Is barely helpful AI price the additional money?

My hand is cramping. It’s not carpal tunnel or another doubtful cause that’s inflicting the ache. It’s an analog ache that’s oddly satisfying in a nostalgic means. In the previous few days, I’ve held a pen and written extra phrases for a for much longer time than I’ve ever performed in years. As I pushed myself to handwrite massive elements of this assessment to spend extra time with the 2024 Kindle Scribe’s stylus and note-taking instruments, I began to really feel a sensation I hadn’t remembered since my teenagers.

I usually really feel the urge to jot down ideas and lists, however I by no means actually wished to spend longer than quarter-hour writing. And but, Amazon’s new AI features for the Kindle Scribe appear to cater extra to those that labor over essays or missives that they finally have to share with others. The Summarize and Refine instruments in your notebooks, for instance, can shorten and neaten up your scrawl so, I assume, you may ship it to a different particular person to learn. That’s it, actually. The opposite enhancements to the Scribe’s writing expertise are for scribbling on books, which I’ll get to in a bit.

Editor’s notice: As a result of Thanksgiving holidays within the US, we’ve not had the time to check each component of the Kindle Scribe 2, so we cannot be assigning a assessment rating. With that mentioned, the product is already on sale, so we wished to provide our preliminary impressions and are publishing a assessment in progress. We’ll replace the story with a rating and extra impressions as soon as we’re glad that we have understood all of its strengths and weaknesses.

What’s modified on the brand new Kindle Scribe

As I mentioned earlier, most of what’s new on the Kindle Scribe is inside. On the skin, Amazon did tweak the bezels not in precise dimension however in colours, in order that there’s a white rectangle surrounding the display, inside a teal inexperienced column on the facet. For those who opted for the “tungsten” model, then as an alternative of teal inexperienced you’ll see darkish grey. I like the brand new shade, nevertheless it’s a bit complicated and makes me assume the grippable space is narrower than earlier than when in truth, it’s about the identical. Nonetheless, this can be a small grievance, if that, and one that’s principally mitigated by how recent the brand new model appears to be like.

The opposite important change is on the Premium Pen, which now has a rubberized high for its fake eraser. I’ve at all times appreciated how straightforward this was to make use of on the original Kindle Scribe, and I’m comfortable to report that the up to date texture doesn’t get in the best way of responsiveness. It actually feels sufficient like erasers of my youth that now and again I discover myself subconsciously swiping away phantom mud. I’ll level out, although, that I needed to remind myself to make use of the eraser on just a few events, since I used to be extra accustomed to easily hanging out a mistake with the pen. The brand new Premium Pen additionally has a customizable shortcut button so long-pressing it may activate the highlighter, pen, marker, pencil, eraser, canvas or sticky notice.

Drawing on books on the brand new Kindle Scribe

Lastly, along with the 2 AI-related instruments I already talked about, Amazon additionally up to date how one can write on ebooks. As I described in my hands-on in October, the brand new Energetic Canvas function makes it so that when you place your pen on the web page, a field will seem to include your writing. In comparison with the clunky implementation on the older mannequin, which required you to first go to the floating toolbar on the left of each web page, choose the sticky notice function after which write in it, this appeared an enormous enchancment.

In my testing up to now, although, this was much less spectacular. The software program was buggy in my expertise. On one event, I drew a spiral over the phrases “We had yarn about previous occasions” in an Agatha Christie novel. A translucent field appeared, containing my drawing in a layer above the textual content, with a test mark and cross on the high. You’re purported to faucet the test, which can trigger the field to totally solidify and the remainder of the web page’s phrases will rearrange themselves to make room. Nevertheless, after I hit X by chance, the field didn’t go away, and I used to be capable of proceed so as to add doodles all around the display. After I flipped to a distinct a part of the guide and got here again, although, it disappeared, solely to reappear later after I was attempting to underline one thing.

That’s clearly only a bug, and when executed as meant, Energetic Canvas does work. You possibly can resize the field, and features will proceed to reflow to make room or snap again into place. The containers will keep the place you left them, as an alternative of disappearing below a bit tag the best way they did with the unique Scribe. It’s a slight enchancment, and although I can’t but think about how I’d use it in actual life, it’s good to understand it’s there.

I do must level out a few caveats, although. This doesn’t work on samples — you may inform whether or not the Energetic Canvas is supported by checking if the floating toolbox is current. The opposite problem, which is a much bigger one, is that Energetic Canvas can typically be triggered even once you’re simply attempting to underline one thing. Drawing strains below or on textual content will generate underlines, which might be listed by Amazon the identical means highlights are, so you may simply discover them once more in a while.

It’s fairly annoying once you’re attempting to underline some textual content and the phrases leap away to make room for a field you by no means wished to seem. It will get much more irritating when, because of the lag, you need to look ahead to seconds for the field to go away after you faucet the X on high of it. Worse, that bug I discussed earlier brought about the spiral and different doodles I had drawn to indicate up the place I used to be attempting to underline phrases. Fortunately, I used to be capable of delete that when it reappeared and had no extra phantom containers.

These little hiccups can be much less of an issue if Amazon weren’t already behind its opponents. Related merchandise from firms like Kobo already supply higher assist for writing on books, the place you may circle particular phrases and the drawing will keep in place (although that is wonky when you resize the textual content afterwards). I perceive that Amazon has to handle the resizability of its content material, to assist individuals who usually change up font sizes whereas studying. There must be a greater means.

One is likely to be coming. On the Kindle’s launch occasion, the corporate did preview a collapsible margins function, which helps you to scribble within the column on both facet of each guide. Importantly, you’ll have the ability to resize these columns and the area in them can scroll vertically, supplying you with loads of room to cram in your musings. Sadly, this function is barely going to be out there in early 2025, so I wasn’t capable of check it out. It’s additionally price noting that the unique Kindle Scribe, which continues to retail for $340, might be getting the Energetic Canvas and generative AI options, in addition to the collapsible margin when that arrives.

Generative AI options on the brand new Kindle Scribe

The place issues really feel extra completed is in Notebooks, the place Amazon has needed to cope with fewer limitations. This part accommodates your lists, jotpads and artworks. Like you would on the unique, you may choose from quite a lot of backgrounds like strains, a dot grid and even planner or calendar views.

It’s right here that you simply’ll discover the brand new Summarize and Refine instruments, by tapping on the sparkles icon on the highest menu bar. Choosing both “Summarize” or “Refine writing” will convey up the choice to work Amazon’s magic on the web page you’re on or the whole pocket book. After you resolve, the Kindle will get to work, utilizing cloud-based processing to generate both a abstract of your phrases or a tidied up model of your hen scratch. This normally took about 10 to fifteen seconds, relying on the size of the supply materials. As soon as a result’s returned, you’ll additionally get the choice to customise the font and line spacing, in addition to the power so as to add it to the top or starting of your pocket book.

I used to be stunned to see the Scribe make sense of a disorganized plan I made for opinions protection that concerned some lists with three in a row up high, two on the backside and three lining the precise facet. The Refine device precisely laid them out in sequential order, giving me a listing of lists beginning with the one I had within the high left place and ending with the tiny one titled “OSes” that I had squeezed in beneath “iPads” on the backside proper.

The abstract it returned for this instance was additionally first rate, and in all the opposite notes I examined I noticed largely correct outcomes. Any mistake the system made felt affordable, since I’ve horrible handwriting. It’s not likely the Scribe’s fault that it thought I wrote “Addly” when actually I simply had a particularly malformed “n” and a barely legible “g” on the finish of “Including.”

After I did make an effort to jot down extra neatly, the Scribe was extra correct, however that just about feels prefer it defeats the aim. If I’m going to attempt to write higher for the AI so it may make my handwriting neater for others to learn, then how is that completely different from making a larger effort for people?

As competent because the generative AI options right here have been, I nonetheless stay hesitant to name them helpful. I’m not the type of person who likes writing lengthy sufficient to want AI summarization (to that finish, you’ll have to have at the very least 25 phrases on a web page to qualify for Summarize). I additionally don’t typically share my handwritten ideas with different individuals, although on the extraordinarily uncommon event that I do, I may see Refine being begin.

The issue is that Refine isn’t at all times correct, and its generated outcome isn’t editable. If I may go in and proper “Addly,” then I won’t thoughts sending that doc to my staff. Or if that had been the one mistake within the refined writing, I may share the notice and inform my mates to disregard the one error. However I’d have to jot down an entire new appendix simply to make clear the errors, at which level I’d as nicely kind up my authentic ideas.

Neither Refine nor Summarize are groundbreaking new options in generative AI and even note-taking, both. Apple gives a model of Refine on the brand new iPadOS, whereas Summarize is one thing we’ve seen throughout merchandise from Google, Apple, OpenAI, Samsung and extra. Whereas I respect that Amazon has largely prevented chasing hype with its adoption of generative AI on the Kindle Scribe, I want extra time and testing to raised perceive how helpful it is likely to be in the long term.

What I like concerning the Kindle Scribe 2 up to now

As I did with the unique, I do just like the Scribe quite a bit. It gives a clean, handy writing expertise in a svelte, comparatively mild bundle that’s simply 0.22 inches thick and weighs 433 grams (0.95 kilos). None of these dimensions have modified within the second-gen mannequin, although the ten.2-inch display in some way appeared sharper to me, regardless of having the identical brightness and pixel density.

Studying on such a roomy canvas is a pleasure, though I favor to take the Paperwhite on the go because it’s quite a bit simpler on my wrist. That expanse will be useful for these with visible impairments that may want a a lot bigger font, for instance.

I’ve additionally preferred doodling on PDFs and “write-on books.” The latter is a class of titles within the Kindle retailer which are formatted so you may doodle immediately on them. I borrowed a few these by my Kindle Limitless subscription, and had a blast fixing cryptography and Sudoku puzzles. I did see some promising books on this class, like interactive or hyperlinked planners, however the buyer opinions for these put me off.

There’s a whole lot of potential in that area, although, that might make the Kindle Scribe way more helpful. I simply want Amazon would make investments extra within the format and make a pocket book you may write on that will additionally work along with your cellphone’s calendar or reminders app and seamlessly combine what you write in your planner into your digital universe.

What I don’t like concerning the Kindle Scribe 2

Alas, that isn’t a actuality. And the fact is that there are numerous issues Amazon may stand to enhance. Whereas I can perceive that discovering a technique to maintain a free stylus hooked up to a pill is difficult, the magnetic edge that the Premium Pen can latch onto is only a precarious strategy. I used to be strolling into my condo with the Kindle Scribe in my hand and jostled the door by chance. Two seconds later, I used to be questioning the place the stylus had gone. It was on the ground, and after I picked it up, I seen the nib was slanted.

I didn’t know if I had broken it, and although it nonetheless labored nicely, I finally noticed some scratches on the Scribe’s display that I think won’t have been there had the pen not dropped resulting from a light-weight knock towards a doorframe. The corporate does embody some substitute nibs within the field, so fixing that is pretty straightforward.

I additionally actually want Amazon’s Notebooks had been extra versatile. They’re higher than they had been with the unique Scribe, however you continue to can’t edit them within the cell Kindle app. You possibly can view your Notebooks there, which is sweet, nevertheless it’s barely annoying that they’re listed in alphabetical order as an alternative of based mostly on what’s lately been opened like they’re on the Kindle.

Amazon charges the brand new and authentic Scribes as having the identical battery life — that’s, as much as three weeks when you write for about half an hour a day, and as much as 12 weeks when you learn for that very same period of time. In my assessment of the older mannequin, I noticed battery numbers drop 35 % in a few week with numerous writing and testing. With the brand new Kindle Scribe, the ability stage is at the moment at 21 % after popping out of the field at 50 % simply a few days in the past. I’ve been testing its AI, writing and annotating options fairly relentlessly in that point, and normally see the share fall one or two factors each time I generate an AI abstract or refinement, too.

I’ll want far more time to get a greater sense of how the brand new Kindle Scribe’s battery holds up below extra normalized use, but when it behaves like its predecessor, I shouldn’t have to cost it greater than as soon as each couple of months.

Wrap-up

Amazon’s new Kindle Scribe has a whole lot of competitors from firms like Kobo, Boox and reMarkable. And with a worth of $399, the brand new Scribe is a whopping $60 costlier than its predecessor, which will even get a whole lot of the brand new software program updates. To be honest, the brand new Scribe comes with a Premium Pen for the value, whereas the cheaper mannequin solely features a Primary Pen, so that you’re partially paying extra for a greater stylus.

Whereas I do like the brand new shade possibility and barely improved annotation capabilities, I’m undecided Amazon has performed sufficient to justify the extra value right here. I’d a lot somewhat see the corporate focus its efforts on enhancing its Pocket book syncing and cell modifying software program, in addition to investing in innovating on the write-on guide format, than chase the generative AI development. Regardless of how a lot restraint it’s exercised in doing so.