Both an updated iPad Mini and a new set of Kindles were released within weeks of each other in October 2024. I ended up getting both the iPad Mini (A17 Pro) and the Kindle Colorsoft because I’ve always wanted a color e-ink reader. With the size of the iPad Mini being so close to that of your average e-reader, it’s natural that both would be options if you’re in the market for a color reader.

Relevant Specs

iPad Mini

Dimensions	5.3 x 7.69 x .25 (134.8 x 195.4 x 6.3 mm)
Screen DPI	326 ppi (all content)
Weight	293 grams
Battery Life	10 hours

Kindle Colorsoft

Dimensions	5 x 7 x 0.3” (127.6 x 176.7 x 7.8 mm)
Screen DPI	300 ppi (black and white); 150 dpi (color)
Weight	7.7 oz, 219 g
Battery Life	Up to eight weeks on a charge

Design

The iPad Mini (A17 Pro) uses the same design as the previous model, which is to say, it’s made of aluminum and glass with Apple’s premium design language. The Kindle Colorsoft is primarily made of plastic, which makes it lighter and more comfortable to hold for longer reading sessions. I don’t think any Kindle will be winning any design awards anytime soon, but for a reading device, does it really matter?

The bezels on both devices are arguably on the thicker side of modern design, but for tablets, that’s never really a bad thing. Palm rejection isn’t perfect, and you need a place to hold the device.

Glare, or lack thereof, remains a major advantage of e-ink Kindles. It’s essentially a non-issue for the Colorsoft, whereas it will be something to at least be aware of for the iPad Mini. If you use a glass screen protector on your iPad, like I do, the problem is exacerbated a bit more.

As a Reader

The only fair way to compare the iPad and the Kindle is as readers. Obviously, the iPad is a full computer and does many more things on top of reading, but that can also be to its detriment. If you don’t manage your notifications or use things like Focus modes and Notification Summaries, the iPad Mini, before you know it, you’ve been doomscrolling for hours and haven’t read a word.

You would think this would be a really easy comparison in favor of the Kindle, because it is first and foremost a reading device. But I was a little surprised at some of the advantages the iPad Mini held.

Performance

One thing I noticed very quickly is the Kindle is comparatively very slow when downloading graphical content. Maybe I’ve just never noticed this before because I’ve never tried to read a graphic novel on an e-ink kindle, but compared to the iPad, it takes forever for content to download to this thing, which is really surprising. To be fair, the Kindle does let you start reading before the download completes, but its still annoying. Whatever processor the Kindle uses is likely not even in the ballpark of the CPU in the A17 Pro, but you’re really shouldn’t need something that powerful in a reading device.

When it comes to the actual reading experience, i.e. page turn animations, the iPad is going to be smooth with none of the screen flashes that come with eInk screens as they refresh. Speaking only for myself, the flashing doesn’t bother me in the slightest, but I could see how it might annoy some.

Reading Black and White Content

Reading black and white text is where e-ink readers truly shine. The Kindle Colorsoft offers text that is sharp and clear, thanks to its lack of a backlight. This ensures a more comfortable reading experience for your eyes. While the iPad Mini has a slightly higher dpi, reading regular text feels better on the Kindle.

The iPad experience is certainly serviceable for black and white text, but doesn’t quite match up to what the Kindle provides. With an e-ink Kindle, the experience is much closer to that of a printed page. An iPad never lets you forget you’re reading off of a screen.

Reading Color Content

I’m a big superhero comic fan, but I don’t read them as much as I used to because the hobby became so expensive to keep up with. When I get the chance, I like to go through my graphic novel backlog that used to be in Comixology, but is now in Amazon since they bought the company years ago.

I went into this comparison understanding the limitations of current e-ink technology. The page turning experience is not as smooth as what the iPad can provide. I also understand that that the colors on the Kindle Colorsoft won’t be as bright as the screens on any of our current smart devices.

With those caveats in mind, I’ll say, I don’t think the Kindle does that badly as a graphic novel reader. The screen does look washed out compared to the iPad, but it’s still quite serviceable. I’ve read a few single-issue comics and graphic novels, and never felt particularly put off. The addition of color takes what would be a terrible reading experience, and makes it an okay one. Given that I generally read before bed, I think I respond better to the lack of backlight on the Kindle. During the daytime, the iPad Mini is likely what I would reach for to read a graphic novel. The colors are vibrant and crisp and really draw you into what you’re reading.

Software

From a software perspective, the experience of reading on the Kindle and using the Kindle app on the iPad is close enough that I don’t really register much of a difference.

The Kindle is, of course, tightly integrated with Amazon’s Kindle store, as well as Amazon’s various subscriptions like Kindle Unlimited or Comixology Unlimited. It also supports a variety of ebook formats beyond Amazon’s AZW format. Amazon’s Send-To-Kindle capability converts supported file types into a format the Kindle to display, by sending a document to your Kindle’s email address.

With iPadOS being a general-purpose computing platform, users are able to read content from many ebook services, including Kindle, Kobo, or Apple’s own Apple Books service. Purchasing books from anywhere outside of Apple’s bookstore requires a trip to the web browser, but that’s really only a minor nuisance (unless you buy a lot of books).

Battery Life

Extremely long battery life remains a huge advantage of e-ink devices. The Kindle Colosoft measures its battery life in days, not hours, while the iPad Mini maintains its standard 10 hours of battery life. Some people really hate having to charge devices, which is a clear advantage for ColorSoft. I haven’t charged the Kindle at all in the couple of weeks I’ve had it, and it still has around 80% charge left.

Issues

Some early Kindle Colorsoft units exhibited a yellow discoloration at the bottom of the display. Thankfully, my unit has so far not been affected.

Conclusions And Recommendations

Do you need to own a Kindle and an iPad? Absolutely not. But I’d argue there’s a case for it, especially for enthusiasts. If you’re a casual reader that’s not bothered by reading on a screen with a backlight, the iPad Mini is great choice, distractions and all. You get the advantage of having easy access to multiple bookstores and reader apps, and color content is bright and vibrant on the Retina Display. If most of what you read would be better served by color, like comics or graphic novels, the iPad Mini is the clear choice.

The Kindle Colorsoft is okay for color content, but otherwise excels as a reader. Its thinner and lighter design makes it more comfortable to hold, and its e-ink display makes it more usable for reading in more places, like outdoors. If you only occasionally read books with color illustrations or images, the Kindle Colorsoft is the better choice of the two devices.

So what does this mean for how I plan on using the Kindle Colorsoft? Well, the scenario I envision is reading a black-and-white book before bed, then maybe having a few more minutes after I finish a chapter, then reading a bit of a graphic novel. I don’t know that I would ever pick the Colorsoft as my first choice for reading a graphic novel, even with the potential eye strain on the iPad. But if I’m already on the Kindle and want to read a comic, I don’t have to go find my iPad.