Kindle Hardware Basically Unchanged?

Forbid · 11-23-2020, 09:54 AM

So it's almost black friday and I thought I'd do some research to see if I wanted to upgrade my PW2 from 2013...

Am I crazy or is the only real difference between the 2 and 4 that it has a slightly better screen and double memory and storage?

Is there anyone that has both a 2 and 4 that can let me know if it's any snappier or anything?

I'm honestly shocked that in 7 years they don't seem to have upgraded the processor at all...

pdurrant · 11-23-2020, 09:56 AM

The PW4 is also waterproof.

But yes, that's about it. The underlying screen tech hasn't changed much, if at all, and so a faster processor won't really help - its the speed of the screen technology that's the limiting factor apparently.

Forbid · 11-23-2020, 10:11 AM

Ah, okay. That's really unfortunate then. So is the screen in the Oasis a different screen? Cause I see that it has a dual-core processor.

pdurrant · 11-23-2020, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Forbid

Ah, okay. That's really unfortunate then. So is the screen in the Oasis a different screen? Cause I see that it has a dual-core processor.

It's bigger.

But I don't know if that's enough to make the dual-core processsor worthwhile. Perhaps it is.

NiLuJe · 11-23-2020, 12:13 PM

There have been some rather important updates to how the tech is *driven* though, but that's less noticeable on a Kindle than it is on other brands, because lab126 was always pretty damn good at that to begin with, and, to some extent, FW updates mattered on that front (e.g., FW 5.6.x saw a backport of a few fancy things introduced on the Voyage to all earlier devices running the same SoC).

I say "to some extent", because while some of the changes may be readily taken advantage of by the Kindle framework, some others weren't (or not until much, much later, or even delayed until newer hardware).

c.f., the platform list for a breakdown of the history.

Some of those are definitely a SoC update (most notably Wario, then Zelda/Rex).

TL;DR: For your specific example, yes, there are definite advantages from switching from a PW2 (Wario) to a PW4 (Rex). (And that's coming from someone who used a PW2 for a good long while, and whose daily driver is now a Kobo Forma, which uses the same SoC as a PW4).

As far as the Oasis 2/3 (Zelda) is concerned, I can't really say how much the dual-core helps, as I've never used one myself, but what I can say is that, from the few platforms I'm familiar with (Kindle/Kobo, to a lesser extent PB/rM), the Kindle is by and large the one where a fancier CPU would make the most difference, given how the framework is built (highly modular, a metric shitton of running threads). But it'd mostly matter in non-critical use-cases, though. Reading? Eh, not so much, it's already pretty damn fast on Kindle.

barryem · 11-23-2020, 06:59 PM

I have a Paperwhite 4 and a Paperwhite 3 and I used to have a Paperwhite 2 that I gave to a friend. I find that I like one about as much as another. There are differences but they don't affect reading much.

Barry

ilovejedd · 11-23-2020, 07:29 PM

I have a PW2, PW3 and PW4. I do find the PW4 faster for browsing and searching than PW2 (they've got around the same number of books: a couple hundred or so).

My PW3 is slower than PW4 but dunno if that's due to chipset or because I've got a couple thousand books in there.

11-23-2020, 09:54 AM	#1
Forbid Probably Procrastinating Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Vermont, United States Device: Kindle PW2	Kindle Hardware Basically Unchanged? So it's almost black friday and I thought I'd do some research to see if I wanted to upgrade my PW2 from 2013... Am I crazy or is the only real difference between the 2 and 4 that it has a slightly better screen and double memory and storage? Is there anyone that has both a 2 and 4 that can let me know if it's any snappier or anything? I'm honestly shocked that in 7 years they don't seem to have upgraded the processor at all...

11-23-2020, 12:13 PM	#5
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,480 Karma: 26012494 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	There have been some rather important updates to how the tech is driven though, but that's less noticeable on a Kindle than it is on other brands, because lab126 was always pretty damn good at that to begin with, and, to some extent, FW updates mattered on that front (e.g., FW 5.6.x saw a backport of a few fancy things introduced on the Voyage to all earlier devices running the same SoC). I say "to some extent", because while some of the changes may be readily taken advantage of by the Kindle framework, some others weren't (or not until much, much later, or even delayed until newer hardware). c.f., the platform list for a breakdown of the history. Some of those are definitely a SoC update (most notably Wario, then Zelda/Rex). TL;DR: For your specific example, yes, there are definite advantages from switching from a PW2 (Wario) to a PW4 (Rex). (And that's coming from someone who used a PW2 for a good long while, and whose daily driver is now a Kobo Forma, which uses the same SoC as a PW4). As far as the Oasis 2/3 (Zelda) is concerned, I can't really say how much the dual-core helps, as I've never used one myself, but what I can say is that, from the few platforms I'm familiar with (Kindle/Kobo, to a lesser extent PB/rM), the Kindle is by and large the one where a fancier CPU would make the most difference, given how the framework is built (highly modular, a metric shitton of running threads). But it'd mostly matter in non-critical use-cases, though. Reading? Eh, not so much, it's already pretty damn fast on Kindle. Last edited by NiLuJe; 11-23-2020 at 12:29 PM.

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11-23-2020, 09:56 AM	#2
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 71,566 Karma: 306214458 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Voyage	The PW4 is also waterproof. But yes, that's about it. The underlying screen tech hasn't changed much, if at all, and so a faster processor won't really help - its the speed of the screen technology that's the limiting factor apparently.

11-23-2020, 10:11 AM	#3
Forbid Probably Procrastinating Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Vermont, United States Device: Kindle PW2	Ah, okay. That's really unfortunate then. So is the screen in the Oasis a different screen? Cause I see that it has a dual-core processor.

11-23-2020, 06:59 PM	#6
barryem Wizard Posts: 2,459 Karma: 68781975 Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Arkansas Device: Paperwhite 4	I have a Paperwhite 4 and a Paperwhite 3 and I used to have a Paperwhite 2 that I gave to a friend. I find that I like one about as much as another. There are differences but they don't affect reading much. Barry

11-23-2020, 07:29 PM	#7
ilovejedd hopeless n00b Posts: 5,111 Karma: 19597086 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: in the middle of nowhere Device: PW4, PW3, Libra H2O, iPad 10.5, iPad 11, iPad 12.9	I have a PW2, PW3 and PW4. I do find the PW4 faster for browsing and searching than PW2 (they've got around the same number of books: a couple hundred or so). My PW3 is slower than PW4 but dunno if that's due to chipset or because I've got a couple thousand books in there.

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