This is literally a 6-inch Paperwhite, and the new pricing makes the Basic cost what the Paperwhite used to. You can't tell me this thing shouldn't have waterproofing and warm lighting. Unless Amazon gets greedy and holds those two features back, the standard Paperwhite is officially dead—otherwise, you're paying $50 more just for a slightly bigger screen (which isn't even a big deal) and a bulkier device that's harder to carry around. So...

* **Path 1:** The Kindle Basic gets all the old Paperwhite perks at the starting price, making it the default Kindle to buy. The Paperwhite is discontinued (though the Colorsoft sticks around, BTW 🙄).
* **Path 2:** The Kindle Basic keeps the 11th Gen's limitations at the entry price, but Amazon releases a "Basic Signature Edition" with the old Paperwhite perks (waterproofing and warm light). The Paperwhite line is discontinued, and the Colorsoft gets re-released in a 6-inch size.
* **Path 3:** The Basic takes over the old Paperwhite features at the starting price, while the Paperwhite gets a major redesign: a new 7.5-inch display with an asymmetric Oasis-style layout and physical page-turn buttons on one side. It stays plastic—so it’s not a premium Oasis, but close enough—and adds stylus support (sold separately). That’s the big game-changer.   So you have the 6.0-inch Basic (the old Paperwhite) and the 7.5-inch Paperwhite (basically a modern Oasis with stylus support, which might also get a Colorsoft variant).
* **Path 4:** A mix of Paths 2 and 3. You get the redesigned, larger Paperwhite, but you can also pay extra for a Basic Signature Edition if you want waterproofing and warm light without being forced into a screen size you don't like.

I honestly hope Path 3 happens—I would buy that upgraded Paperwhite in a heartbeat. Even though I bought a 12th Gen Paperwhite this year, I miss physical buttons way too much.

Will paperwhites disappear with the new basic 12th? What does going to turn if it doesn't?