Amazon has announced that it’s planning to introduce “a new, intuitive, and easier Kindle reading experience” via software updates that are expected to start rolling out in the coming weeks.
The first update will introduce new, smartphone-like navigation that’s supposed to make it easier to perform common tasks. Amazon said that swiping down from the top of the screen will reveal controls for airplane mode and display brightness, for example, while swiping up from the bottom of the screen will provide quick access to the Home and Library pages or the current book.
The second update is expected to improve those pages. It seems like the update to Home will be minor—Amazon only said it will display up to 20 recently opened books with a left swipe. But the Library is set to be updated with “new filter and sort menus, a new collections view, and an interactive scroll bar” that should make finding the right book for the given moment a little easier.
Amazon said the first update will start to roll out “in the next few weeks,” and the second update is said to be “coming later this year.” Both will be released via an over-the-air update to the Kindle (8th Gen or newer), Kindle Paperwhite (7th Gen or newer), and Kindle Oasis e-readers.
