Amazon Kindle Oasis (2017) review: beautiful design, excellent e-ink display, but can't use Audible narration while reading and is expensive
Drowning in books — A decade after its release, the Kindle is a curiosity. Tablets — including some made by Amazon — have long since outstripped the e-reader in power and features.
Context & Ripple Effects
Amazon's second-generation Oasis is a course correction on price and durability: after the $290 first-gen Oasis launched as an ultra-thin halo device with a battery-extending leather case, this refresh drops to $249.99, adds a 7-inch waterproof screen, and — per the earlier launch announcement — pairs with Audible over Bluetooth. The Verge's verdict is split: the e-ink display and design are best-in-class, but the headline Audible feature is hobbled because narration can't play while reading.
That gap matters because Amazon is fighting its own portfolio. The description notes tablets have long outstripped the e-reader on power and features, and Amazon's own $80 entry-level Kindle already carries Bluetooth audio support — meaning the flagship's audio story is both incomplete and undercut from below.
First-order effects
- Buyers paying $249.99 for the Oasis get waterproofing and Audible pairing, but must stop reading to switch to narration — the read-and-listen handoff the device was announced around doesn't work as a continuous experience.
- The review leaves the 2016 Oasis's core criticism intact: even at $60 less than the original, the device remains priced far above the $80 entry Kindle for a single-purpose screen.
Second-order effects
- Amazon's own cheaper hardware becomes the internal competitor: the $80 Kindle's Bluetooth audio and Amazon's Fire tablets give cost-conscious readers most of the same content access, pressuring the premium tier to justify itself on display quality alone.
- An incomplete Audible integration weakens the cross-sell loop between Kindle hardware and Amazon's audiobook catalog — the exact bundling that would otherwise lock readers into buying both formats through Amazon.
Third-order effects
- If each Oasis generation keeps shipping incremental fixes (the 2019 model adds only a warmer E Ink display at the same $249.99 price), the premium e-reader settles into a slow-iteration niche where Amazon competes on e-ink comfort rather than feature parity with tablets.
- The pattern points toward Kindle hardware functioning primarily as a storefront for Amazon's book and audiobook ecosystems — device margins matter less than keeping reading purchases inside Amazon's platform.
The trend: Premium e-readers are evolving into slow-cadence, ecosystem-lock-in devices for Amazon, differentiated from tablets by e-ink rather than capability.