Kindle Paperwhite vs Nook GlowLight 4 Plus: Which should you buy?

There’s one thing to be stated for e-ink readers.  In an age of TikTok, Netflix, Fb, and YouTube, they not solely encourage you to learn, however shut out distractions and chill out. In the meanwhile there are solely three main manufacturers in North America  — Amazon, Nook, and Kobo — and of these, solely the primary two have a considerable footprint. Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite and the Nook GlowLight 4 Plus are two of essentially the most distinguished readers out there — so how do they stack up?

Simply to get it out of the best way, there’s nothing a lot to say about efficiency. Neither pill is a velocity demon, particularly since e-ink has inherently slower refresh charges than any LCD or OLED panel. After all that doesn’t notably matter right here — these gadgets are all about studying and audiobooks, that are inherently low-intensity actions.

We’ll be protecting a lot of the merchandise’ defining options within the sections beneath, however one obtrusive distinction is storage. The GlowLight 4 Plus (which we’ll confer with because the “Nook” any more) is available in a single 32GB model, whereas Amazon sells 8, 16, and 32GB Paperwhites (32GB is restricted to the Signature Version). Even 8GB needs to be lots if you happen to’re solely studying textual content, but it is best to positively veer in the direction of increased storage choices if you happen to plan on loading audiobooks.

Each tablets are waterproof. The Paperwhite (above) is barely more durable with an IPX8 score and even some gentle salt water resistance, however the IPX7 spec on the Nook is greater than adequate. You should use both gadget by the pool or sitting in your tub — simply be sure you fish out your pill and dry it if it unintentionally takes a dip.

There a few design particulars in regards to the Nook some readers will respect, the primary being the presence of bodily house and page-turning buttons. The Paperwhite is totally depending on touchscreen gestures, which actually do the job, however aren’t as simple.

The Nook additionally offers Bluetooth and a 3.5mm jack for audiobook listening, whereas the Paperwhite is restricted to Bluetooth. 3.5mm could also be slowly fading away, however many individuals nonetheless have suitable headphones and audio system, and state-of-the-art Bluetooth headphones are overkill for audiobooks besides their assist for noise cancelling.

That is going to be the largest differentiator for most individuals. Amazon is the 800-pound gorilla of the e-book business, providing not simply one of the best choice however a number of subscription choices. You get a small slice of e-books and audiobooks with Amazon Prime, however much more if you happen to subscribe to Kindle Limitless and/or Audible. Amazon additionally makes it comparatively straightforward to borrow e-books from libraries, and there are many different methods to get free reads akin to Mission Gutenberg or Ship to Kindle.

With the Nook being bought by Barnes and Noble, you shouldn’t have bother discovering issues like New York Instances bestsellers for it, however anticipate to purchase a lot of the belongings you learn on a per-title foundation if you’re not sideloading. Though there may be an audiobook subscription choice, there’s no equal for normal e-books, and also you’ll inevitably have to purchase some audiobooks outright except you’re solely listening to at least one a month.

On high of that the Nook solely helps the 2 hottest platform-agnostic e-book codecs, EPUB and PDF. The Paperwhite combines these with assist for MOBI, TXT, HTML, DOC/DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, and naturally Amazon’s proprietary Kindle format, so if there’s little or no you’ll be able to’t view on it. And it’s more durable to borrow library books on a Nook, since you need to obtain an EPUB file to a pc, make certain your Nook is signed into your Adobe ID, then use desktop software program (both Adobe Digital Editions or Android File Switch) to sync. For those who’re anticipating to get most of your books from libraries fairly than a web based retailer or free repositories, you’ll virtually actually want a Paperwhite.

It’s price noting right here that each merchandise have comparatively easy onscreen interfaces, and sync with cellular apps if you wish to stick with it studying by way of a smartphone or a extra superior pill like an iPad or Galaxy Tab.

The Nook pulls forward right here by most metrics, justifying its pricetag with a 7.8-inch, 300ppi (pixels per inch) display. The Paperwhite’s show has an analogous pixel density, however slots in at 6.8 inches. That makes the Nook immediately higher suited to issues like newspapers and graphic novels, and superior for studying total. In case your eyesight isn’t one of the best, it means with the ability to enlarge textual content and retain extra content material onscreen.

Each the Nook and Paperwhite take their names from their entrance lights, which preserve their e-ink legible whether or not you’re in darkness or direct daylight. We should always level out nonetheless that whereas they every allow you to regulate the heat and depth of lighting, solely the Nook and the Paperwhite Signature Version can mechanically regulate brightness to your environment. For those who purchase a normal Paperwhite, you’ll have to regulate brightness manually. That’s not an enormous deal, however auto brightness may probably enhance battery life and/or defend your eyes if you’re studying in mattress.

The Paperwhite can probably last as long as 10 weeks on a cost, based on Amazon. That’s going to fluctuate primarily based in your gadget settings, in addition to whether or not you hearken to audiobooks, and the way voracious your total habits are. Amazon’s determine assumes half-hour of e-book studying per day, with Wi-Fi off and brightness set at 13. For those who learn for an hour a day and depart Wi-Fi on, anticipate battery life to drop, if in all probability to a couple of month. That’s nonetheless spectacular.

Barnes and Noble will solely promise “weeks” of runtime for the Nook, and we haven’t examined the product’s battery life to say one thing extra concrete. Realistically, we doubt anybody will complain — even charging up an e-reader each week or two is nothing subsequent to charging an iPad each couple of days.

The gadgets primarily depend on USB-C for charging, however if you happen to purchase the Paperwhite Signature Version, you get the added perk of Qi-compatible wi-fi.

Superficially Amazon may appear to have pricing on lock, since you should buy a Paperwhite for $60 lower than a Nook, and that’s with out accounting for Amazon’s frequent reductions. The corporate is keen to take a monetary hit to get you into its ecosystem.

The satan is within the particulars, although. The entry-level Paperwhite is restricted to only 8GB, which as soon as once more could also be effective for pure e-books, however might be an issue if you happen to begin loading audio. You’ll then need to pay an additional $20 if you wish to preserve advertisements off your lockscreen, which appears like gouging on Amazon’s half — notably because the firm actually, actually needs you to subscribe to Kindle Limitless.

In fact the closest match to the Nook is the Paperwhite Signature Version, and even that also makes use of a 6.8-inch display versus its rival’s 7.8. When you think about the specs you’re getting, the Nook holds its personal when it comes to worth.

If clean entry to essentially the most doable content material is what issues to you, go along with a Paperwhite. Nonetheless monopolistic it may be, the Kindle platform reigns supreme, and that’s solely aided by wider format assist, non-obligatory subscription plans, and simpler library borrowing. You’ll additionally get monetary savings on the {hardware}, if by advantage of decreased display dimension and/or storage.

These elements will in all probability determine the battle for lots of customers, however the Nook may pull out a victory amongst individuals who need 32GB of storage, bodily page-turning buttons, 3.5mm audio, and/or the largest doable display. You may discover that final characteristic issues greater than you’d anticipate — even if you happen to’re not studying graphic novels or dealing with eyesight issues, a 7.8-inch show means much less frequent web page flipping. Simply keep in mind that if you happen to do go the Nook route, you’ll in all probability be shopping for most of your e-books and/or audiobooks, assuming you’re not already planning to sideload from third-party sources.