I speculated back in March that Amazon might discontinue the 8GB Kindle Paperwhite e-reader. The company has finally done it; the 8GB storage model is no longer available for new purchases in the United States and the United Kingdom. However, the 8GB model is available in some international markets, such as Canada, but the 16GB model is checked by default.
When the 11th generation Amazon Kindle Paperwhite was released in 2021 it had 8GB of internal storage and one year later, Amazon increased the storage to 16GB. Since books, comics, manga and audiobooks are growing, 8GB will not cut it anymore, which is good. When buying a Kindle, there is only a $10 difference between the 8GB and 16GB versions so that it won’t break the bank.
This is not the first time Amazon has discontinued something in recent memory. The Amazon Kindle Oasis was discontinued in the United States and other intentional markets in February. It can no longer be purchased and was removed from the Amazon Kindle Comparison Chart. A handful of units are left in international markets, such as Canada and the United Kingdom, but they will also be gone for good when they are sold out.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
