Editors' Note: This is still the most recent version of the Amazon Kindle Oasis. Read our original review from July 24, 2019 below.
Amazon's Kindle line offers a model for everyone, and the Oasis is for people who want the most luxurious ebook reader money can buy. At $249.99, the Kindle Oasis is far pricier than the $89.99 Kindle and the $129.99 Kindle Paperwhite. It used to be easier to justify the premium, as it was the only waterproof Kindle available, but the latest Paperwhite sports water protection as well. That means the 2019 Kindle Oasis needs a new trick, and it comes in the form of a more advanced backlight that lets you tweak how cool or warm it is, which can help reduce eye strain. Most people will be best off saving money on our Editors' Choice, the Paperwhite, but depending on how much reading you do (and how good your eyes are), the Oasis might be the right Kindle for you.
Models and Features
The Oasis is available in a variety of choices in both capacity and connectivity. There are two capacities (8GB and 32GB), two network versions (Wi-Fi-only and Wi-Fi with cellular), and a choice of whether or not you want Amazon's "special offers," which are Amazon-driven ads displayed on the reader's sleep screen. The basic 8GB Wi-Fi-only model with special offers is $249.99, or you can pay $20 more for the ad-free version. The 32GB Wi-Fi-only Oasis is $279.99 with special offers and $299.99 without. The Wi-Fi/cellular version is only available with 32GB of storage and without special offers, for $349.99.
Physically, the 2019 Kindle Oasis is identical to the 2017 model. It's a flat, tablet-like device that measures 6.3 by 5.6 by 0.3 inches (HWD), with a 7-inch touch-sensitive monochrome E Ink display.
Similar Products
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2018)
Kobo Clara HD
Amazon Kindle (2019)
Barnes & Noble Nook GlowLight 3
The Oasis is available in champagne gold or graphite versions, dictating the finish of the aluminum back panel. Both colors feature an opposite face with a flush black border that frames the screen by a quarter of an inch on three sides and a full inch on the fourth side. The wider border holds two rubber buttons for turning pages. This part of the reader is also where a third of the back thickens out to 0.3 inches, providing a slight grip on the otherwise remarkably slim frame; the rest of the Oasis is just over a tenth of an inch thick.
The reader is almost perfectly vertically symmetrical, for ambidextrous use. You can hold the Oasis by the grip in your left or right hand, and the screen will automatically rotate. One edge of the reader holds a micro USB port for charging and the other edge holds a power button, but these are the only asymmetrical aspects of the design. While the Oasis has no headphone jack, you can connect Bluetooth headphones to listen to Audible audiobooks.
Like the previous model, the Oasis is rated IPX8, which means it can handle being submerged in up to two meters of water for an hour. So you can take it to the beach, the pool, and even into the shower without worry. Of course, moisture can make touch screens perform awkwardly, so you might want to stick to the page-turning buttons when reading in the water, which is an advantage over the button-free Paperwhite.
Adjustable Light
The display remains a 7-inch, 300ppi E Ink panel with a 16-level grayscale just like on the previous model. Despite this, this screen can be much easier on your eyes thanks to the addition of an "adjustable warm light."
A warmth slider, located under the brightness slider on the Oasis' pull-down menu, adjusts the color temperature of the screen. At the lowest setting it's a cool blue-gray, while at the highest setting it's a warm yellow-orange. The cooler light can appear brighter and make the screen stand out in certain lighting situations, but it also tends to be harsher on the eyes, straining them (this is a common effect with overhead fluorescent lights and computer monitors). Warmer light doesn't "look" as bright, but the reduced blue in the mix eases that strain, which is useful when you're staring directly at a device as your primary source of light.
This adjustability isn't due to the E Ink panel itself, which is still purely monochrome. This color-tweaking is performed by adjusting the Oasis' new 25 LED backlights. It has more than twice the LEDs as the previous model (12), lighting the screen more uniformly while being able to shift from cool to warm color temperatures. You can even schedule the warmth to shift based on time or to match sunrise and sunset, making the screen warmer at night when you have less ambient light to read from.
The screen won't change at all if you read purely with ambient light and keep the backlight turned off, but if you want to read when it's dark, for instance, the ability to reduce blue light coming from the screen can be a real eye-saver. I found the adjustments very soothing, and kept the warmth setting around 14 on the reader's 0-24 scale. It's worth pointing out that while this adjustable backlight is a completely new feature to Kindles, Banes & Noble and Kobo have been offering it for a while on various ebook readers.
Everything else about the Oasis is unchanged from before. The screen is sharp and easy to read even in bright sunlight thanks to its anti-glare coating. The touch controls are fairly responsive and make highlighting text and entering search terms easy. It's a sleek, slim, waterproof device that's comfortable to use.
Works Best With Amazon Content
On the software side, the Kindle Oasis is unsurprisingly Amazon-centric. It's intended for reading ebooks purchased on Amazon or available by subscription through Kindle Unlimited or Prime Reading, and for listening to ebooks from Audible (which is owned by Amazon). If you already have a solid Kindle library or a subscription to Kindle Unlimited, you're golden. All of the usual Amazon features are available here, including GoodReads integration, X-Ray for following characters, and syncing your progress across multiple devices. You can also highlight text, place bookmarks, and add notes.
Non-Amazon ebooks are supported mostly as an afterthought (though you can still use bookmarks, highlighting, and notes in non-Kindle ebooks), but a few useful features make loading your own texts and even comics fairly easy. Besides Kindle file formats, the Oasis supports MOBI, PDF, and TXT files. If your books are in EPUB or any other format, you'll have to use a converter. Once converted, you can send any unprotected ebook you want to the Oasis using a USB connection, or, for files under 100MB, just email them to the device using its dedicated Kindle email address (which you can find in the Personal Document Settings section of the Manage Your Content and Devices page in your Amazon account).
Converting ebooks in this way doesn't always produce good results. Formatting can get lost in the process, removing paragraph breaks and visual embellishments that make ebooks easier to read. This was the case when I converted German For Dummies, purchased in a Humble Bundle, from EPUB to AZW (Kindle). The paragraphs got mashed together, creating walls of text. Line breaks were preserved, so it was still readable, but it wasn't entirely pleasant. Fortunately, PDFs are also available for most Humble Bundle books, and the PDF version of German For Dummies kept its formatting and loaded fairly quickly.
PDF support isn't particularly good if you want to read non-Amazon comics, though. I loaded the first volume of Battle Angel Alita (also from Humble Bundle) on the Oasis in both converted EPUB-to-AZW and PDF formats. Both versions had insufferably long load times, taking several seconds to turn each page. This isn't a problem for Kindle-native comics; Marvel Masterworks: Nick Fury, purchased through Amazon, loaded each page incredibly quickly. Beware if you want to use the Oasis as a manga reader.
You can also get library ebooks through Overdrive on the Oasis, though it's more complicated than the direct Overdrive integration Kobo ebook readers support. You're limited to ebooks that have Kindle-compatible versions, and you need to do some menu-diving on the Overdrive site to link your accounts and send the book to your device.
Whatever you decide to read, as long as there's text in the file (this doesn't apply to comics), you have a slew of formatting options. The Oasis features ten different fonts including both serif and sans serif options, 14 font sizes, and multiple spacing and alignment choices. You can save your favorite combinations as themes that you can switch between with a tap.
A Sight for Sore Eyes
The 2019 Kindle Oasis is a fairly small upgrade over the 2017 model, but it adds a feature that can help soothe tired eyes during binge-reading sessions. The ability to adjust the warmth of the backlight is very helpful for readers concerned about eye strain, and if that speaks to you, this is the Kindle to buy.
If a simple, bluish backlight will do the job, you'll spend a lot less on the newly waterproof Paperwhite, which remains our top pick for Kindles overall. If you don't subscribe to Amazon's content ecosystem, meanwhile, Kobo devices offer similar light tweaking, better Overdrive integration, and more support for non-Amazon file formats; the Forma is waterproof and slim like the Oasis with a similarly high $280 price, while the $130 Clara HD is significantly less expensive at the cost of waterproofing.
The latest edition of the slim, waterproof Amazon Kindle Oasis adds a warmth-adjustable backlight for less eye strain, thought most people will be just fine spending nearly half the price on the Paperwhite.
Like What You're Reading?
This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
Thanks for signing up!
Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!
Sign up for other newslettersRead the latest from Will Greenwald
- Save Up to 52% With the 20 Best Black Friday Speaker and Soundbar Deals
- Some of the Best TVs We've Tested Are Seeing Massive Black Friday Price Drops
- One of the Best TVs I've Tested This Year Is More Than $1,200 Off for Black Friday
- Booming: The Best Early Black Friday Deals on Soundbars and Speakers
- The Best 55-Inch TVs for 2024
- More from Will Greenwald
