" meaning it helps stop reflections, which in turn should make outdoor reading easier. It is also said to aid in helping the screen mimic real paper.

The Voyage Wi-Fi model is 180g, while the Wi-Fi and 3G model is 188g. It measures 162 x 115 x 7.6mm.

The Kindle Paperwhite has a very similar design to the Voyage, with the only main difference being in the bezel and the rear design. The Wi-Fi model weighs 205g, while the Wi-Fi and 3G model weighs 217g, both of which are heavier than the Voyage and the Oasis. The Paperwhite is also larger and thicker, measuring 169 x 117 x 9.1mm.

Amazon Kindle Oasis (2017) vs Kindle Voyage (2014) vs Kindle Paperwhite (2015): Features

  • Physical buttons on Oasis for page turning
  • Oasis has Bluetooth for connecting headphones or speakers
  • Support for Audible on Oasis

One of the other big design differences between these Kindles is how you turn pages and given that the main purpose is reading, this is a pretty important feature to consider.

The Kindle Oasis offers physical page turn buttons on the right-hand side where you hold the device, as well as the option to use the touchscreen. This makes things lovely and simple as you can turn pages with your thumb nice and easily without having to move your hand if you don't want to. There is also a built-in accelerometer so the Oasis can detect which hand you are reading with and automatically rotate the page and page turn buttons accordingly.

The Kindle Voyage offers a feature called PagePress. This uses sensors in the bezel to allow the reader to turn a page by simply pressing a little harder. Again, no moving of the hands to turn a page but perhaps not quite as easy as pressing an actual button like the Oasis offers.

The Paperwhite relies on the touchscreen for a swipe to turn the pages. This is a little more fiddly than on the Oasis or Voyage as you will need to move your hand to either tap or swipe the display, but some might prefer this method - you can also tap or swipe on the other models too.

Another feature to note is the Oasis also supports Audible, Amazon's audio book format, along with Bluetooth functionality for connecting to headphones or speakers to listen to the audio books. You'll be able to switch seamlessly between listening and reading with a quick tap if the book you are reading has an audible version.

Amazon Kindle Oasis (2017) vs Kindle Voyage (2014) vs Kindle Paperwhite (2015): Battery and storage

  • Oasis has longest battery life
  • Two storage options for Oasis

The Amazon Kindle Oasis offers 6-weeks on a single charge according to Amazon. It also features fast charging so it will be fully powered up in 2 hours.

Both the Kindle Paperwhite and Voyage offer weeks on a single charge, which is still great, just not as great as the Oasis. These stats are based on 30-minutes of reading a day with Wi-Fi turned off and brightness set to 10. 

All three Kindles offer storage for "thousands of books" according to Amazon, though the Oasis is the only one available in two storage options, with 8GB and 32GB devices available.

Amazon Kindle Oasis (2017) vs Kindle Voyage (2014) vs Kindle Paperwhite (2015): Software

  • Same software

All three of the Kindles being compared here offer the same software, which includes a range of fonts.

The Kindle software has come along way since it first arrived, with users now benefiting from better character spacing, hyphenation, justification and more. Reading larger fonts is also a lot easier now too.

The big difference is in the support for Audible books.

Amazon Kindle Oasis (2017) vs Kindle Voyage (2014) vs Kindle Paperwhite (2015): Price

  • Oasis is most expensive
  • Paperwhite is cheapest

The Amazon Kindle Oasis starts at $249.99 in the US, £229.99 in the UK and will be available to pre-order from 11 October, while the Kindle Voyage starts at £170 and the Kindle Paperwhite at £110.

The Oasis leather covers are available for £59.99 extra, while the water-safe fabric covers cost £39.99.

Amazon Kindle Oasis (2017) vs Kindle Voyage (2014) vs Kindle Paperwhite (2015): Conclusion

The Amazon Kindle Oasis is the most expensive Kindle available, but there are a few reasons for that, it just depends on whether any of them are good enough reasons in your opinion to consider it over the Voyage or Paperwhite.

The Oasis offers a newer design which is not only slimmer than its Kindle competition, but it is also smarter looking and designed to be more ergonomic and comfortable when it comes to extended reading sessions. There is also a larger display and waterproofing. 

The extra money also offers you months of battery life instead of weeks. Whether that's enough to warrant the extra £60 from the Voyage or the extra £110 from the Paperwhite really depends on what you are looking for in your Kindle. What do you need to make your reading experience the best it can be?