7 reasons why Amazon Kindle Paperwhite may be the sleeper hit of Black Friday

If you’re struggling to find the perfect, yet affordable (think sub $100 / £100 ) gift for family, friends, and children, let me point you to a personal favorite: the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite e-reader. This Black Friday deals season has brought savings of up to 45% on this purpose-built digital reading device (in fact, these are some of the best deals ever). Honestly, there are a lot of good reasons to stuff one of these in somebody’s stockings.

First, though, let’s pursue some of the best Black Friday Kindle deals available now.

Best US Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Black Friday Deals 

Best UK Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Black Friday Deals

Let me start by saying that I’ve been using Amazon Kindle e-readers since the second edition (it had cute, physical buttons on the side to turn pages). Since then, I’ve owned multiple Kindles and my current one has been in my hands for at least four years. In other words, I am a user and a fan.

None of that makes my observations any less valid. If anything, I think it adds credence to all the reasons why I think the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite sits in the sweet spot between affordability and delight that makes for a near-perfect Black Friday Deals purchase.

Purpose-built

In a world where every portable device seeks to do as much as possible, where watches take our blood pressure, and smartphones can sense a car crash, the Amazon Kindle line of e-readers do exactly one thing: they’re designed for reading. 

That’s kind of obvious, but it’s meant that every improvement since the earliest Kindles has been to enhance the reading experience and virtually nothing else. The Paperwhite’s 300ppi screen is designed for letter and reading clarity. Plus, it’s called “Paperwhite” because the E Ink screen has been refined to offer as close to a white background as possible on an electronic ink display (granted, you can also read in dark mode which puts “white” text on a black background).

The 8GB of storage space might not seem like a lot, but e-reader files are incredibly small. You can fit thousands of books and magazines (even black and white graphic novels) on a single Kindle Paperwhite. Again, the system is built for reading and you’ll never need more space for, say, video or photo files.

Easy to use

Amazon Kindles are generally simple devices. Almost the entire face is made up of a 6.7-inch display. There’s only one button along the bottom edge for power and sleep. A touch-screen means that the gesture you used to turn pages on physical books works just as well on a Kindle Paperwhite.

There are numerous screen controls to improve and adjust your reading experience including reducing and enlarging font size with a pinch and zoom gesture (what’s easier than that?), and a slider for raising and lowing the backlight.

Basically, you can hand a Kindle Paperwhite to even the most tech-averse person and they’ll figure out how to use it in no time.

No distractions

Spend five minutes reading on your iPhone, iPad, or Galaxy S22 and you will be interrupted at least a few times by a notification or even a pop-up on, say, the web page where you’re trying to dig into that long read.

There are no such interruptions on a Kindle Paperwhite. You can read for hours without a single text message or alert, save the person next to you who gently nudges you out of your reading trance.

Lightweight and portable

Fun fact: even though the Kindle Paperwhite is considerably larger than Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro, it weighs a gram less (205g vs. 206g). It’s also so slim – just 8.1mm – that the Kindle Paperwhite can fit in any bag, coat pocket, or even your back pocket.

I usually carry mine everywhere in my backpack. And when there’s no cell-or Internet service, I can pull out the Kindle, which doesn’t need an Internet connection unless you’re browsing for or downloading a book, and start reading.

Durable

While the Kindle has a glass-covered screen, it’s not prone to breakage. I’ve dropped and even tossed my Kindle and the display barely has a scratch. The case is also virtually drop-proof.

Better yet, all these on-sale Kindle Paperwhites are waterproof, which makes them perfect beach and pool companions.

Incredible battery life

I challenge you to find another gadget category that can offer weeks of battery life per charge. The Kindle Paperwhite can last up to 10 weeks on a charge. Long-term use of the built-in light will cut down that time, but it’s still more than fair to expect at least a few weeks of reading per charge.

The point here is that, when you want to read, the Kindle is almost always ready, It’s one of my favorite things about the device.

Read for free

Remember libraries? I haven’t stepped into one in years, but I use my local library all the time. In the US, we have the Libby app, which lets you log into your local library and then check out e-books just as you would physical books.

This is how I read everything – even best-sellers – for free on my Kindle Paperwhite. There is one caveat here, though. Like a normal library book, your checkout will expire after 14 days. The good news is that, if you don’t close the book you can keep reading until you’re finished.

There are, obviously, a lot of other portable gadget deals in our Black Friday Deals roundup. Check it out before they’re all gone.

More US Black Friday deals

• Amazon: 50% off TVs, Apple Watch, clothing, vacuums, and toys
• Apple AirPods 2: on sale for $234 at Amazon
• Best Buy: up to $700 off TVs, laptops, appliances, and more
• Cheap TVs: $79.99 smart TVs from Best Buy 
• Christmas decor: up to 54% off trees, garlands, and wreaths
• Dell: laptops from $299.99
• Gifts ideas: 40% off  holiday gifts for the family from Amazon
• Home Depot: 50% off tools, major appliances, and holiday decor
• Lowe’s: up to $750 off appliances, Christmas decor and tools
• Overstock: 70% off holiday decor, furniture, and Christmas trees
• Nectar: save up to $500 on mattresses, plus $499 in free gifts 
• Nordstrom: up to 50% off UGG, makeup, Nike, jewelry, and more
• Samsung: up to $2,500 TVs, major appliances, and smartwatches
• Target: 45% off toys, Christmas decor, coffee makers, and more
• Toys: up to 50% off best-selling toys at Walmart
• Verizon: get the iPhone 14 Pro for free with trade-in
• Walmart: toys, TVs, vacuums, and laptops starting at $19.99
• Wayfair: up to 80% off couches, rugs, and more, plus free shipping

More UK Black Friday deals

• Amazon: up to 60% off TVs, laptops, and more
• Adidas: up to 50% off trainers and clothing
• AO: deals on appliances, TVs, laptops and more
• Argos: cheap TVs, headphones and tools
• Boots: half-price fragrances and make-up
• Box: up to £1,000 off TVs, laptops and PCs
• Currys: 40% off TVs, laptops and vacuums
• Dell: up to 45% off laptops and desktops
• Dyson: save £100 on the Dyson Cyclone V10
• EE: get a 200GB data SIM for £23 per month
• Game: PlayStation and Xbox games from £4.99
• John Lewis: up to £400 off TVs and appliances
• Ninja: save up to £90 on air fryers and pans
• Reebok: up to 50% off sportswear and footwear
• Samsung: up to £250 off phones and tablets
• Shark: up to £220 off cordless vacuum cleaners
• Very: offers on TVs, Lego and fashion
• Virgin: broadband deals from £25 per month
• Wayfair: furniture, lighting and mattress deals