Something unusual is taking place at Amazon, and it is evident in the humble Kindle devices. It is all about the new Assistive Reader feature that Amazon had introduced with the 5.18.4 firmware update. The update was meant for the 11th and 12th generation Kindle devices. However, what is strange is that the feature is suddenly nowhere to be found. It is not known when was the last time Amazon had launched a new feature, only to be withdrawn just days later.
While such a development has taken everyone by surprise, Amazon is yet to come up with an official explanation for this. As it is, this happens to be the first time in a long while that Amazon had introduced a new feature for the Kindle e-readers. In fact, Amazon seemed so indifferent to its Kindle range at one stage that many had started to believe the e-readers might be on the way out. Things started to change in the last few months or maybe a year or so when there was suddenly a volley of updates introduced for Kindle e-readers.
While in the absence of any official release on this, many speculate that this could be due to several factors. For instance, the feature might still be in the developmental stages, and it could have been released by mistake. To make amends, Amazon might have disabled it right from its servers itself. Once it has been perfected, the feature might be re-enabled once again for use by the Kindle users.
Interestingly, this brings forth a scenario that is quite disturbing, if not alarming. It is the sort of control that Amazon wields on our Kindle devices. They can easily enable or disable any feature on our Kindle devices with ease and not even bother to issue an explanation for the same. Maybe this explains why many prefer to keep their Kindle devices offline, just to prevent undue interference from Amazon.
What is also interesting is that Amazon still has a help article on its site that aims to educate users on what the Assistive Reader feature on Kindle is and how best to use it. This, coupled with the fact that the 5.18.4 update is still available to download from the Amazon website, should be indicative of Amazon’s plans to not cancel the Assistive Reader feature completely but to disable it for the time being. Maybe the feature needs a simple overhaul and will be reintroduced soon.
The Assistive Reader feature was first introduced for the Kindle app for iOS in late 2024. It allowed users to listen to texts being read aloud by a generic AI voice. During the process, each word that is being read gets highlighted in real-time, which further makes it easy for users to follow. This made it easy for many to continue with their favorite books even when they are engaged in something else, which can be like while gardening, driving, commuting, and such.
So for now, the Assistive Reader feature remains missing, but we will be watching closely for its return. Stay tuned.
