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Amazon / Pocket-lint
Amazon Kindle Kids (2022)
Amazon’s Kindle Kids (2022) is a 6-inch reader made for children – it comes with a fun cover and a year’s subscription to Kids+ giving access to thousands of books and magazines.
Pros- Up to 6 weeks of battery life
- 6-inch glare-free screen
- 1 year Amazon Kids+ subscription
Cons- Not waterproof
- Lacks an adjustable warm light
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Amazon / Pocket-lint
Kindle Paperwhite Kids 16GB
The Kindle Paperwhite Kids has about everything you and your kids could need from a reader. There’s a 6.8-inch screen, it’s waterproof and you get an adjustable warm light. Like the Kindle Kids, it comes with a colourful cover, 1 year of Kids+ and there are handy parental controls.
Pros- Up to 10 weeks of battery life
- 1 year Kids+ subscription
- 6.8-inch glare-free screen with adjustable warm light
Cons- More expensive
- No auto-adjusting light sensors
Black Friday is just around the corner, so now is the time to start thinking about what to buy your loved ones for Christmas. If your kids are bookworms, or you’d like them to be, a Kindle eReader could be an excellent gift idea.
Allowing you to store a whole library of books on a tiny device that will fit into even small bags and backpacks, Amazon’s Kindles changed the reading game.
For your little ones, Amazon makes some child-friendly options that come with fun, colourful covers, a year of access to Amazon Kids+ with over 1000 children’s books and magazines to choose from, as well as easy-to-use parental controls, so you can keep an eye on their reading progress, add books for them to read and set a bedtime. Designed for kids aged about 3 to about 12 years old, it’s a great way to get children reading without distractions from other apps, games, or videos, as might happen on one of the best kids’ tablets.
As things stand, there are two options to choose from: Kindle Kids (2022) and Kindle Paperwhite Kids – but which one should you buy?
Price, specs, and availability
The price could have a significant impact on your decision between these two readers, so it’s worth pointing out first. Kindle Kids will set you back about $119.99 in the US, or £104.99 in the UK. Kindle Paperwhite Kids, on the other hand, costs $169.99 in the US, or £159.99 in the UK. These devices are regularly discounted, especially around sales events like Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day.
You can see how the two devices’ specs compare side by side in the table below, but keep reading to find out what that means for the day-to-day experience of using them.
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Amazon Kindle Kids (2022) Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Kids Brand Amazon Amazon Screen 6″ 6.8″ Resolution 300ppi 300ppi Storage 16GB 16GB Connectivity WiFi WiFi Front Light 4LEDs 17LEDs Battery Up to 6 weeks Up to 10 weeks Weight 256g 321g Dimensions 157.8 x 108.6 x 8mm 129.2 x 175.5 x 13.5mm
Design and screen
At first glance, the Kindle Kids and the Kindle Paperwhite Kids don’t look too dissimilar. Both have a matte glare-free crystal clear 300ppi screen in monochrome. The Kindle Paperwhite Kids has a flush front screen, unlike the Kindle Kids which has a raised border.
You can buy each one in black, with some fun covers like Space Whale, Ocean Explorer, and Unicorn Valley for the Kindle Kids. The Kindle Paperwhite Kids can be shipped with an Emerald Forest or Robot Dreams cover.
Perhaps the most obvious difference between the Kindle Kids and the Kindle Paperwhite Kids is their screen size. Kindle Kids has a smaller 6-inch display while the Kindle Paperwhite Kids has a larger 6.8-inch screen. The perks of a bigger screen are that you don’t need to turn the page as often, and you’ll get a slightly more comfortable reading experience.
However, that also means that the device itself is a fair amount bigger too. The Kindle Kids measures 157.8 x 108.6 x 8mm and weighs 256g – including the cover, whereas the Kindle Paperwhite Kids measures 129.2 x 175.5 x 13.5mm and weighs 321g – with the cover. That could seem like a dealbreaker to you, but truth be told, both will slip into a backpack without any problems.
To give you peace of mind, the Kindle Paperwhite Kids is IPX8-rated which means it’s fully waterproof. In contrast, the more affordable model can’t claim to be waterproof or even water-resistant.
Whichever reader you choose, unlike the standard Kindle models, these devices both come with a two-year warranty that covers all sorts of damage – great news for those who worry that their kids could break their gadgets.
Features and battery
You can store thousands and thousands of books on both the Kindle Kids and the Kindle Paperwhite Kids as both have 16GB of storage.
Reading content on both of these Kindles is a breeze, particularly because you can adjust the font size, font face, line spacing, and margins to suit you and your needs. You will also be able to use Audible to listen to audiobooks if you have a subscription.
Front lights are another feature to help make reading easier. You get 4LEDs in the Kindle Kids, and 17LEDs in the Kindle Paperwhite Kids. More LEDs mean more consistent illumination of the screen, giving you the option to read at any time of the day or night, inside or outside. The Kindle Paperwhite Kids also has an adjustable warm light which will feel much kinder on the eyes than the standard white light. Unlike the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, there are no auto-adjusting light sensors here, though.
No matter which Kindle you buy, you can expect weeks and weeks of battery life – up to six weeks for the Kindle Kids, and up to 10 weeks for the Paperwhite Kids. Of course, how long the battery lasts will depend on how regularly the eReader gets used, and how often you turn on the front light.
As mentioned above, both the Kindle Kids and the Kindle Paperwhite Kids come with a year’s subscription to Amazon Kids+, which gives you access to a massive library of thousands of children’s books and magazines. Once the free year is up, this service will cost about $5 / £4 a month.
Verdict
Between the Kindle Kids and Kindle Paperwhite, the latter is without a doubt the best package with the most sturdy design and the most comfortable reading. It’s got a bigger screen, it’s IPX8 waterproof, and it comes with an adjustable warm light. Of course, that means a higher price tag, but it’s worth it.
Amazon
Kindle Paperwhite Kids 16GB
Best Kindle for Kids
If you’re on a budget, and you don’t mind a smaller screen, no waterproofing, and no adjustable warm light, then the Kindle Kids will still be a good option. It has the same amount of storage, it’ll last weeks between charges, and it comes with the Kids+ subscription as well.
Amazon
Amazon Kindle Kids (2022)
Best value option
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