Eric Migicovsky has been thinking a lot about friction. Specifically, he’s been thinking about how too much friction in the way of using a device can put people off wearing it altogether. The founder of Pebble is here at CES 2026 with a few new devices from the company he recently started to bring back the beloved smartwatch brand, including the Pebble Round 2 and the Index 01. That second one is a simple ring with a button on it that you push down to talk to Pebble’s AI whenever you want it to help you remember something.
In the sea of AI gadgets that clutter the showfloors of CES (and the current tech industry in general), the Index 01 is refreshingly simple. The prototypes I saw here in Las Vegas weren’t connected to phones, so they weren’t actually working. They also seemed a little unfinished, like there was still some polishing to do. But I was able to put a few on and push their buttons. I also checked out the one Migicovsky wears — more on that in a bit.
I have to caveat that the rings that Migicovsky and his team had for us to try on were way too large for me. I did manage to get sized and found out I was a Pebble size 7, while my colleague Dan Cooper was determined to be a size 11. These demo rings sat loosely on my finger — and Migicovsky was particular that I wear it on my index finger and not my thumb or middle finger.
I suspect that has to do with how you reach for and press the button. It’s much easier to push the key if it’s closer to your thumb. Since the idea of the Index 01 began as an app on the Pebble watch, Migicovsky has been working hard to figure out how best to make it easy to access. Back when it was an app, “friction points were having to use your other hand” to press the screen, he said. “We also experimented with gestures and voice activation, wake words,” he added. But as many of us are painfully familiar with, those triggers don’t always work well.
“The whole thing that drives this ring is it being something that you can rely on. It being something that you can incorporate into your… habits,” Migicovsky said. So putting a button right by your thumb not only makes sense, but might even be, in my opinion, a bit more accessible for people with, say, speech impediments or only one hand.
I have to admit I initially found the Index 01’s design to be a bit bulky-looking, and the rubbery button protrudes a lot more than I expected from looking at it in its glamor shots. It’s like in place of a diamond or a gemstone on the ring, there’s a weird little nipple that you twiddle around until you want to push it.
I did find the button easy to press, if that allays any of your concerns at all. But, really, the Index’s powers aren’t visible. It’s what happens after you push the button that matters.
Using the Pebble Index 01 ring
The actual demo was brief. Migicovsky prefaced things by telling me what he was about to ask, held up his hand to his mouth, pushed the button and asked me “What’s your favorite book these days?” I explained I had recently been reading Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi and then Migicovsky let go of the button.
After a few starts and stops due to internet woes, the companion app on his phone responded, showing a transcription of what we said, followed by an answer “That sounds like a fun read! I can create a note about the book you are reading if you’d like.”
I didn’t get to ask many more questions, and I think I’d need to live with an actual unit in my life to start to rely on it more. But I love the idea of a second brain or an AI assistant that’s always ready for my random thoughts at the push of a button. Migicovsky said the Index 01 is water resistant, so you never have to take it off, even in the shower. So for those times when you’re sudsing up and have a random stroke of inspiration about soap art, you can still tell the Index 01 to remember your Eureka moment.
Migicovsky said you can also double click the button (and then hold it) to access a different side of the AI. Instead of simply remembering things you tell it, the AI can try to provide answers. Pebble’s AI is powered by Claude, so the usefulness of these results is going to be dependent on that model.
Depending on how you use it, Migicovsky said the Index 01 can last for years — up to three if you’re not too heavy of a user. Since he doesn’t want for you to have to place the ring on a charger and forget to put it back on again, the device is not rechargeable. When you’re about a month away from running out of juice, the app will send you a warning and ask if you want to order a replacement. You’ll also be offered the option of sending it in for recycling.
That still feels a bit wasteful and potentially expensive, but Migicovsky’s thinking is that if you still are using the ring enough after two years to be thinking about extending its battery life, the price might be justifiable to you.
Why a Pebble AI ring instead of others?
It’s things like this that make me think Migicovsky (and the Pebble team) have the right approach to making an AI ring. Though the hardware is not the most advanced and there is a quaint simplicity to the software, there is a level of thought and care that feels important to any product’s success.
Migicovsky is quick to acknowledge that Pebble watches won’t be for everyone. That if you want a health-tracking device or something with a bright, colorful screen, you should consider something else. He’s even considering placing ads for other smartwatches on the website listing the new Pebble devices.
“Look — I’m the first person to call myself out when I fail,” Migicovsky wrote in a blog he posted last November. And when he spoke with Engadget, he also recognized that Pebble at one point might have tried to do too much. These days, there are other companies making smart rings that are all about tracking your sleep and fitness, and the Index 01 is not that. “And Pebble is absolutely 100 percent not that company.” Maybe with a renewed focus on a sustainable business model, Pebble actually has a chance to survive and continue making its AI ring and other devices.
Nowadays, Migicovsky just wants to make gadgets that will make you smile. And when I look at a cute little nyan cat wiggling about in its lo-fi, lo-res and low-frame-rate glory on the new Pebble smartwatches, I just feel warm inside.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/pebbles-founder-might-be-just-the-right-person-to-make-an-ai-ring-170104222.html?src=rss
Over the lastten or soyears, L'Oréal has brought a taste of beauty tech to the masses at CES 2026. This time, it has three devices to show off: the “Light Straight + Multi-styler” as well as the helpfully named LED Face Mask and LED Eye Mask.
Don’t let the unassuming names mislead you. These three products actually harbor some unique traits. The Light Straight (and multi-styler, which I’m going to just call the Light Straight from here on), for instance, uses infrared light to help generate the heat required to style your hair. Meanwhile, the LED Face Mask is different from those made by companies like Dr. Dennis Gross, Omnilux, Therabody and Shark. Instead of fairly hard shells that sit rigidly on your face, L'Oréal’s version looks to be pliable and thin.
I haven’t seen this in person yet, though I do intend to do so as soon as possible, but the pictures of the LED Eye Mask look, and I mean this in the best way, ridonkulous. Not only do they appear supple, but they also seem to be transparent, with bulbs and wires you can see inside. In some of the images that the company provided, the masks are completely awash in red as the lights are on. In others, only parts of it are red. One of them even shows the masks sitting in a little carrying case and they almost look like wireless earbuds. I haven’t seen any photos of the LED Face Mask but I can imagine they’d be fairly similar to these.
The L'Oréal LED Eye Mask in a carrying case
L'Oréal
According to the press release, this “ultra-thin, flexible silicone mask” is currently “in prototype form” and was developed in collaboration with LED solutions company iSmart. The company said this mask “delivers light directly to the face” in 10-minute automatically timed sessions. That’s not too different from existing red light masks, but L’Oréal said it believes “the key to the mask’s effectiveness is its advanced, transparent support, which integrates a skin-safe microcircuit to precisely control the emission of two selected wavelengths of light—red light (630 nm) and near-infrared light (830 nm).”
Since the mask is only launching in 2027, there aren’t details yet on pricing and availability, though the company’s global vice president of tech and open innovation Guive Balooch told Engadget that it would be a premium product that would sit somewhere below the highest priced offerings currently out there.
One of my problems with full-face LED masks is that my skin always feels too parched under them, because you have to use them on clean, dry skin for 10 minutes at a time. Balooch told me that L'Oréal would have a serum developed to be used with its mask that would help with that, while also improving the effectiveness of the light treatment.
That certainly is intriguing, and Balooch indicated that creating formulations that are designed to work with devices like the LED masks is a future direction for the company.
A pair of hands using the L'Oréal Light Straight and multi-styler on a person's hair.
L'Oréal
I’m also interested in the Light Straight, which like the company’s AirLight Pro uses infrared light to help dry or style hair. According to the company’s press release, hair straighteners with “ordinary heating places can reach temperatures of 400°F and higher—above the threshold at which keratin denatures, leading to weakened cuticles, breakage and reduced shine.” For context, I used to turn my flatiron all the way up to 425 degrees Fahrenheit to tame my tresses (though these days I find a more reasonable 330 degrees is good enough).
L’Oréal says the Light Straight and its “patented infrared light technology” can “help provide exceptional styling results at lower temperatures, to better protect the health of the hair.” The device’s glass plates never exceed 320 degrees, and the company says its testing found that the Light Straight is three times faster and leaves hair twice as smooth as “leading premium hair stylers.” I’m not sure how you would quantify smoothness, but I’m hopeful the results do pan out in the real world.
The Light Straight uses near-infrared light that L’Oréal says “penetrates deeply into hair fibers” to “reshape internal hydrogen bonds.” It also has sensors onboard with “built-in proprietary algorithms and machine learning” to adapt to your gestures “to maximize individual experience.” I’m not sure what that means, but I hope to find out more this week at CES. Given the Light Straight doesn’t launch till 2027, it’s not surprising that pricing and other details aren’t yet available. But for now, I’m keen to see companies continue to investigate novel, hopefully healthier ways for us to look and feel beautiful.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/loreals-ces-2026-beauty-devices-include-a-skin-like-flexible-led-mask-070000576.html?src=rss
For the longest time, I refused to upgrade my work-issued MacBook. I was leery of the hassle, and would much rather hang on to an aging Intel-powered laptop than have to transfer files, set up apps and sign in to accounts all over again. What did it matter if my notebook barely lasted long enough to cover an iPhone launch? My petty brain blamed it all on external factors (like being forced to use a MacBook instead of a PC), and left me dripping in stress as I watched the power levels dip down to zero at many of the live events I attend every year. So when I saw the Anker Laptop Power Bank was one of the items in our Labor Day deals roundup this year, I decided to get one to alleviate my battery anxiety (instead of, you know, doing the sane thing and agreeing to a new laptop).
When I unboxed my new Laptop Power Bank the night before the iPhone 17 Pro launch, I wasn’t expecting to be so taken by its features. All I knew before then was that this was a solid, beefy laptop battery pack, squeezing 25,000mAh in a compact package that would save me from having to worry too much about finding an outlet. But when I saw the screen light up with details on the amount of energy left (to two decimal places!) and the real-time charge data when I plugged it in, I was impressed. How modern!
Then I noticed the built-in cables — one retractable and neatly tucked inside the charger and the other artfully curved into a groove and doubling as a handle. Both wires were braided and felt like they’d be resistant to fraying and destroying themselves over time. Altogether, the general build quality and functionality of all the components made it clear this was a thoughtfully designed product worthy of all the praise and money we’ve hurled at it since my colleagues first tested it.
But what truly made me smile (and giggle, honestly) was a naughty little Easter egg. I saw posts on Threads indicating that if you tugged on that retractable cable and let it go in and out a few times, the screen would show a smiley face. I didn’t believe this was true until I saw it for myself. Sure, it felt a little bit odd, but I told myself I was revving a chainsaw, and doing legitimate testing for professional reasons, not jerking off a device. And when I saw the funny face appear, I felt the effect was humorous rather than pervy. The good news for the more staid readers is that if you don’t want to ever see that face, you never have to. And if you like cheeky little touches in your tech products, the Anker Laptop Battery Charger will delight.
Regardless of how I felt about having pleasured a laptop battery charger, it doesn’t take away from the fact that this is a well-made, well-rounded product. It managed to get my MacBook a few extra hours, so I made it all the way to the end of a multi-hour keynote, though it did run completely empty so I couldn’t recharge my phone after. Blast Apple Park and its utter lack of available power outlets!
Anker’s Laptop Battery Pack effectively allayed my battery anxiety, brought me some mirth and won me over with its thoughtful design. And because I got it on sale, it was $90 well spent.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/the-anker-laptop-power-bank-soothed-my-self-inflicted-battery-anxiety-123000024.html?src=rss
In a world where notifications persistently compete for our attention, distraction-free ereaders and writing tablets have found an audience. Putting your phone, laptop or iPad aside and curling up with a Kindle or a reMarkable tablet have become an almost ironic way for the tech-savvy to disconnect from online noise and focus on reading and writing. It’s debatable how broad the appeal of these devices is, but even in what appears to be a relatively small slice of the industry, the competition is fierce.
Amazon is arguably the biggest name in the space, with its Kindles dominating the ereader market for years. When it introduced the Kindle Scribe in 2022, the company made a play for the burgeoning E Ink writing tablet category, and just last year it launched its first color ereader with the Kindle Colorsoft. Put all those features — reading, writing and color — together, and you’ve got the ingredients for Amazon’s latest contender: the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft.
This time, Amazon expanded the Scribe line by releasing three new Scribes at once. The entry-level model is the black-and-white tablet without a front light, which costs $430. For $70 more, you’ll get the front light, and then the Colorsoft version goes for $630. There are upgrades from last year’s Scribe across the trio, and for this review we’ll be looking mostly at the Colorsoft, which has all of the new features.
Like with previous models of the Scribe, Amazon doesn’t indicate the generation number in the name, simply calling this lineup the “all-new Kindle Scribe,” attaching the word Colorsoft to the edition that renders colors. To avoid confusion, I’ll occasionally be referring to this generation of the device as the Scribe 3, and the version from last year as the Scribe 2.
Editor’s note: As I only received the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft on December 7 due to shipping delays, I won’t be assigning a score to this device until I have had more time to test it. My colleague Valentina Palladino received the new Kindle Scribe a few days before that, and has contributed testing and impressions to this review. It’s also worth noting that some new features, like “Send to Alexa+,” “Story so far” and “Ask this book” aren’t available to test yet. We will update this review with a score after spending more time with it so we can better gauge things like battery life and the usefulness of some software features.
What’s new with the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft
Aside from the obvious, which is that the Colorsoft can now render colors, the latest Kindle Scribes also feature a refined design, improved front light system, updated screen architecture, new quad-core chip, more memory and Oxide display technology. It has a larger 11-inch screen compared to the 10.2-inch display on its predecessor, and still manages to weigh 33 grams less at 400 grams (0.88 pounds). There’s also a revamped Home page that houses a Quick Note for easier access to the writing interface as well as some software and AI tools that aren’t available to test yet.
A lot of the hardware tweaks translated to a snappier, more responsive device overall. In my testing, the Scribe Colorsoft’s AI summarization and handwriting refinements took a bit less time than the Scribe 2, which I attribute most to the processor, but I also noticed improved fluidity in the writing experience.
Drawing on the Scribe Colorsoft brings me right back to my younger days testing out pens at bookstores. Amazon’s stylus feels like a pen with ink that flows more freely and consistently onto the page than others, and between the nib and the texture of the page there is a lack of resistance and overall smoothness that is very satisfying.
Cherlynn Low for Engadget
Amazon said that the Premium Pen that comes with the Scribes has been refined with a thicker and more rounded silhouette. With its latest Oxide display, the Scribe Colorsoft’s screen response rate of 14 milliseconds and the non-Colorsoft Scribe 3’s rates of 12ms are both much higher than the 20-21ms for the Scribe 2. Together, this probably is the main reason that the new Scribe feels more responsive in general, and why writing on it seems so smooth. Although, that new front light system might also be contributing to the overall feeling of freshness.
Speaking of, I put the Scribe 2 and Scribe Colorsoft side by side in my friend’s living room and the difference was stark. When I brought both devices next to the window, under direct sunlight, they both seemed similarly bright, with the typical glare-free finish you’d expect of ereaders. But when I took them into a darkened bedroom, the auto-adjusting panel on the Colorsoft lit up its screen and made it easier to read. Colors popped, and while I felt that there was a slight blue tinge to the light, it wasn’t something I would’ve noticed without a side-by-side comparison. It’s not an issue though because you can also adjust the warmth here like you can on other Kindles.
One of my complaints in my review of the Scribe 2 was the flimsy attachment method of magnets holding the pen to the tablet. While Amazon hasn’t built an onboard slot or holder for the stylus, it did increase the magnetic force on the Scribe 3. This was already noticeable during my hands-on with the device back in October, and in real-world use I appreciated this upgrade in keeping the Premium Pen tightly attached to the Scribe Colorsoft. I would still prefer a more secure approach, since I still do worry about the stylus getting lost in my purse and don’t want to have to buy a case just for this purpose. But it’s a small quibble and my concerns have largely been allayed with the increased magnetism.
Cherlynn Low for Engadget
I still need to test some software features like Send to Alexa+, Ask This Book and Story So Far, but they’re not available yet. I’ve been focusing my testing on the Notebook section and need to spend more time marking up and annotating books to better evaluate that use case. But not much has changed there since Amazon rolled out the collapsible margins in February, and you can read my review of the Scribe 2 for my impressions there.
The new home page and AI-powered Notebook search
At the moment, I can speak to one of the new features: AI-powered Notebook search. The Search bar at the top of the Scribe can now answer questions about the contents of all your Notebooks (and books). At the time of the Scribe’s announcement, I thought this would be helpful in pulling together all the tasks I’d assigned to specific team members across the to-do lists I drew up for various events.
When I asked the Scribe “what tasks have I assigned Sam,” its results page showed six categories, pulling information from my library, notebooks, the Kindle Store, the Audible Store, Goodreads and text within books. Only the second one had any findings. Under “Results in your notebooks,” there was a label “AI-powered insights” followed by a header “Sam’s Assigned Tasks.” Below that was a bulleted list, which I’ll transcribe and include an image of here:
Add content to CES sheet
Handle KPBP company set
Track Samsung mobile developments
Handle OnePlus 13
Review device during CES
Attend meetings with: - Dell & ASUS on Thursday, MSI, Razer, HP, Lenovo, Potentially Sony Ateela
Work on Sam Qi 2
Best-Sam host responsibilities
Cherlynn Low for Engadget
I quickly realized that I’d need to fine-tune my requests to get results that made more sense, since random tasks divorced from their parent documents made little sense without context. Thankfully, there was a button below the results that prompted me to “Ask Notebooks” about “these insights, or ask something else.” However, tapping that only brought me to a different page showing the same list but with a new section to see the notes they were sourced from.
I’ll also point out that this list of tasks for Sam was not the same result I got from a query about “where do I mention Sam?” In addition to the two to-do lists that I created in December 2023 and January of this year, the Scribe told me “Sam appears on a Christmas shopping list as one of the checked-off friends.”
That’s fairly impressive, since that list did have Sam under a handwritten header “Friends,” as opposed to other pages titled “Gym” or “Neighbors.” But it appeared to only be able to determine that Sam’s name was checked off thanks to the template I used for the notebook. Other check marks I made outside the predefined boxes in that background weren’t deemed as checks and instead misrecognized as dashes. So later when I asked where my friend Michelle appeared in all my notebooks, the Scribe noted an entry for “Michelle-scart” in a different holiday shopping page.
Retrying the same question did yield more accurate results, though, with a subsequent search correctly stating “Michelle appears in a list with ‘scarf’ noted next to her name.” And whether it’s my overly messy handwriting to blame or Amazon’s technological deficiencies, there were still some words or sentences that it misidentified, like “Michelle-callin” instead of “Michelle — Callie.”
So far, the AI-powered Search feels like a hit-or-miss update. Sometimes, like when I took the bait and asked the questions it suggested, I would get shockingly accurate answers. “Try asking ‘which Ariana song is mentioned in the list,’” the Scribe prompted. Or “When is the HOA meeting occurring?” For the former, it told me that the song “Bang Bang” was on a list of karaoke songs, while the latter simply told me the date and time it had found in a note titled “Appointments Dec 2022.” I’ll need more time to think of better ways to use this feature, but for now I can’t decide if it’s actually helpful without some extra work.
Cherlynn Low for Engadget
I already spent some time testing the Summarize and Refine tools introduced in the last Kindle Scribe, so I’ll just say that refining the handwriting of a to-do list on the Scribe Colorsoft was largely the same as before, just a tad faster. I didn’t really use either AI tool in the year since I reviewed the Scribe 2, so I was right last year in thinking I wouldn’t find much use for them in daily practice.
What I thought would be more practical is the redesigned Home screen and the Quick Note that takes up the top left corner of this page. Again, I’d need to spend much more time to understand how I’d navigate the device over weeks and months, but for the most part I find it easy to just hop in and out of notes I want without first going to the Home section. I’d prefer a hardware shortcut like Montblanc offers in its Digital Paper writing tablet. On that device, you can program the buttons on the pen so that a double click starts a new note, adds a blank page or brings you back home.
While you can customize the button on Amazon’s Premium Pen, your options are limited to switching between tools like the highlighter, pen, shader or eraser for use while you’re writing. (And yes, like before, you can still use the top of the Premium Pen to erase content — no need to push any button.)
One last thing to note about the home page (for now) is that seeing the rows of book covers in color is a delight, and though it’s not something that impacts the function of the device, it certainly adds a layer of visual pleasure.
How does the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft compare to the competition?
One of the Scribe Colorsoft’s main competitors is the reMarkable Paper Pro. The latter has a larger 11.8-inch screen and, correspondingly, weighs a lot more at 525 grams (1.16 pounds). Though I prefer the sharp lines of the reMarkable to the rounded edges and corners of the Scribe, I find the Kindle’s size much more manageable, especially when I’m writing for more than five minutes.
Importantly, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft simply has a better screen than the reMarkable. It delivers brighter, more saturated colors, and supports more hues, too. Plus, when I placed them next to each other, the Paper Pro seemed to have a yellow cast and a dimmer screen overall (even at maximum brightness). And when I use the highlight function on each, the reMarkable device “flashes” — meaning you have to give it a second for the color to appear in its final form after you put the stylus to the screen. Meanwhile, the color that shows up on the Colorsoft’s panel as soon as you write on it doesn’t change — no flashing takes place.
Cherlynn Low for Engadget
The Scribe’s other strengths are its superior performance and Amazon’s ecosystem of books (for those like me who already have large Kindle libraries, anyway). Though it does offer AI features that reMarkable doesn’t, I’m generally leery of those tools, and, as already detailed in this review, they don’t usually help me.
However, the reMarkable remains the winner when it comes to writing software. It’s way more versatile than Amazon in this respect, especially with its ability to have handwritten and typed text coexist within the same document. You can also edit a note from reMarkable’s app on your phone, typing in any last-minute additions to your shopping list and bolding, italicizing or formatting them if you like. And if you’re a power user, getting your favorite ebooks onto the reMarkable tablet isn’t too difficult, provided you have the EPUB files. The main problem for me here is that you'll need to pay $3 a month for its Connect subscription to continue having access to a lot of these features.
I’ll also shout out companies like Kobo and Boox, who also make color-rendering ereaders that you can write on. Boox’s Note Air 5c starts at $530 and includes the stylus and a magnetic case for that price. It supports apps via the Google Play Store, but, as our deputy editor Valentina Palladino cautions, isn’t the most beginner-friendly product. Kobo, on the other hand, makes color ereaders like the Libra Color. Although it does support stylus input, it is much smaller with its 7-inch display.
And for those who aren’t too fussed about color, there are plenty of black-and-white E Ink writing tablets, including the $905 Montblanc Digital Paper, which I’ve been testing for a few weeks. I’m finishing up my review but that one is clearly a luxury product targeted at a much more niche audience than the already limited target market for this category of devices. If your budget is tight, I’d recommend skipping the Colorsoft model unless it’s crucial to your process. $500 is a much easier price to stomach.
Who should get the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft?
I hesitate to recommend anyone buy anything before I’ve had enough time to assign a score, since things like battery life take longer to evaluate. And while I continue to test the device to get a better sense for its battery life, I’ve already noticed that like the Scribes before it, this version doesn’t last as long as other Kindles. Amazon promises weeks of reading and writing per charge, which could be anything between two and ten (or more) weeks.
In my experience so far, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft dropped about 20 percent in two days, which, mathematically, means it would struggle to even last a week, not to mention multiple weeks. But because the Scribe 2 showed similar battery drain during my review (with heavier use) and manages to stay charged for at least a month when I’m not testing it all day every day, I’m willing to believe Amazon’s promise of greater runtime.
Aside from my reservations about battery life, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is a competent device that delivers on most of its promises so far. The biggest knock against it is its price. At $500 for the monochrome model and $630 for color, this is one Amazon product that can be more expensive than the competition.
But it’s not without its strengths. I’d think of the Kindle Scribe 3 (and Colorsoft) as an E Ink tablet that is more of a notebook than a portal for textbooks you can mark up, with a robust library of Kindle titles to boot. The AI features are not crucial to the experience, but they also stay out of the way. For those looking for a more sophisticated and versatile writing tablet that is less of a book replacement, the reMarkable Paper Pro is the superior device. And for people who don’t mind the notifications, apps and alerts that these purpose-driven tablets keep from distracting you, there’s always the option of buying an iPad or an Android tablet with a stylus. Just install minimal apps or block all notifications, and you might even save hundreds of dollars in the process.
Cherlynn Low for Engadget
Wrap-up
I hate to admit it, but Amazon’s devices and services chief Panos Panay was right in calling the Kindle Scribe a 2-in-1. But the two functions it serves are very specific. I think of the Scribe devices as Kindles first and foremost. That means they’re ereaders, capable of substituting stacks of books thanks to their digital libraries and eye-friendly screens. The second role the Scribe plays well is that of a notebook substitute. It is a place to hold endless slips of digital paper, and its search function can competently help you find what you jotted down in a random note years ago.
But Amazon has not yet found a way to deliver on features like annotating and marking up ebooks that feels like pen-and-paper. Trying to mark up a digital textbook on the Scribe still feels unintuitive, involving virtual sticky notes, collapsible margins and inserting boxes within lines of text. And you won’t be able to easily edit your notes if you’re away from your Scribe, unlike how you can on a reMarkable product.
So the Kindle Scribe 3 is not a three- or four-in-one. I don’t have a problem with that, especially without the extra cost that comes with the color capabilities. While the Colorsoft model is superior to the competition at the moment, it also comes at a premium. If you’re looking for the best color E Ink writing tablet available and are willing to splurge, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is worth consideration.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/tablets/kindle-scribe-colorsoft-review-a-very-particular-set-of-skills-for-a-price-140014961.html?src=rss
As a refresher, this is the third generation of the Kindle Scribe line of E Ink writing tablets. This year was the first time Amazon made three different versions of the Scribe, turning it into a series of products. At the entry-level, the Scribe without a front light will start at $430, while the model with a front light starts at $480. The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, which, as it name suggests, can render colors, will start at $630.
All three flavors will feature the updated hardware and design that’s a bit more symmetrical than previous generations, which had a thicker bezel on one side. They’re also thinner than older Scribes and come with redesigned Kindle software that can help make note-taking a bit more efficient. Based on my hands-on with the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, it also seemed to render colors more vividly than competing devices like the reMarkable Paper Pro, though I’ll definitely need to get a review unit in for better comparison.
For now, check out our hands on of the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft and review of the reMarkable Paper Pro and even of the last-gen Kindle Scribe to see if this is something you might want. While December 10 is cutting it pretty close to the holiday gifting season, it’s still weeks ahead of Christmas, so it might still be worth keeping an eye on.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/amazons-kindle-scribe-colorsoft-finally-has-a-release-date-december-10-170000910.html?src=rss
Caring for yourself can be as simple as sitting down to do a breathing exercise or curling up under a weighted blanket. Or it can be getting a massage, going for a workout or dressing up for a fancy dinner. There are plenty of things you could get for someone that not only shows how much you care about them, but also remind them that it’s worthwhile to take time for themselves. And while there’s nothing wrong with an aromatherapy candle, it’s more fun to go beyond the obvious choices and look at what tech products could help your loved ones feel their best. Our picks include things like styling gadgets and grooming devices, but also less techy options like a hair turban and face masks.
It’s worth calling out that these beauty tech and personal care suggestions are highly personal, so it’s important that you take time to learn about your giftee’s preferences. What type of hair do they have? What are their skincare concerns? What aches and pains have they been feeling lately? Getting just a few more details from them can better inform your holiday shopping and improve your relationships, too.
The Apple Intelligence rollout has been slow, staggered and steady since the company first unveiled its take on AI at WWDC this year. It continues today with the release of the latest developer betas for iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia. The updates in iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2 and macOS Sequoia (15.2) bring long-awaited features like Genmoji, Image Playground, Visual Intelligence and ChatGPT integration for those running the preview software, as well as Image Wand for iPads and more writing tools.
That represents the first time for people who haven't opted into beta software to check out Apple Intelligence, which the company has widely touted as the headline feature for the devices it launched this year. The iPhone 16 series, for example, were billed as phones designed for Apple Intelligence, though they launched without those features.
Now that the next set of tools is ready for developers to test, it seems like we're weeks away from them arriving to the public. For those already on the developer beta, the update will land automatically. As always, a word of caution: If you're not already familiar, beta software is meant for users to test new features and often to check for compatibility or problems. They can be buggy, so always back up your data before installing previews. In this case, you'll also need to have an Apple developer account to get access.
Genmoji is arriving today
Today's updates brings Genmoji, which lets you create custom emoji from your keyboard. You'll go to the emoji keyboard, tap the Genmoji button next to the description or search input field, then enter what you want to create. Apple Intelligence will generate a few options, which you can swipe and select one to send. You'll be able to use them as tapback reactions to other people's messages too. Plus, you can make Genmoji based on pictures of your friends, creating more-accurate Memoji of them. Since these are all presented in emoji style, there won't be the risk of mistaking them for real pictures.
Apple is also releasing a Genmoji API today so third-party messaging apps can read and render Genmoji, and folks you text on WhatsApp or Telegram can see your hot new gym rat emoji.
Other previously announced features like Image Playground and Image Wand are also available today. The former is both a standalone app and something you can access from the Messages app via the Plus button. If you go through Messages, the system will quickly generate some suggestions based on your conversations. You can also type descriptions or select photos from your gallery as a reference, and the system will serve up an image which you can then tweak. To prevent confusion, only some art styles are available: Animation or Illustration. You won't be able to render photorealistic pictures of people.
Image Wand will also be arriving today as an update to the Apple Pencil tool palette, helping to turn your cruddy sketches into more-polished works of art.
ChatGPT integration for Siri and Writing Tools
As announced at WWDC, Apple is bringing ChatGPT to Siri and Writing Tools, and each time your request might be well-served by OpenAI's tools, the system will suggest heading there. For example, if you ask Siri to generate an itinerary, a workout routine or even a meal plan, the assistant might say it needs to use ChatGPT to do so and ask for your permission. You can choose to have the system ask you each time it goes to GPT or surface these requests less often.
It's worth reiterating that you don't need a ChatGPT account to use these tools, and Apple has its own agreement with OpenAI so that when you use the latter's services, your data like your IP address won't be stored or used to train models. However, if you do connect your ChatGPT account, your content will be covered by OpenAI's policies.
Elsewhere, Apple Intelligence will also show that you can compose with ChatGPT within Writing Tools, which is where you'll find things like Rewrite, Summarize and Proofread. It's also another area that's getting an update with the developer beta — a new tool called "Describe your change." This is basically a command bar that lets you tell Apple exactly what it is you want to do to your writing. "Make it sound more enthusiastic," for example, or "Check this for grammar errors." Basically, it'll make getting the AI to edit your work a bit easier, since you won't have to go to the individual sections for Proofread or Summarize, for example. You can also get it to do things lke "Turn this into a poem."
Visual Intelligence cometh for iPhone 16 owners
Finally, if you have an iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro and are running the developer beta, you'll be able to try out Visual Intelligence. That lets you point your camera at things around you and get answers for things like math problems in your textbook or the menu of a restaurant you pass on your commute. It can tap third-party services like Google and ChatGPT, too.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/apple-intelligence-expands-in-ios-182-developer-beta-adding-genmoji-visual-intelligence-and-chatgpt-170920932.html?src=rss
It’s a slower October than usual in the tech industry, thanks mostly to Google and Microsoft having held their typical fall hardware announcements earlier this year. Still, we’ve seen a fair number of companies reveal new devices in the last two weeks, while Amazon’s October Prime Day raged on. Whether you were busy shopping or watching Elon Musk talk up robotaxis and cybervans, the Engadget team continued to review recently (and not-so-recently) launched products. As usual, this bi-weekly roundup is here to help you catch up, though because I missed last week's edition (as I was out on time off), the cadence is just a bit off.
From Meta’s Quest 3S VR headset and the DJI Air 3S drone, to Sony’s midrange suite of audio gear, these weeks have coincidentally been about the less premium, more affordable “un-flagships,” if you will. And it turns out you don’t have to throw chunks of your retirement savings at companies to get solid devices that are well worth the money.
Meta Quest 3S review: Impressive VR for $300
by Devindra Hardawar
The Quest is arguably the industry's leading VR headset for consumers, especially considering it costs a fraction of alternative options while offering a relatively high-quality immersive experience. Unlike the Apple Vision Pro, which costs $3,500, the new Quest 3S is much more palatable at $300. And, as Devindra observes in his review, it's comfortable, fast and allows wearers to access Meta's large library of VR apps and content. To quote Devindra, "It’s not Meta’s first $300 VR headset, but it’s still a tremendous accomplishment."
Sony LinkBuds Fit and LinkBuds Open and Bose QuietComfort Earbuds reviews
by Billy Steele
The main thing I learned from Billy's recent reviews of Sony and Bose headphones is that flagship, premium-level noise cancelation is making its way down to the midrange products. And I, for one, am happy about it. Looks like most of the things you'll miss if you opt to save some money are features like spatial audio, head-tracking and stuff that's supposed to be make for a more immersive, intuitive listening experience. Personally, I'm okay missing out on those things for now — I really just want decent sound, good voice quality and competent reduction of background noise.
Definitely check out Billy's review of Sony's LinkBuds trio of devices even if you're not in the market for headphones, because he put his ears through literal pain to test the strangely designed earbuds for us. In fact, a rejected headline for the review was "Why am I in pain?" We salute you, Billy.
DJI Neo and DJI Air 3S reviews
by Steve Dent
Continuing in the trend of excellent products that cost less than usual, the DJI Neo is an excellent drone for just $200. Calling it the best $200 drone ever made may sound hyperbolic, but we truly can't think of any other drone that cost the same that came close to delivering similar performance as the Neo. And though one of its main drawbacks, according to our reviewer Steve, is that it sounds like a banshee, I honestly think that would be a pro for me just for the pure comedy of it all. I never thought I'd be in the market for a banshee-sounding drone but here I am thinking $200 would be a fair price to pay for the aerial videos I could get, and I could easily lay upbeat, operatic singing over the footage anyway.
On the other end of the spectrum, Steve's also tested the higher-end DJI Air 3S drone and Canon's EOS R5 II, both of which will cost you a lot more money. The good news is that Canon's EOS R5 II is now so much improved that it better takes on Sony's rival offerings, while bringing intriguing features like eye-control autofocus. Sure, it's still too early to be reliable. But if you have the money for these premium products, you'll get to experience bleeding-edge tech, maybe part of the appeal is that they may not always work well.
reMarkable Paper Pro review
by Dan Cooper
I know Dan was a bit worried about giving a device as niche as the reMarkable Paper Pro such a high score, but after some discussion, we both agreed it fit. As it stands, the reMarkable Paper Pro is arguably the best e-paper writing tablet with a color screen, even after this week's announcement of Amazon's first color Kindle. Per Dan's review, the Paper Pro not only levels up with the addition of color, but also got much faster and reliable in the process.
I particularly enjoy how much care has been taken to more seamlessly blend handwriting and typed text for a more natural note-taking and annotating experience. And though it falls outside this edition's general theme of being a less-expensive product with premium specs, I'm still incredibly tempted to find ways to cough up the $600 or so needed to bag myself a Paper Pro with the accessories Dan recommends.
Phoenix Springs and Neva reviews
by Jessica Conditt
I'm not the most engaged gamer, but I love learning about games from Jess. She recently reviewed sci-fi mystery Phoenix Springs and dreamy platformer Neva, with pieces written so beautifully that I can't help but itch to check out each title so I can feel the way she clearly does about them. Phoenix Springs even follows a technology reporter and covers my favorite genres (science fiction and mystery), while Neva's art looks simply gorgeous. I don't yet know if I'll ever find the time to play new games, but these two have certainly been added to my list.
Upcoming reviews: On the horizon
The Engadget team geeks out about a multitude of things, and as we get started on our holiday gift guide writing, we're thinking about products we like for ourselves and our loved ones. Many of us love e-readers and writing tablets. I certainly have my eye on one of the new Kindles that were announced this week, particularly the new Kindle Scribe and possibly the Colorsoft. Those won't be available until later this year, so for now I'll keep hungrily eyeing the reMarkable Paper Pro. I'll also be wondering what Amazon hardware chief Panos Panay has up his sleeves, other than cans of Diet Coke — something I learned he (like many people) enjoys when I got the chance to speak with him in an interview this week.
Many of us are millennials and have gigantic soft spots for retro gaming. Our executive editor Aaron Souppouris talked to the folks at Analogue, and you can read his beautifully constructed piece to learn more about the upcoming Analogue 3D.
This week, Apple sort of surprised us by announcing the new iPad mini, which has been tweaked to offer more storage and power with an A17 Pro processor. It'll also support Apple Intelligence, of course, and though it seems like a minor update, some of my coworkers and I still love the idea of a small tablet. If only it had a better screen.
All of those recently announced things are on our review roster, alongside things like the Google TV Streamer and Samsung Galaxy S24 FE that launched in the last few weeks. As we approach November and all the holiday shopping that brings, hopefully the hardware launches properly slow down. We're still anticipating an Apple event for Macs, and can still remember being surprised by the announcement of Humane's AI Pin late last year. But for now, we're chugging along while occasionally bathing in nostalgia and longing for a simpler time.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/engadget-review-recap-budget-friendly-gadgets-that-are-good-140033873.html?src=rss
Panos Panay has a Diet Coke problem. It’s a topic that quickly came up when I walked into the small interview room, after he offered me a choice of beverages and I said my partner has a similar addiction. After a quick conversation on the advantages of drinking plain water over diet colas, I knew his wife, like me, advocates for less soda, but I still knew nothing of how much the man actually consumed a day.
The room was drenched in sunlight, with various neutral and pastel pink couches and armchairs laid out in a vague semicircle facing an unassuming elevated platform. Around the stage were neatly planted assorted greenery with lavender and what looked like baby’s breath lending a general softness to the scene.
There was a leather stool on the stage that looked just big enough to perch on but not comfortable enough to actually rest, and next to it was a smaller wooden end table where a solo water bottle sat. Panay did not once sit during his 38-minute presentation. Clad in a black collared shirt, black jacket, black jeans and black shoes with a brown trim, Panay brought his typical sentimental delivery to the Kindle launch event.
As usual, he didn’t shy away from mentioning his family, showing a carefully taken picture of his daughter Bella reading a Kindle on a couch. He called out members of the media by name, saying hello to Lance Ulanoff in the front row and asking David Pierce if he could hear. At one point, he walked over to the middle row to hand a new Kindle off to tech Youtuber Jacklyn Dallas, asking her to tap repeatedly on the screen to scroll through pages and see for herself how much faster he believed it was.
Amazon
I say all this to impress on you that the Panos experience is one that’s inviting, engaging and can even lull you into feeling so charmed that you might overlook the fact that he repeatedly calls the Kindle Scribe a 2-in-1. It was certainly enough to give me more patience than I normally would have for a tech leader that had spent almost a third of his presentation talking about the Kindle’s history and where it fits into people’s lives. Instead of thinking “get on with it, I want to hear about the new devices without all this preamble,” I simply laughed at the jokes, made eye contact and related to the personal anecdotes. And though I knew we were past the 38 minutes he had promised the speech would last, I didn’t mind that he was still talking.
I was able to question him about 2-in-1s when we sat down to talk, though. The term brings to my mind the image of Surface tablets and iPads, not to mention the Surface Duo and Surface Neo that Panay launched at a remarkably similar Microsoft event years ago. Kindles? Not so much. But according to Panay, the Kindle Scribe “does two things, and it does it remarkably well. Turns out, it only does two things.”
People want to read on their Kindles, but they also want to write in books. “Both experiences have to stand on their own in a great way,” he added. “You can buy this device for writing, or you can buy this device for reading and then you can bridge it.”
But if a device tries to be too much, it might get too complicated. When I asked what was next for the Kindle Scribe and what challenges it faces, Panay said “You’ve got to be careful not to make it a Swiss army knife. That’s probably the biggest challenge — what it’s not gonna be.”
Panay explained that “at Amazon, the focus on the customers is off the charts,” saying the team talks to users, reads reviews and studies how people use their products to better understand needs. “Fundamentally, for this team, [it’s to] know what the customer needs, be passionate, make sure you deliver it.”
“Let’s not try and reinvent things that people don’t need reinvented.”
The approach Panay has brought over to Amazon is one that considers his history at Microsoft (and his entire life). He never explicitly mentions this, but I cannot help wondering if he’s learned anything from that company announcing the Surface Neo dual-screen laptop and not actually releasing it.
Panay also said that in getting to understand customers’ needs, Amazon also has to try to predict what they might want. “You also have to understand where the technology is headed and you have to have roadmaps,” he said. “You have to have invention and creation that sets you up for where it’s headed, so when people land, they have the next thing they need and hopefully it was your product that got them there.”
“Let’s not try and reinvent things that people don’t need reinvented.”Panos Panay
That desire to predict trends makes me nervous, especially at a time when every major company is rushing to stuff generative AI features into their products. How should companies like Amazon resist the urge to jump on bandwagons and avoid making products that ultimately are the result of useless hype? To Panay, the answer is patience.
“Patience is everything,” he said. “What is the right thing for the product at the right time? How is it useful? How is it elegant?” He acknowledged that “we’re at a time where AI for sure is transformational. This is not a fad.” There are things AI can bring to the Kindle Scribe and other products that could elevate them. But “making it useful for everyone is important to me, and making it simple.”
There are just two AI-based notebook features for the Kindle Scribe, and they basically read your scribbles and convert them to something more legible and digestible. They’re not groundbreaking concepts — I’ve seen at least 5 different companies launch summarization tools in the last year. But Panay made it clear through personal anecdotes on stage that these are important to him and his staff. He doesn’t want to let people see his handwritten notes, but he will let them see the version tidied up by AI. Whether the rest of the world’s Kindle users will find these helpful, I’m less certain.
For now, Panay wants to perfect the Kindle Scribe experience. “You can never make anything perfect, I’m never satisfied. But it’s so close right now… to feeling like paper, to feeling like an eraser, to feeling like you’re writing, to no distractions in your way.” He called it his favorite child during the presentation (but later saying that he felt guilty doing that).
There are plenty of other children in the Amazon hardware family that Panay oversees. He’s not only in charge of the four Kindles launched today, including the new color ereader called the Colorsoft, but the company’s smart home, robotaxi, satellite, consumer robots and Alexa products, as well as Fire TVs and tablets, too.
“It's an eclectic group of products at some level, but it's actually quite a connected one at the same time.” There’s also stuff that Panay couldn’t yet talk about on the record, but he said there’s “so much magic yet to be shared with the world.” In a more realistic manner of speaking, it’s about seeing these things “connected in a way that can make a difference for people’s lives every day in their homes and outside of the home.”
Cherlynn Low for Engadget
There are other ways the Kindle Scribe could evolve that wouldn’t be a stretch of the imagination, either. The most obvious is getting a color display, and Panay agreed “it’s not a stretch at all, probably” before going on to say he can’t discuss future roadmaps. But I can certainly speculate.
While it’s interesting to see Amazon come up with a whole new name for the Colorsoft, indicating that it’ll perhaps be a separate product line, it would make sense for the Colorsoft to be a one-off and for the color panels to get integrated into other existing Kindles in future.
Another potential technological change to Kindles is making them foldable. To that end, Panay simply said “It’s an interesting concept.” When I pointed out that he’s no stranger to folding devices, he acknowledged “I’m definitely not,” before adding that “we have a ton of concepts in the lab.”
Crucially, though, he reiterates he doesn't “want to create tech for the sake of creating tech.” If the idea is right, Panay is open to considering it. “But right now, keeping it simple is where we’re at.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/panos-panay-on-launching-his-first-products-since-moving-to-amazon-163024504.html?src=rss
Seventeen years is an odd anniversary to call out. But at an event launching four new Kindles, Amazon’s head of devices and services Panos Panay reminded a group of media that “Kindle is 17 years in the making, almost to the day.” Panay added that the device is currently seeing its highest sales numbers, and that 20.8 billion pages are read each month on a Kindle. But people aren’t just reading on Kindles. Since the introduction of the Kindle Scribe in 2022, there has been even more development in e-paper writing tablets, with a notable recent product in the reMarkable Paper Pro. While that $580 device supports a color writing experience, Amazon’s Kindle Scribe still only works in black and white. But it might offer enough by way of software updates to make up for its monochrome manner.
Plus, being able to write on what’s already a popular ereader makes that book-like experience even more realistic, and the Kindle Scribe represents what Panay called the “fastest growing category” of Kindles. You could almost call it a 2-in-1, since it’s an ereader and writing tablet at once. “I have a lot of passion around 2-in-1s,” Panay said at his presentation, and he used that term repeatedly to describe the Kindle Scribe. I haven’t thought about it that way, but I was less worried about semantics and more about how the Kindle Scribe and its new features felt at a hand-on session yesterday.
I’m the sort of person that needs to physically write out something while I plan a project. Whether it’s lofty goals to get my life together or draft up a strategy for covering certain software releases at work, my hands grasp at the air for an imaginary pen and paper. For that reason, the Kindle Scribe and other writing tablets call out to me. I reviewed the original Kindle Scribe almost two years ago and since then Amazon has slowly expanded the feature set and made the device more useful.
With the original Scribe, Amazon got a lot of the basics right. The latency and smoothness of the writing experience were close to feeling like pen and paper, and the device felt sturdy and slick. The new Scribe felt very similar in that sense, with little noticeable difference in the way the stylus interacted with the screen, and I didn’t encounter any jarring lag in the brief time I had with it.
Where the Scribe left me wanting more was software, and that’s also the area Amazon appears to have focused on this year. Don’t get me wrong — it’s not like the company didn’t tweak the hardware. There are some refinements like new white borders, a smaller grip, different color options and an updated stylus with a soft-tip top that feels more like a conventional eraser.
Cherlynn Low for Engadget
But inside the device lie the more intriguing changes. Most significant in my opinion is the new Active Canvas. It directly addresses one of my biggest complaints in my review, which is that the writing experience within books and publications was a little wonky.
To quote myself, this was what I said in 2022: “You can also take down notes when you’re reading an e-book. But it’s not like you can scribble directly onto the words of your e-books. You can use the floating toolbox to create a sticky note, then draw within a designated rectangle. When you close the sticky note, a small symbol appears over the word it was attached to, but otherwise, your scribbles are hidden. No annotating in the margins here.”
All of that has changed with the new Kindle Scribe. When you’re in an e-book, you can now just start writing on the page, and a box will appear, containing your scribbles. You no longer need to first find the floating toolbox and select the sticky note tool. Just write. It’s so much simpler, and in the Kindle Scribe I played with it worked almost instantly. Not only is the box embedded within the text, with the book’s words rearranging and flowing to accommodate it, but you can also resize the rectangle to take up however much space you like. The rest of the page will reflow to make room as necessary. I was particularly impressed by how quickly this happened on the demo unit — it was more responsive than switching between notebooks on my existing Scribe.
Plus, the box containing your note will stay in place instead of being hidden and replaced by a small symbol. It’s clear that Amazon’s earlier implementation was a rudimentary workaround to allow people to write on fixed format media, whereas the new approach is more deeply integrated and thought out.
And unlike what I said two years ago, you can now annotate in a new collapsible margin. Tapping the top right corner brings up options to pull up the column, and you can choose from having it take up about a quarter of the width or spread out to about three quarters. Content in the margin will be scrollable, so you theoretically won’t run out of space.
Cherlynn Low for Engadget
Now, this isn’t a perfect replica of annotating on a real textbook, but it might be better since you won’t have to scrawl all around the borders or write upside down just to squeeze in your thoughts. I’m not sure yet, as I really need to spend more time with it to know, but I like that Amazon clearly has taken in feedback and thought about how to add these requested features.
The company also added the ability to use the Pen and directly highlight or underline within those books, and pretty much any Kindle title will support most of these features. They’d have to be content that allows for font resizing, to start, so things like PDFs, which are fixed, won’t work with the Active Canvas. Word documents are compatible as well.
I spend more time writing in blank notebooks than in actual books, and for those scenarios, Amazon is using generative AI in two new tools: Summarization and Refined Writing. The former is pretty straightforward. If you’ve handwritten 10 pages worth of brainstorming meeting notes, the system can scan all of it and collate just the highlights. You can have this be added as a page to the existing notebook as a summary, or save it as a separate document on its own.
Refined Writing, meanwhile, is like Apple’s Handwriting Assist on iPadOS 18 but on a larger scale. While Apple’s software feels like it’s about nipping and tucking stray words that are out of alignment, Amazon’s takes your entire handwritten page and converts it into text in a script-like font. This works best if you tend to write in a single column with clear indentations and paragraphs. I tend to draw random boxes all over the place for breakout thoughts, and the system will not perfectly replicate that. For example, a two-column shopping list I quickly drafted on a demo Scribe was merged into one, and the checkboxes I drew were interpreted as capital letter Ds that were inserted at the start of every bullet.
Amazon
It might not seem immediately useful, but if you’re the sort of person that’s shy about their handwriting, this could save you some shame. More importantly, it can make you writing more legible in case you need to share, say, your screenplay treatment with a production partner. Or if your scrawled shopping list just isn’t making sense to your partner. I also like that even after you’ve converted your notes into text, you can still erase them using the top of the pen and make edits. You’ll have to run Refined Writing again to regenerate a neatly formatted page. Oh, and I appreciate the flexibility you get here. You’ll have a few fonts and sizes to choose from, and can select the pages you want to reformat or have the entire book done up altogether.
None of the notebook features are destructive, meaning you’ll usually be able to retain your original written content and save the generated material as addendums. The AI work is done in the cloud, with your data being encrypted throughout the process. The Kindle Scribe also displays an animated page showing it’s busy with the generative AI task, which in my experience so far took at least 10 seconds. It might be different on the original Kindle Scribe, which will also be getting these software features either later this year or, in the case of the expandable margins, in early 2025 when it arrives on the new Kindle Scribe.
In its 17 years, the Kindle has done a lot to disrupt physical books, and since the introduction of the Scribe, it’s been poised to do the same for notebooks. As someone who’s relished being able to carry around the equivalent of a thousand books in a super thin device, the idea of replacing a bunch of notebooks with a Scribe is immensely intriguing. Amazon does find itself up against some stiff competition from reMarkable and Boox, but it has its sheer size and the power of its Kindle library in its favor. The Kindle Scribe will be available in December for a starting price of $400, and I hope to have a review unit in soon enough to see if I love or hate the new annotation and AI features.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/tablets/kindle-scribe-hands-on-you-can-scribble-on-your-books-130043335.html?src=rss
