+

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.

Close
HomeQuizzoneWhatsappShare Flash Reads
 

Amazon is reportedly exploring a Kindle with a folding screen that opens and closes like a real book

Jun 28, 2021, 22:26 IST
Business Insider
Amazon
Advertisement

The pros and cons of Kindles are discussed at great lengths among bibliophiles. The conveniences of a light device and a vast digital library are great, but many readers prefer the physical feeling of reading an open book and turning its pages.

Amazon could meet readers somewhere in the middle with a future product.

The tech giant is exploring a Kindle with a folding screen that opens and closes like a real book, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported in his new newsletter, Power On. Gurman described the exploration as at the internal discussion stage, meaning Amazon could choose not to proceed with it.

Samsung was the first major smartphone maker to introduce a folding screen with the Galaxy Fold, but not without design hiccups. The $2,000 phone broke for some reviewers just days after use, causing Samsung to push back the release date.

The Galaxy Z Fold 2 launched last August, fixing the original's biggest problems and introducing a larger screen and more durable structure.

Advertisement

Amazon released the first Kindle over a decade ago. The $399 device was thick and heavy with a physical keyboard - and sold out in under six hours. By 2010, e-readers were expected to kill off the sale of physical books, a shift quickly compared to the growing music streaming industry.

Today, print books are more popular than e-books, according to Statista, a recovery that many owe to the physicality of hardcovers that Kindles have yet to effectively replicate. By 2025, the global e-reader market is expected to shrink by $300 million.

A quick scroll through #booktok, a corner of TikTok where teen creators have pushed novels to the bestseller list, shows that print is far from dead - especially with younger readers.

"I'm a sucker for paperbacks," Erika Semprem, a 23-year-old book influencer known as @theazereads told Insider. "But I do love that Kindles are more convenient. Instead of driving 25 minutes to the bookstore, I can purchase whatever book I'm in the mood for right away."

Ten generations of Kindles later, Amazon says the latest Kindle Oasis "reads like real paper" with e-ink technology and fast page turns. As of 2019, over 90 million Americans own an e-reader, with the Kindle listed as the most widely-owned device.

Advertisement

If internal talks to make a foldable Kindle solidify, this could be the e-reader book lovers have been waiting for.

You are subscribed to notifications!
Looks like you've blocked notifications!
Next Article