Amazon Kindle Oasis 2017 news: Release date, price & specs

Some rivals, like Nook, might have fallen off a cliff in the eReader market but Amazon is staying strong. So much so that it has announced a second-generation of its high-end eReader. Here’s what you need to know about the new Kindle Oasis for 2017.

Read our full  Kindle Oasis 2017 review.

Kindle Oasis 2017 release date and price

It’s been a year since the original was launched at £269 (up to £329 for 3G) so it’s not a huge surprise that Amazon is refreshing the luxury Kindle.

The new Kindle Oasis is available to pre-order starting today with a release date of 31 October and a price of £229 – so unlike most new products it’s actually cheaper.

That starting price will get you an 8GB model, while a 32GB is £259. If you want the 32GB model with unlimited 3G data to download books on the go then you’ll have to pay £319.

One of the reasons the new Oasis is cheaper is that it no longer comes with a case. Instead you can buy one for £39 in fabric or £54 in leather. The case also doesn’t have a battery in it anymore.

Kindle Oasis 2017 specs and features

Amazon is calling the new Oasis the ‘most advanced Kindle ever’ thanks to various upgrades. As of March 2018 it’s also available in a new Champagne Gold colour – see above.

For starters, the 2017 Oasis has a larger and improved screen. It’s now 7 instead of 6in but still has a pixel density of 300ppi. That means it can fit 30 percent more words than before and Amazon says page turns are even faster.

Some of the elements of the design are the same including the tapered wedge shape going down to just 3.4mm and the optional page turn buttons – optional because the screen is still touch sensitive.

However, the device is heavier at 194g due to a bigger battery as there’s no battery case this time. The old Oasis was 131g without the battery cover and 238g with it on.

This is the first Kindle to be waterproof, too. Amazon has ensured an IPX8 rating so the new Oasis can be dunked in up to two meters of fresh water for up to 60 minutes.

You’ll get a battery life of ‘weeks, not hours’ and there’s a fast charging feature so you can get from dead to fully charged in two hours.

As mentioned earlier, the Oasis starts at 8GB in terms of storage which is double the original. That should be plenty for most users but a 32GB is an option should you need it.

That larger capacity model might come in handy if you listen to a lot of audio books. The Kindle Oasis will have Audible support (via an OTA update) so you can listen to audio books with Bluetooth headphones or via the speaker.

Smaller tweaks include more font sizes and five levels of boldness. You can also invert black and white on the screen if you wish. You do, of course, get existing Kindle features such as X-Ray, Whispersync and Goodreads.