If you’re a digitally native user of the internet in 2024, chances are you’ve placed an order online.
And if you’ve placed more than one order, chances are good that at least one of them went to Amazon (AMZN) .
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Bonus points if you’re a Prime member.
Amazon’s 200 million Prime members (the number grows each quarter) help propel some of the retailer’s biggest innovations and acquisitions, including the voice-enabled Alexa home device, the Ring doorbell security system, the Kindle e-reader, the Fire TV enabling device, Fire tablets, and even the Whole Foods chain.
Buying into Prime gives members access to plenty of sales, deals and promotions. (There’s also a chance you shopped on Prime Day last month.)
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But even if you’re not a Prime member, you can still reap some pretty great benefits without the $140 yearly membership fee.
A person putting an Amazon Kindle into a handbag.
Amazon’s devices are its strong suit
In many cases you don’t need to be a Prime member to enjoy an Amazon device, though it certainly helps.
Its Kindle e-reader, for example, which enables magazine and book lovers to store thousands of publications on a small tablet — without the pesky glare or eye fatigue associated with regular screens — rarely goes on sale.
But during Amazon’s July Prime Days a Kindle Scribe retailed for around 30% off its original sticker price, and if you ordered it, it likely showed up at your doorstep the very next day. (A 16GB Scribe, which features glare-free text, a paper-like finish, weeks of battery life, and writing capabilities, currently retails for around $340.)
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It’s no wonder that Kindles are routinely some of Amazon’s top-selling devices; estimates say the retail giant has sold somewhere between 20 million and 90 million of them, making them one of Amazon’s top-selling hardware devices.
Latest Kindle update confuses users
Despite their popularity, Kindles aren’t completely without their faults.
Amazon is routinely updating its devices, and the latest Kindle update is confusing users and upsetting a not inconsequential number of readers who liked things just the way they were.
The newest 5.16.10.0.1 firmware update, issued this summer, changes a few key things about the Kindle interface. Some of those changes include:
Reading progress: changed fontReading progress: slower to updateReading progress: can affect margin sizing and page formattingTime: now reflected in military time (can’t be changed as of this writing)
Some users have even reported their batteries drain more quickly after the new update.
“The latest update 5.16.10.0.1 made my 10th gen Paperwhite insufferable,” one Reddit user complained on the Kindle subreddit.
“They have made my device, which functioned perfectly before, insufferable! Try to highlight or look up a word and the device registers the touch literally anywhere else. The screen is quite glitchy going blank then black a few seconds randomly. Yes, page refresh is turned off. Everything lags now. Add me to the list of people that don’t like what they’ve done to the clock and time left in chapter/percentage too.”
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“I just want my device back to the way it was a few days ago! Yes, it’s from 2018. But geez, didn’t feel all of the 6 years of age til now,” the user continued. “You’d be sorely mistaken if you think this will trick me into a new one.”
“I’ve having trouble with my Paperwhite as well. My books keep getting stuck with a non-responsive screen. Then I have to hold the power button to restart it,” another user responded.
“This update was horrible, I went to read on my kindle basic this weekend and I’ve had to restart it over 10 times since it kept freezing on the cover,” another wrote.
“I’m sure it’ll be fixed soon. I like the change to the clock and time left, but they should make it an option to be bigger or smaller as clearly not everybody likes it,” one said.
“I have a 2021 Paperwhite and i agree, I’m finding the screen so laggy when trying to do anything other than just turn the page. Highlighting words is hit and miss whether it registers the touch in the right place and the Time Left in Chapter bit is so slow to react I end up having to scroll through it several times,” another user said.
Amazon has not yet responded to the claims, though when users have complained of problems, it has issued software updates to fix any outstanding issues.
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