This article was published on June 28, 2016

Amazon’s new feature for Kindle lets you skim past that book that’s too damn long


Amazon’s introducing an update to the Kindle and its apps to bring a new feature that should please readers who like to skim through a book, or can’t withstand the suspense and want to skip over a few pages.

Self-explanatorily named Page Flip, the feature lets readers hold a page they’re currently on and browse through their books to skim forward or return to a portion of the book they want to reference back. Kindle’s Director of Product Management Mike Torres says the feature is designed mostly for non-fiction and photography books which contain a lot of visuals readers may want to browse and see.

When in Page Flip mode, you can also see which pages have bookmarks or notes on them, though you can’t specifically sort to display just those pages. When you’re done skimming, an icon on the lower left or right of the page (depending which direction you skimmed in the book) can take you right back to where you left off.

You can hold a page by simply tapping at the center of the page to flip back or forward. Amazon calls it the digital equivalent of fanning the pages of a book and stopping at something that catches your attention, like a certain paragraph or illustration.

Unbroken - Page Flip 2 (1)

Page Flip also works with Audible so you can browse through the book while the app or Alexa reads the book aloud. It’s a small update that should be fun for Kindle Unlimited users who may want to browse through a book before properly reading the whole thing, or those who hop between chapters a lot. Or if you just don’t really care about those dumb e-mail exchanges between Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey.

The update arrives today for in the latest version of the Kindle app and e-reader software. ComiXology users, hang tight – Amazon says it will consider adding similar features to the app in the future which might be even more tempting for those who can’t help but spoil themselves a few pages ahead when the story gets too intense (ahem, The Walking Dead.)

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