In early 2024, Amazon officially discontinued the 2016 Kindle Oasis, leaving fans of physical page-turn buttons in the lurch. With the absence of any new e-reader models boasting buttons, it seemed inevitable that dedicated button features would remain a thing of the past. However, Kindle enthusiasts of the latest Paperwhite and Colorsoft models will receive a silver lining thanks to a significant 5.18.1 software update.

This upgrade introduces a convenient “double-tap to page turn” feature, allowing users to simply double-tap on the back or side of their device to turn the page or navigate to the next screen.

This innovative feature, while exclusive to the latest 12th-generation Paperwhite and Colorsoft, is part of a broader update available to all Kindle devices dating back to the “10th generation” models released in 2018. While those with older devices will benefit from the general performance improvements and bug fixes accompanying the update, they will miss out on this exciting new functionality.

The update also enriches the reading experience with access to new book summaries for thousands of bestselling English language Kindle titles. These summaries aim to facilitate easier decisions when diving into a new read, particularly for ongoing series. Readers can access these recaps either directly from the Kindle's home page or via the menu within each book under the option “Recaps In This Series.” Before diving into a recap, users will encounter a spoiler warning, ensuring a pleasant reading experience.

While the summaries may appear to be generated by artificial intelligence—given the uniformity and brevity observed in a few samples—it's worth noting that Amazon has not explicitly confirmed this within their software update details.

Additionally, all models receiving the 5.18.1 update will benefit from the usual array of improvements, which include crucial performance enhancements and a slew of bug fixes that enhance user experience across the board. This update also marks a significant convergence for the Colorsoft and other Kindle models, unifying them under the same software version for the first time, a noteworthy change from the previous updates.

So, Kindle lovers, while you may have to bid farewell to the physical buttons, the future looks promising with this innovative update that enhances your reading experience like never before. Are you ready to embrace the new double-tap feature? It might just revolutionize the way you read!