Amazon debuts the new, waterproof Kindle Paperwhite

Amazon today updated its Paperwhite Kindle with several much-needed features — not the least of which is that it’ll now survive a dip in the pool.

The new Paperwhite has a flush-front screen and twice the amount of storage as its previous iteration, coming in 8 GB at a minimum and 32 GB if you need even more room. It’s also thinner and lighter, at 182 grams and 8.18 mm thick. For comparison, the previous version came in just over 200 grams and 9 mm.

The display is the same as the old version — six inches, 300 ppi — but it now comes with IPX8 waterproofing, just like the more expensive Kindle Oasis. It can withstand immersion in shallow water for up to 60 minutes, just in case you forget about it after dropping it in the bath.

Amazon also threw in a few perks just in case that wasn’t enough to entice the prospective Kindle owner. For starters, it now has Audible integration. All you have to do is connect your Kindle to a speaker via Bluetooth, and you’re off. It’s also updating the Kindle home page allow users to more easily find new books. Users can also save multiple customized settings — essentially you can have sets consisting of different fonts, orientations, and boldness level and switch between them depending on how you want your profile to look.

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According to Amazon listings, the new Paperwhite comes in a $129.99 8GB model, a $159.99 32 GB model, and a $249.99 32 GB version with free cellular connectivity. All three are available to pre-order today and ship on November 7.

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