Try the $35 Button Before Replacing the Kindle

After testing Amazon’s new Kindles, Wired recommends a smaller purchase for people who already own a compatible reader: the $35 Kindle Click. Amazon’s handheld Bluetooth remote works with the 2024 and 2026 Kindle generations, according to the review. It turns pages, scrolls the screen, and adjusts brightness without requiring the reader to tap the Kindle itself.

Check the exact Kindle model before spending anything. Wired describes support for those two generations, not every Kindle with years of service left. For a compatible device, the useful question is specific: does reaching for the screen interrupt reading? If the screen itself remains satisfactory, replacing the entire reader is a much larger answer than the complaint requires. The upgrade department may have to settle for a button.

Match the purchase to the inconvenience

Wired’s reviewer found the Click much better than the third-party page-turners previously used. Those designs often required a remote plus a separately charged clip that could obscure part of the screen. The Click removes that clip from the arrangement. Its two large front buttons handle page turns, and two smaller side buttons adjust brightness. The reviewer found the brightness control unexpectedly useful, but noted that the page-button layout initially felt unintuitive.

The benefit depends on where the Kindle sits. Wired suggests pairing the remote with a Kindle holder or a repurposed tablet holder; holding both reader and remote may defeat the convenience. If you already use a stand, the Click fits an existing routine. If you would need to buy a holder, include that additional purchase in the comparison. The remote charges through USB-C, so the simpler setup still leaves another device to charge. The supplied excerpt does not establish runtime.

Keeping a familiar reader can be a practical benefit without becoming a statement against new technology. You retain the screen and setup that already work while changing one interaction. But the Click does not establish a remedy for dissatisfaction with the screen, damaged hardware, or another limitation unrelated to remote controls. Nor does the reviewer’s personal comfort experience guarantee the same result for every reader.

If a compatible Kindle still does its job and remote page turns solve the actual inconvenience, try the $35 accessory before replacing the reader. If tapping the screen does not bother you, skip the accessory, too. If the problem lies elsewhere, compare replacement devices against that problem rather than treating either a button or a new screen as an automatic improvement.