Amazon Makes Big Change to Popular Product (Users Are Angry)

If you’re a digital native internet user in 2024, chances are you’ve placed an order online.

And if you’ve placed multiple orders, chances are good that at least one of them will end up on Amazon (AMZN) .

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Bonus points if you’re a Prime member.

Amazon’s 200 million Prime members (the number grows every quarter) help propel some of the retailer’s biggest innovations and acquisitions, including the Alexa voice home device, the Ring doorbell security system, the Kindle e-reader, the Fire TV enabler, Fire Tablets, and even the Whole Foods chain.

Buying into Prime gives members access to lots of sales, deals and promotions. (There’s also a chance you shopped on Prime Day last month.)

More retail:

• Ulta’s CEO sounds the alarm on a growing problem
• Lululemon launches the first product of its kind
• Target is introducing a new ’18+’ policy.
• Amazon is launching a brilliant new subscription product

But even if you’re not a Prime member, you can still get some pretty cool benefits without the $140 annual membership fee.

A person putting an Amazon Kindle in a handbag.

Amazon

Amazon’s devices are its forte

In many cases, you don’t need to be a Prime member to enjoy an Amazon device, although it certainly helps.

Its Kindle e-reader, for example, which allows magazine and book lovers to store thousands of publications on a small tablet—without the annoying glare or eye strain associated with regular screens—rarely goes on sale.

But during Amazon’s Prime Days in July, a Kindle Scribe sold for about 30 percent off its original sticker price, and if you ordered it, it probably showed up right at your door the very next day. (A 16GB Scribe, which offers gloss-free text, a paper-like finish, weeks of battery life, and writing capabilities, currently sells for about $340.)

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It’s no wonder Kindles are usually some of Amazon’s best-selling devices; Estimates say the retail giant has sold between 20 and 90 million of them, making them one of Amazon’s best-selling hardware devices.

Latest Kindle update confuses users

Despite their popularity, Kindles are not entirely without their flaws.

Amazon routinely updates its devices, and the latest Kindle update confuses users and upsets a not inconsiderable number of readers who liked things the way they were.

The newest firmware update 5.16.10.0.1, released this summer, changes a few key things about the Kindle interface. Some of these changes include:

• Reading progress: changed font
• Reading progress: updating slower
• Reading progress: May affect margin size and page formatting
• Time: Now reflecting military time (cannot be changed at time of writing)

Some users have even reported that batteries drain faster after the new update.

“The latest 5.16.10.0.1 update has made my 10th gen Paperwhite unplayable,” complained a Reddit user on the Kindle subreddit.

“They made my device that was working perfectly before unbearable! Try to highlight or search for a word and the device registers the touch literally anywhere else. The screen is quite glitchy it goes blank then dark for a few seconds randomly. Yes, refresh the page. is disabled. Everything is delayed.

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“I just want my device back to the way it was a few days ago! Yes, it’s from 2018. But damn, I haven’t felt all 6 years until now,” the user continued. “You’d be sorely mistaken if you thought that would trick me into making a new one.”

“I’m also having issues with my Paperwhite. My books get stuck with an unresponsive screen. Then I have to hold down the power button to restart it,” another user replied.

“This update was awful, I went to read on my basic Kindle this weekend and had to restart it over 10 times since it kept freezing on the cover,” wrote another.

“I’m sure it will be fixed soon. I like the clock and remaining time change but they should make the option bigger or smaller as clearly not everyone likes it,” said one.

“I have a Paperwhite 2021 and I agree, I find the screen so laggy when I try to do anything other than turn the page. The word highlighting is wrong if it registers the tap in the right place and the time remaining in the Chapter is so slow to react that I end up having to go through it multiple times,” said another user.

Amazon has yet to respond to the claims, though when users have complained about the issues, it has issued software updates to fix any outstanding issues.

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