Amazon will no longer sell the Kindle Oasis and is abandoning Kindle devices with physical buttons.
Amazon dropped their previous flagship e-reader earlier this week after revealing a whole new batch of Kindle models, including the first-ever Kindle with a color display. According to reports, the e-commerce behemoth is finished with Kindle Oasis and won’t restock once it runs out.
Notably, Devon Corvasce, a representative for the business, told The Verge that the Kindle Oasis will be the final Kindle with physical buttons as it adopts a “touch-forward” strategy. Two thin pill-shaped buttons were included with the Kindle Oasis to allow you to flip between pages.
Customers are “comfortable with” using Kindle devices without buttons, according to an Amazon representative. The Kindle Paperwhite’s volume buttons are currently being removed by Amazon, according to the announcement. There is still a power button at the bottom, close to the USB connector.
Perhaps Amazon is correct to remove the Kindle’s buttons. Devices with physical buttons are thicker, may be more expensive to manufacture and complicate design, and may only be held in specific physical configurations. Generally speaking, Kindle users prefer tapping or swiping on the screen rather than buttons, especially since phones teach users to swipe more frequently.
However, buttons might be helpful for a small group of consumers. When you need to flip a page on your Kindle, you can use buttons to hold it in one hand without using the other. Aside from personal preferences, older users who have trouble using touchscreens or those with physical limitations who are unable to swipe on the screen may find the physical button useful.
Kindle e-readers do have an accessibility option called VoiceView for text-to-speech, which provides some relief. VoiceView is designed for people who are blind or visually impaired, but it also reads e-books for you by turning pages automatically.
Even while Amazon seems confident about the change, people who still like buttoned e-readers may either acquire a Kindle alternative like the Boox Page, which runs on Android and supports the Kindle app, or utilize third-party remote controls on Amazon for as low as $25.
