Replace your Kindle now for a free studying improve

Amazon has launched a number of notable Kindle updates this 12 months. In June, it added new spacing options for characters, phrases, and paragraphs, and in August, it launched the Assistive Reader characteristic, which turns books into audiobooks, together with a bigger font choice to enhance readability. Though the 12 months is coming to an finish, Amazon is not finished making modifications to its Kindle software program for 2025.

In November, Amazon launched its 5.18.6 software update for eleventh and Twelfth-generation Kindles, the Kindle Colorsoft, and Kindle Scribe. Whereas the replace did not embody a lot past Amazon’s typical “Efficiency enhancements, bug fixes, and different common enhancements,” and patching the most recent Kindle jailbreak, Amazon has reportedly began remotely activating options included within the replace for the primary time that weren’t initially accessible (through Good e-Reader).

The primary main change is an replace to how highlighting features on Kindle units. Beforehand, highlighting textual content displayed a menu with choices to focus on, create a observe, search, share, and entry different options through a three-dot menu. With the 5.18.6 replace, Amazon has redesigned the highlighting menu. Now, highlighting textual content presents a brand new set of choices, together with an “A” button for highlighting and a brand new “Look Up” button that opens the dictionary and reveals the phrase’s definition. The observe choice has additionally been changed with a sticky observe icon; tapping it opens the keyboard so you possibly can add a observe, which then seems within the observe part. General, Amazon has simplified the highlighting pop-up menu and, for my part, given it a a lot cleaner look.

For those who do not see these modifications to the highlighting menu in your Kindle but, even with the 5.18.6 replace, it is as a result of Amazon continues to be remotely rolling them out to all Kindles, in line with Good e-Reader. They need to seem in your machine quickly. For instance, my Twelfth-generation Kindle has the brand new highlighting menu, however my Kindle Colorsoft doesn’t, despite the fact that they’re each on the 5.18.6 replace. To replace your Kindle to the most recent software program model, go to Settings > Machine choices > Software program updates. Alternatively, you possibly can manually install the most recent Kindle updates onto your machine.

Amazon has made just a few different modifications with this replace

Modifications have been made to the dictionary system and bookmarking

The replace additionally improves the Kindle dictionary system. Beforehand, trying up a phrase would show the definition, Wikipedia article, and translation choices on the prime or backside of the display screen, blocking the content material you have been studying. With the 5.18.6 replace, now you can swipe the panel away to view the web page, and navigating the choices is less complicated — moderately than swiping by way of Dictionary, Wikipedia, Translate, and Search, you possibly can merely faucet the headers within the new dictionary menu (as you possibly can see within the comparability picture above).

Moreover, Amazon has barely modified how bookmarks work. Beforehand, to bookmark a web page, you’d faucet the highest proper of your Kindle display screen. Now, it’s worthwhile to maintain it down as a substitute of simply tapping, more likely to forestall unintended bookmarks.

Lastly, Amazon has additionally made it simpler to view figures in books, resembling in textbooks or journey guides. Now, while you faucet a reference like “fig-20” within the textual content, a field pops up in the course of the display screen displaying the corresponding determine — whether or not it is a chart, diagram, or picture. This makes it way more handy to reference photos whereas studying, particularly if they are not on the identical web page.

General, these modifications within the newest 5.18.6 Kindle replace aren’t something groundbreaking, however they positively streamline the person interface, making it extra user-friendly. I am at all times in favor of something that makes my display screen really feel much less cluttered, and this replace definitely helps. The 5.18.6 replace is now accessible for eleventh and Twelfth-generation Kindle e-readers, the Kindle Colorsoft, and Kindle Scribe, and these options ought to be remotely activated in your machine quickly, in the event that they have not been already.