Is the Kindle Paperwhite 2021 (11th generation) worth the money?
Yes. Yes it is.
The new Paperwhite does look and feel like the previous Paperwhite, and the one before that and so on.
A Kindle, however, does not need to surprise with amazing new features and clever tricks because to do so would be to negate what they are design to be, which is to mimic books as closely and naturally as possible.
The new 6.8" display is the big bonus here and, to me, it does offer a very similar reading experience to the Oasis which is a mere 0.2" bigger in screen dimensions.
It is now waterproof against accidental immersion in up to two metres of fresh water for up to 60 minutes and up to 0.25 metres of seawater for up to 3 minutes which is of course handy and the battery has been upped to 10 weeks.
USB-C is here to speed up charging and to make dealing with multiple cables a little easier and the Signature edition (£50 extra) throws in wireless charging, audiobooks, auto-adjusting light sensors and a charging cradle.
With warm lighting now available, a must have feature for me, it has all of the features of the Kindle Oasis apart from the hardware page turn buttons. The Oasis also feels more premium, the Paperwhite is a fingerprint magnet of extreme proportions, but when you consider the price difference (£129 vs £229) it is hard to recommend the Oasis.
The Oasis is a brilliant eReader and in my opinion the best available today, but it is 2 years old and so I don't believe that £229 is worthwhile when there is likely a new model around the corner. The Paperwhite is slightly quicker than the Oasis in use, it includes every feature of the Oasis in the Signature edition and it offers the kind of reading experience the majority will want.
Is the Paperwhite worth £129? Absolutely yes. Is the Paperwhite Signature edition worth £179? That's more difficult because the Oasis is a more premium feeling device and those hardware buttons are advantageous, but for me I would suggest that the new Paperwhite is the new eReading king of the hill when it comes to value.
I still want to see a folding Kindle, I really do. When I hold the Paperwhite in landscape and imagine it folded in half the size would be perfect for any pocket and to enable the user to carry their library of books anywhere.