The Kindle app for iOS has features your aging Kindle doesn't
Amazon is going all-in on bringing artificial intelligence to your reading experience, adding several new smart features to its famed Kindle ereaders. Officially announced in
Amazon is going all-in on bringing artificial intelligence to your reading experience, adding several new smart features to its famed Kindle ereaders. Officially announced in June 2026, the conglomerate frames its AI add-ons as "making it easier to stay immersed in your books" by offering spoiler free recaps and AI assistants capable of bringing context to your reading experience. When combined with your Kindle's previous smart features, which allowed users to do everything from look up definitions to translate foreign languages, the rollout is indicative of an publishing landscape searching for new ways to incorporate emerging technologies into your reading experience, whether you asked for it or not.
Unfortunately, not every reader will have access to Kindle's AI infusion. As it stands, Amazon has rolled out its new recap features to newer Kindle devices and American iOS users. However, its Ask this Book AI chatbot will only be available on the the US-version of its iOS Kindle application, for now. Kindles will be receiving the Ask this Book feature later this year. Likewise, both recaps and Ask this book functionalities are expected to come to Android applications by the end of 2026.
The additions come as Amazon pushes users towards newer models of their flagship ereader. Earlier this year, the Seattle company announced it would discontinue support for its earliest Kindle models. To assuage concerns, Kindle assured users that their older models will continue to function. However, users won't be able to import new titles to their libraries. In a similar vein, Amazon will not be pushing its latest features update onto its older Kindle models. Instead, the contextual tools will only be available to Kindles released in 2024 or after.
With that in mind, the phone application proves a useful workaround, allowing readers to test whether AI functionality is really worth the upgrade.
The BriefWire