Subtle design changes make the 2026 Kindle Amazons best budget-friendly e-reader

It's been a tough year for e-readers (and all tech ) with prices on the rise, so we finally needed some good news.

On Oct.

1, Amazon released a redesigned collection of Kindles that we simply couldn't wait to try out.

The first to be released is the flagship Kindle.

It's the entry point into Amazon's e-readers and the most affordable.

The Kindle (2026) now features a flush-front design with either a plastic or an aluminum backing, and in this new batch of Kindles, Amazon is embracing color with the e-reader available in ube, graphite, alpine sky, and seaglass green.

So I got my hands on the newest Kindle to experience the design changes and put it to the test.

What's changed between the Kindle 2024 and 2026 models The 2026 Kindle (right) has some notable design changes from the 2024 Kindle (left).

Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable There weren't many changes between the 2022 and 2024 Kindles, but this launch brings much bigger changes that you can actually see.

The 2026 Kindle now has a flush front compared to the 2024 model's raised border around the screen.

This provides a uniform look across all Kindles from the basic model all the way up to the Scribe.

In addition to a flush front, the design team behind the Kindle moved its power button.

Credit: Samantha Mangino / Mashable A smaller change, but one that I'm more than thrilled to see, is that the design team moved the power button on the Kindle to the side of the device.

While it's just a small detail, my colleague Stan Schroeder pointed it out in his Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (2021) review , and I did the same in my 2024 Kindle review .