This situation is unprecedented since the launch of Amazon Kindle in India in 2012. The last time Amazon launched a lineup of Kindle devices in India—the 11th generation Kindle, which was globally announced a couple of months earlier—was in December 2022. While the next generation of devices—refreshed versions of Kindle Scribe, Kindle Paperwhite, and the entry-level Kindle, as well as the company’s first-ever e-reader with a colour e-ink display, Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition—were launched in the US on October 16, 2024, the Indian launch has not happened yet.
Meanwhile, older devices have slowly vanished from the e-commerce platform, presumably bought up by customers even as stocks are not replenished. One would have assumed that previous-generation Kindle devices were taken off the shelves to make way for the new set of devices (Amazon doesn’t do this typically, but some other brands have followed such a practice for their product refresh cycle), and yet the new set of devices haven’t arrived. Kindle devices remained unavailable during the high-profile sales events for the company during the festive season last year.
In the past, Amazon has typically rolled out its latest devices, whether it is Kindle or their Amazon Echo line of smart speakers, in India within a few weeks of the global launch. The long stretching unavailability of Kindle e-readers, the unusual move to not follow up the global announcement with Indian launch, and the ambiguous silence from Amazon on the matter has led to speculation about whether Amazon is rethinking its Kindle strategy for India.
Speculations galore
There’s no way to know for certain if interest in e-book readers has dropped in India. Kindle, a secondary device after one’s primary smartphone and/or a computer, is essentially a premium device. While it should, in theory, benefit from the premiumization trend in the technology space in India, that only holds if it’s a device that people want.
A side-note… Unlike smartphones and tablets, Kindle devices last for many years, and the progressive updates in each generation do not necessarily excite people to upgrade. So, the upgrade cycle for Kindle devices is quite long. I still use my now two-generation old Kindle, and my wife has another one from many years ago.
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One trend that might have pulled people, especially students, away from a Kindle, is the growing adoption of tablets in the country, to support virtual classrooms in our hybrid educational ecosystem today.
Tablets are coming into their own now rather than being a companion device. Factors like online education, on-the-go productivity, and content consumption have influenced the market growth positively. There were 5.78 million tablet shipments in India in 2024—a massive 44.2% growth year-on-year. So is demand low because people are switching to reading on their tablets instead of buying a dedicated e-reader? Is that why Amazon is not especially interested in selling Kindles in India? There are differing views on this.
Navkendar Singh, an analyst at research firm IDC, does not believe that this uptick in the tablet device demand in India would anyway impact the Kindle reader market. “Kindle has a very niche audience with a specific use case of reading. The users of Kindle and tablets are two very different sets, with not much overlap,” he explains.
Additionally, considering Kindle is Amazon’s first-party device that it primarily markets and retails on its own platform (the device is available in offline stores as well), some drop in sales or interest should be easy to absorb, unlike for a brand which has to spend considerable amounts to market and distribute its product.
“Kindle has a very niche audience with a specific use case of reading. The users of Kindle and tablets are two very different sets, with not much overlap”
For a while last year, you could still spot the Kindle Paperwhite in some offline stores, but once the stocks ran out, it’s been hard to find one. Kindle devices aren’t available in large-format stores like Croma and Reliance Digital as well anymore. A Croma salesperson told me that they don’t stock Kindle anymore—the same store which had an Amazon Kindle pop-up a couple of years ago.
Some Kindle users in online forums also wondered if this could be a result of a noticeable decline in reading culture. However, even though the ubiquitous digital distractions—compulsive social media activity, easy access to video streaming, and plethora of reading material online—have impacted our reading habits, this trend isn’t limited to India. Additionally, the 2022 Nielsen India Book Market Report points that India is the third largest publisher of print books worldwide. India is also the second fastest growing producer of English-language print editions in the world, after the United States.
Of course, this report is about print books, but an approximation can be assumed for eBooks. That said, textbooks contribute heavily to these numbers—which in India is a significant number considering the large base of population pursuing education.
The company says its “temporary”
An Amazon spokesperson had a nothingburger response to queries regarding the unavailability of Amazon Kindle in India. “We regret that Kindle e-readers are temporarily unavailable. Please keep an eye on our Amazon.in page for any updates regarding Kindle availability. Thank you for your understanding,” they said over an email to Lounge.
While the statement doesn’t answer the speculations, the assertion on ‘temporary’ is notable. The timeline for return of Amazon Kindle is still ambiguous though. Additionally, a source at Amazon, who had no first-hand information about Kindle devices, was surprised at the speculation and was pretty sure that Kindle isn’t going away.
So, it’s likely that Amazon Kindle isn’t going away, and we’ll soon see an announcement from Amazon India—probably the launch of the new portfolio unveiled globally in October 2024. An Amazon communications person assured me of “positive” development on this front “soon”.
Ironically, if you search for ‘e-reader’ on Amazon.in, the top results are links to Kobo devices.
Similar uncertainties in other markets
In 2023, Amazon shut down its online Kindle store in China sending bereft readers with Kindle devices in a fix. Kindle users couldn’t purchase new books online.
Then there’s Australia where the Kindle devices have been “Temporarily out of stock” for a while now. Australia is a very different market than India, so the reasons for the company to pull off the plug from the Indian market wouldn’t align with the Australian market.
In fact, similar unavailability in other markets—Kindle devices were out of stock for some time last year in many countries. Even in the US, before Amazon’s Prime Day shopping extravaganza, most Kindle devices were out of stock.
This widespread issue points to supply chain issues that might be affecting Kindle supplies globally, including India. The geopolitical crises in several regions across the globe aren’t helping. Amazon could’ve been forthright at the launch of its 2024 lineup and addressed the availability concerns in several markets, including the US. Not only it would’ve relieved Kindle users and potential customers, a suggested estimate of the availability of Kindle devices in different countries would have avoided the need of all this speculation.
There’s a lot of chatter and speculation that Amazon may have stepped back to reassess their strategy for Kindle. Considering the Kindle devices haven’t really transformed in so many years, the company could be looking at the next evolution of Kindle devices (like the new color eBook readers) and charting a course for the same.
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What’s the alternative?
A lot of people wouldn’t be keen to wait indefinitely for Amazon to clarify the availability conundrum of Amazon Kindle devices. If you are looking for a similar e-book reader, you can opt for one of the very competent Kobo devices—Kobo Colour ( ₹19,999), Kobo Clara Colour ( ₹16,999), and the Kobo Clara BW ( ₹14,999).
While Kindle devices went missing from the stores, Rakuten Kobo, the Japanese technology conglomerate often referred to as the “Amazon of Japan”, which has been trying to chip in on Amazon Kindle’s market share for a while now, launched its refreshed portfolio in India in October last year.
Ironically, if you search for ‘e-reader’ on Amazon.in, the top results are links to Kobo devices.
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