MobileTabletsKindle Scribe Colorsoft review: A very particular set of skills, for a priceThis writing tablet is probably perfect for a very specific audience.Cherlynn LowManaging editorWed, December 10, 2025 at 2:00 PM UTCIn a world where notifications persistently compete for our attention, distraction-free ereaders and writing tablets have found an audience.Putting your phone, laptop or iPad aside and curling up with a Kindle or a reMarkable tablet have become an almost ironic way for the tech-savvy to disconnect from online noise and focus on reading and writing.It’s debatable how broad the appeal of these devices is, but even in what appears to be a relatively small slice of the industry, the competition is fierce.Amazon is arguably the biggest name in the space, with its Kindles dominating the ereader market for years.
When it introduced the Kindle Scribe in 2022, the company made a play for the burgeoning E Ink writing tablet category, and just last year it launched its first color ereader with the Kindle Colorsoft.Put all those features — reading, writing and color — together, and you’ve got the ingredients for Amazon’s latest contender: the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft.This time, Amazon expanded the Scribe line by releasing three new Scribes at once.The entry-level model is the black-and-white tablet without a front light, which costs $430.
For $70 more, you’ll get the front light, and then the Colorsoft version goes for $630.There are upgrades from last year’s Scribe across the trio, and for this review we’ll be looking mostly at the Colorsoft, which has all of the new features.AdvertisementAdvertisementLike with previous models of the Scribe, Amazon doesn’t indicate the generation number in the name, simply calling this lineup the “all-new Kindle Scribe,” attaching the word Colorsoft to the edition that renders colors.To avoid confusion, I’ll occasionally be referring to this generation of the device as the Scribe 3, and the version from last year as the Scribe 2.AmazonKindle Scribe Colorsoft Amazon’s color E Ink writing tablet is technologically impressive, but some limitations hold it back.
ProsBright, vivid colorsSnappy performanceConsExpensive$630 at AmazonWhat’s new with the Kindle Scribe ColorsoftAside from the obvious, which is that the Colorsoft can now render colors, the latest Kindle Scribes also feature a refined design, improved front light system, updated screen architecture, new quad-core chip, more memory and Oxide display technology.It has a larger 11-inch screen compared to the 10.2-inch display on its predecessor, and still manages to weigh 33 grams less at 400 grams (0.88 pounds).There’s also a revamped Home page that houses a Quick Note for easier access to the writing interface as well as some software and AI tools that aren’t available to test yet.A lot of the hardware tweaks translated to a snappier, more responsive device overall.
In my testing, the Scribe Colorsoft’s AI summarization and handwriting refinements took a bit less time than the Scribe 2, which I attribute most to the processor, but I also noticed improved fluidity in the writing experience.AdvertisementAdvertisementDrawing on the Scribe Colorsoft brings me right back to my younger days testing out pens at bookstores.Amazon’s stylus feels like a pen with ink that flows more freely and consistently onto the page than others, and between the nib and the texture of the page there is a lack of resistance and overall smoothness that is very satisfying.Amazon said that the Premium Pen that comes with the Scribes has been refined with a thicker and more rounded silhouette.With its latest Oxide display, the Scribe Colorsoft’s screen response rate of 14 milliseconds and the non-Colorsoft Scribe 3’s rates of 12ms are both much higher than the 20-21ms for the Scribe 2.
Together, this probably is the main reason that the new Scribe feels more responsive in general, and why writing on it seems so smooth.Although, that new front light system might also be contributing to the overall feeling of freshness.Speaking of, I put the Scribe 2 and Scribe Colorsoft side by side in my friend’s living room and the difference was stark.When I brought both devices next to the window, under direct sunlight, they both seemed similarly bright, with the typical glare-free finish you’d expect of ereaders.
But when I took them into a darkened bedroom, the auto-adjusting panel on the Colorsoft lit up its screen and made it easier to read.Colors popped, and while I felt that there was a slight blue tinge to the light, it wasn’t something I would’ve noticed without a side-by-side comparison.It’s not an issue though because you can also adjust the warmth here like you can on other Kindles.One of my complaints in my review of the Scribe 2 was the flimsy attachment method of magnets holding the pen to the tablet.
While Amazon hasn’t built an onboard slot or holder for the stylus, it did increase the magnetic force on the Scribe 3.This was already noticeable during my hands-on with the device back in October, and in real-world use I appreciated this upgrade in keeping the Premium Pen tightly attached to the Scribe Colorsoft.I would still prefer a more secure approach, since I still do worry about the stylus getting lost in my purse and don’t want to have to buy a case just for this purpose.
But it’s a small quibble and my concerns have largely been allayed with the increased magnetism.I still need to test some software features like Send to Alexa+, Ask This Book and Story So Far, but they’re not available yet.I’ve been focusing my testing on the Notebook section and need to spend more time marking up and annotating books to better evaluate that use case.But not much has changed there since Amazon rolled out the collapsible margins in February, and you can read my review of the Scribe 2 for my impressions there.The new home page and AI-powered Notebook searchAt the moment, I can speak to one of the new features: AI-powered Notebook search.
The Search bar at the top of the Scribe can now answer questions about the contents of all your Notebooks (and books).At the time of the Scribe’s announcement, I thought this would be helpful in pulling together all the tasks I’d assigned to specific team members across the to-do lists I drew up for various events.AdvertisementAdvertisementWhen I asked the Scribe “what tasks have I assigned Sam,” its results page showed six categories, pulling information from my library, notebooks, the Kindle Store, the Audible Store, Goodreads and text within books.Only the second one had any findings.
Under “Results in your notebooks,” there was a label “AI-powered insights” followed by a header “Sam’s Assigned Tasks.” Below that was a bulleted list, which I’ll transcribe and include an image of here:Add content to CES sheetHandle KPBP company setTrack Samsung mobile developmentsHandle OnePlus 13Review device during CESAttend meetings with: - Dell & ASUS on Thursday, MSI, Razer, HP, Lenovo, Potentially Sony AteelaWork on Sam Qi 2Best-Sam host responsibilitiesI quickly realized that I’d need to fine-tune my requests to get results that made more sense, since random tasks divorced from their parent documents made little sense without context.Thankfully, there was a button below the results that prompted me to “Ask Notebooks” about “these insights, or ask something else.” However, tapping that only brought me to a different page showing the same list but with a new section to see the notes they were sourced from.I’ll also point out that this list of tasks for Sam was not the same result I got from a query about “where do I mention Sam?” In addition to the two to-do lists that I created in December 2023 and January of this year, the Scribe told me “Sam appears on a Christmas shopping list as one of the checked-off friends.”That’s fairly impressive, since that list did have Sam under a handwritten header “Friends,” as opposed to other pages titled “Gym” or “Neighbors.” But it appeared to only be able to determine that Sam’s name was checked off thanks to the template I used for the notebook.Other check marks I made outside the predefined boxes in that background weren’t deemed as checks and instead misrecognized as dashes.
So later when I asked where my friend Michelle appeared in all my notebooks, the Scribe noted an entry for “Michelle-scart” in a different holiday shopping page.AdvertisementAdvertisementRetrying the same question did yield more accurate results, though, with a subsequent search correctly stating “Michelle appears in a list with ‘scarf’ noted next to her name.” And whether it’s my overly messy handwriting to blame or Amazon’s technological deficiencies, there were still some words or sentences that it misidentified, like “Michelle-callin” instead of “Michelle — Callie.”So far, the AI-powered Search feels like a hit-or-miss update.Sometimes, like when I took the bait and asked the questions it suggested, I would get shockingly accurate answers.“Try asking ‘which Ariana song is mentioned in the list,’” the Scribe prompted.
Or “When is the HOA meeting occurring?” For the former, it told me that the song “Bang Bang” was on a list of karaoke songs, while the latter simply told me the date and time it had found in a note titled “Appointments Dec 2022.” I’ll need more time to think of better ways to use this feature, but for now I can’t decide if it’s actually helpful without some extra work.AdvertisementAdvertisementI already spent some time testing the Summarize and Refine tools introduced in the last Kindle Scribe, so I’ll just say that refining the handwriting of a to-do list on the Scribe Colorsoft was largely the same as before, just a tad faster.I didn’t really use either AI tool in the year since I reviewed the Scribe 2, so I was right last year in thinking I wouldn’t find much use for them in daily practice.What I thought would be more practical is the redesigned Home screen and the Quick Note that takes up the top left corner of this page.Again, I’d need to spend much more time to understand how I’d navigate the device over weeks and months, but for the most part I find it easy to just hop in and out of notes I want without first going to the Home section.
I’d prefer a hardware shortcut like Montblanc offers in its Digital Paper writing tablet.On that device, you can program the buttons on the pen so that a double click starts a new note, adds a blank page or brings you back home.While you can customize the button on Amazon’s Premium Pen, your options are limited to switching between tools like the highlighter, pen, shader or eraser for use while you’re writing.(And yes, like before, you can still use the top of the Premium Pen to erase content — no need to push any button.)One last thing to note about the home page (for now) is that seeing the rows of book covers in color is a delight, and though it’s not something that impacts the function of the device, it certainly adds a layer of visual pleasure.How does the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft compare to the competition?One of the Scribe Colorsoft’s main competitors is the reMarkable Paper Pro.
The latter has a larger 11.8-inch screen and, correspondingly, weighs a lot more at 525 grams (1.16 pounds).Though I prefer the sharp lines of the reMarkable to the rounded edges and corners of the Scribe, I find the Kindle’s size much more manageable, especially when I’m writing for more than five minutes.AdvertisementAdvertisementImportantly, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft simply has a better screen than the reMarkable.It delivers brighter, more saturated colors, and supports more hues, too.
Plus, when I placed them next to each other, the Paper Pro seemed to have a yellow cast and a dimmer screen overall (even at maximum brightness).And when I use the highlight function on each, the reMarkable device “flashes” — meaning you have to give it a second for the color to appear in its final form after you put the stylus to the screen.Meanwhile, the color that shows up on the Colorsoft’s panel as soon as you write on it doesn’t change — no flashing takes place.The Scribe’s other strengths are its superior performance and Amazon’s ecosystem of books (for those like me who already have large Kindle libraries, anyway).
Though it does offer AI features that reMarkable doesn’t, I’m generally leery of those tools, and, as already detailed in this review, they don’t usually help me.However, the reMarkable remains the winner when it comes to writing software.It’s way more versatile than Amazon in this respect, especially with its ability to have handwritten and typed text coexist within the same document.You can also edit a note from reMarkable’s app on your phone, typing in any last-minute additions to your shopping list and bolding, italicizing or formatting them if you like.
And if you’re a power user, getting your favorite ebooks onto the reMarkable tablet isn’t too difficult, provided you have the EPUB files.I’ll also shout out companies like Kobo and Boox, who also make color-rendering ereaders that you can write on.Boox’s Note Air 5c starts at $530 and includes the stylus and a magnetic case for that price.It supports apps via the Google Play Store, but, as our deputy editor Valentina Palladino cautions, isn’t the most beginner-friendly product.
Kobo, on the other hand, makes color ereaders like the Libra Color.Although it does support stylus input, it is much smaller with its 7-inch display.AdvertisementAdvertisementAnd for those who aren’t too fussed about color, there are plenty of black-and-white E Ink writing tablets, including the $905 Montblanc Digital Paper, which I’ve been testing for a few weeks.I’m finishing up my review but that one is clearly a luxury product targeted at a much more niche audience than the already limited target market for this category of devices.
If your budget is tight, I’d recommend skipping the Colorsoft model unless it’s crucial to your process.$500 is a much easier price to stomach.Who should get the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft?I hesitate to recommend anyone buy anything before I’ve had enough time to assign a score, since things like battery life take longer to evaluate.And while I continue to test the device to get a better sense for its battery life, I’ve already noticed that like the Scribes before it, this version doesn’t last as long as other Kindles.
Amazon promises weeks of reading and writing per charge, which could be anything between two and ten (or more) weeks.In my experience so far, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft dropped about 20 percent in two days, which, mathematically, means it would struggle to even last a week, not to mention multiple weeks.But because the Scribe 2 showed similar battery drain during my review (with heavier use) and manages to stay charged for at least a month when I’m not testing it all day every day, I’m willing to believe Amazon’s promise of greater runtime.Aside from my reservations about battery life, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is a competent device that delivers on most of its promises so far.The biggest knock against it is its price.
At $500 for the monochrome model and $630 for color, this is one Amazon product that can be more expensive than the competition.AdvertisementAdvertisementBut it’s not without its strengths.I’d think of the Kindle Scribe 3 (and Colorsoft) as an E Ink tablet that is more of a notebook than a portal for textbooks you can mark up, with a robust library of Kindle titles to boot.The AI features are not crucial to the experience, but they also stay out of the way.
For those looking for a more sophisticated and versatile tablet that is less of a book replacement, the reMarkable Paper Pro is the superior device.And for people who don’t mind the notifications, apps and alerts that these purpose-driven tablets keep from distracting you, there’s always the option of buying an iPad or an Android tablet with a stylus.Just install minimal apps or block all notifications, and you might even save hundreds of dollars in the process.Wrap-upI hate to admit it, but Amazon’s devices and services chief Panos Panay was right in calling the Kindle Scribe a 2-in-1.
But the two functions it serves are very specific.I think of the Scribe devices as Kindles first and foremost.That means they’re ereaders, capable of substituting stacks of books thanks to their digital libraries and eye-friendly screens.
The second role the Scribe plays well is that of a notebook substitute.It is a place to hold endless slips of digital paper, and its search function can competently help you find what you jotted down in a random note years ago.But Amazon has not yet found a way to deliver on features like annotating and marking up ebooks that feels like pen-and-paper.Trying to mark up a digital textbook on the Scribe still feels unintuitive, involving virtual sticky notes, collapsible margins and inserting boxes within lines of text.
And you won’t be able to easily edit your notes if you’re away from your Scribe, unlike how you can on a reMarkable product.So the Kindle Scribe 3 is not a three- or four-in-one.I don’t have a problem with that, especially without the extra cost that comes with the color capabilities.While the Colorsoft model is superior to the competition at the moment, it also comes at a premium.
If you’re looking for the best color E Ink writing tablet available and are willing to splurge, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is worth consideration.
