Falling Into The Upgrade Trap
The Reader’s Edge | Charlie Samways | April 26, 2026 |
Amongst tech lovers, there is genuine excitement whenever new devices are unveiled. This happened for Kindle users in December 2025, when the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft launched. But to Kindle followers outside of the US, temptation grew as Amazon kept quiet about exact release dates.
After months of only being available in the US, Amazon finally launched the Scribe Colorsoft in the UK. I ordered as soon as the email notification came in.
As someone who has not had the best experience with colour e-ink devices, I was keen to try this for myself and see if it could be an upgrade from my 2024 Scribe, which I bought new for $365. Would the softer e-ink display work better on a device with a broader use case than a typical e-reader?
In short, the colour on the Scribe Colorsoft works well. You can forgive the softer display of text compared to a black-and-white device, because this is very much designed to be a reading and writing tool.
But with a price tag of $630, I started to ask what actually made this device worth the upgrade from my current Scribe.
This line of thinking sent me down a rabbit hole of how we evaluate new things against an imagined ideal, and existing things against their actual limitations.
Tool Blindness
As I began my search for the answers, the work of psychologist Richard Thaler, who won the Nobel Prize in Economics, stood out to me.
Thaler’s concept of the endowment effect covers how we overvalue things we already own relative to things we don’t. But it was the counterargument that caught my attention, which suggests that familiarity can breed a kind of blindness to what existing tools can do.
Tool blindness is something many will relate to, as we seek out the latest versions of devices, despite the current model we own still providing the functionality we need.
From my own experience, I realised I’d stopped noticing all the things my Scribe 2024 does well. As soon as the Scribe Colorsoft was announced, I was evaluating my current device against its limitations rather than its strengths. Meanwhile, as I waited for the Scribe Colorsoft, I was comparing it against an imagined ideal.
With the hype around every new product release, it's easy to get swept up. But the Colorsoft taught me something useful: a great device isn't necessarily the right upgrade. My honest conclusion after a week of testing is that the Scribe Colorsoft is genuinely impressive. It's just not $265 better than what I already own.
Before any significant upgrade, one question is worth asking: What would this do that my current tool cannot? If the answer is specific, the upgrade has a case. If it's vague, you're probably responding to the feeling that newer is better and not a real gap in your life.
This Week’s Question
When did you last upgrade something and genuinely not regret it? What made that the right call?
Reply to me at hello@charliesamways.com. I read every one.
From The Channel This Week
This week’s video focuses on my experience with the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft. If this newsletter resonated, this is worth your time.
6 Things That Shocked Me About the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft
Plus, don’t miss out on my Free Kindle Guide, available to download here.
As you prepare for a new week, consider any tools in your life you’ve stopped fully seeing – the ones that still have more to give.
Catch up next week,
Charlie Samways