The Weekly Spark

Kindle Scribes, reMarkables, BOOX tablets, Supernotes, and other premium digital paper devices can cost several hundred pounds. In some cases, once you add the accessories, you are well past the £700 mark. And for plenty of people, that pricing looks faintly ridiculous.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

Over the few couple of videos and articles, the Kindle ecosystem has come up quite a bit. First, with older Kindles losing support, and then again in my last video/article about how buying a digital book usually means buying a licence to read it rather than owning it in the same way you own a physical book.The comments on those videos over at my YouTube channel - The Spark! - have been interesting. Some people said, ‘This is exactly why you should leave Kindle and switch to Kobo.’ Others said Kindle is too locked down, or that digital books are the problem full stop.And, to be fair, there’s plenty of truth in those comments. There’s also, I think, a bit of overreaction.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

I think millions of people have tapped ‘Buy’ in an ebook store and just assumed they were buying a book.The fact is most of the time, they weren’t.What they were actually buying was permission. Permission to read a file, on approved software, through an account, inside a company’s system.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

Every so often, a tech company says something that sounds routine on paper and rather less routine once you look at what it actually means in real life. Amazon has just done exactly that for owners of older Kindles.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

I didn’t expect to write this, but Apple may have just proved that my iPad Pro, the device I use for just about everything, isn’t actually the best tool for the job.And the frustrating part is that it’s been beaten by a cheaper, “weaker” Mac.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

Usually, in an episode of The Weekly Spark I’d round up what’s been happening in the worlds of Kindle, E Ink, iPad, and related tech. But this week I want to park the usual news format and focus on something that’s been rattling around in my head for a while now.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

This week, BOOX doubles down on its latest E Ink tablets, Apple tightens its grip on the creative tools around Final Cut Pro, and Amazon is finally remembers that the UK exists!The Apple Creator Studio focused post can be found HERE.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

Over the last week or so, we’ve seen the new M4 iPad Air start shipping, iFLYTEK unveil its latest AI-powered E-ink notebook, Amazon get surprisingly aggressive with Kindle Scribe discounts, and a laptop concept emerge that replaces the palm rest with an E-ink display.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

Apple announced a stack of new hardware this week, but only two products really caught my attention.The full list is fairly substantial: the iPhone 17e, a new iPad Air with the M4 chip, refreshed MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models with M5 chips, an updated Studio Display, a higher-end Studio Display XDR, and the all-new MacBook Neo.I could spend ages going through all of them, but I want to focus on the two that sit right in the middle of what I talk about most: the new iPad Air and the MacBook Neo.And of those two, one feels rather more important than it first appears.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

It’s been a fairly slow news week in the world of E Ink. Yes, Apple has an event on the horizon and there’ll no doubt be shiny new Macs and iPads to talk about. But I’d rather wait until the dust settles than add to the speculation machine.So instead, I want to talk about something that’s quietly creeping into even the calmest corners of our tech lives: Artificial Intelligence📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

Apple is turning Podcasts into something that looks a lot more like a proper video platform. Amazon is quietly nudging the Kindle Scribe further into AI territory. You can now play chess on a Kindle without resorting to hacks. And there’s a single iPad setting that gets you surprisingly close to a Kindle-style reading experience.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

This week we’ve got a proper mix. Rumours of a cheaper MacBook. Ongoing delays to Apple’s much-promised AI-powered Siri upgrade. Kindle updates and Oasis sightings. And a new large-format E-ink rival that seems to be aiming straight at the Scribe.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

Some weeks, there just isn’t much news happening with regards Kindles or iPads that is genuinely worth shouting about. An iPadOS update that’s mostly security patches might be important, but it’s hardly gripping. And moaning once again about how the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft still isn’t available in the UK starts to feel repetitive, even to me. So rather than forcing a news roundup that doesn’t really deserve the name, it felt more honest to focus on something that is actually worth paying attention to.One rumour, in particular, has started to gather real momentum: Apple’s long-whispered foldable iPhone.And for once, this isn’t just internet noise.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

This week, Apple finally launches its long-rumoured Creator Studio subscription, and the reaction is already split. Instapaper makes a change that will affect how some of you read long-form articles on your Kindles. We’ve got an ambitious new colour E Ink tablet from Bigme, and Amazon adds a little colour to the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft … but still no sign of a UK release date.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

This week is a blend of Apple once again insisting the iPad Pro really means business this time, Amazon giving its most expensive E-Ink device a touch of personality, a surprisingly restrained Pebble comeback, and a new pocket-sized reader that quietly questions whether bigger screens were ever the goal in the first place.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

This week is a blend of Apple once again insisting the iPad Pro really means business this time, Amazon giving its most expensive E-Ink device a touch of personality, a surprisingly restrained Pebble comeback, and a new pocket-sized reader that quietly questions whether bigger screens were ever the goal in the first place.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

This week is a mix of familiar frustration, some genuinely sensible software decisions from Amazon, a new tablet that’s trying very hard to look like it belongs in E-ink territory, and a quieter iPadOS update that’s more about dependability than spectacle.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

This week brings an interesting mix: a Kickstarter project trying to graft E Ink onto smartphones, a browser-based tool that quietly stretches what a Kindle can do, an iPadOS update that finally smooths out multitasking, and some iPad mini rumours that sound appealing but remain very much unconfirmed.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

Amazon has finally put the new Kindle Scribe range on sale in the US, as of the 10th of December. That includes a base model Kindle Scribe (with or without front light) and the headline device, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

This week I’ve got three main stories: an AI-powered E-Ink desk calendar that might genuinely help you use your phone less, an iPadOS change that quietly fixes one of Apple’s more annoying decisions, and a trio of new styluses from Pilot that hint at a more flexible pen future – whether you’re on E-Ink, even Surface or Chromebook.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

Black Friday seems to start earlier every year, and 2025 is no different. Officially, it lands on the 28th of November, but online retailers such as Amazon have already pulled the trigger.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

It’s been one of those odd weeks where the news isn’t loud, but the things that have happened are interesting enough to nudge the e-reader world forward a little. 📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

It’s been one of those weeks where the e-ink world suddenly wakes up. What looked quiet on Monday turned into a flurry of firmware updates, new partnerships and clever little gadgets by Friday.CORRECTION: In this episode I say the Colorsoft uses Spectra 6. This is incorrect — the Colorsoft uses E Ink Kaleido 3.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

Some weeks feel like a slow simmer in the world of tech. Small updates, quiet hints, and the occasional glitch. This is one of those weeks, but with just enough intrigue to keep things interesting! The iPad Mini might be getting quite an upgrade, and for some people, their Kindles are acting up.Links mentioned in this episode:▶️ Five TOP iPhone 16 Pro Accessories! - https://youtu.be/MNYSfxi4OpE ▶️ Seven accessories for your iPad Mini 7 to help you be more productive! - https://youtu.be/ziRJK0fVWuw 🔗 Razer Kishi Ultra - https://amzn.to/3JziqHDAlso:📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

It’s been a big week for Boox, Supernote are sorting out their software, and my YouTube feed is absolutely flooded with M5 iPad Pro reviews!🔔 Subscribe for more E-Ink, Kindle and iPad coverage every week.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

Apple’s just launched the new M5 iPad Pro, promising faster AI performance, Wi-Fi 7, improved RAM, and quicker charging. But is it really worth moving on from the M4?In this week’s episode of The Weekly Spark, I’m breaking down what’s new with Apple’s latest tablet—and what’s been happening in the world of E Ink and e-paper.🔔 Subscribe for more E-Ink, Kindle and iPad coverage every week.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to the third edition of The Weekly Spark. 🔔 Subscribe for more E-Ink, Kindle and iPad coverage every week.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to the second edition of The Weekly Spark. The first outing got some really encouraging feedback, which tells me there’s still a place online for this kind of roundup—especially in the world of E-Ink devices and iPads. So thank you to everyone who read, watched, or simply shared a kind word. It helps keep this going.🔔 Subscribe for more E-Ink, Kindle and iPad coverage every week.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome, to the very first Weekly Spark! While the nights maybe drawing in, the world of e‑ink devices and tablets has been surprisingly lively. If you’ve been too busy to keep tabs on firmware updates and product rumours, The Weekly Spark has got you covered.🔔 Subscribe for more E-Ink, Kindle and iPad coverage every week.📩 Subscribe to my regular(ish) newsletter - https://markdkelly.substack.com☕️ Buy me a virtual coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/markdkelIy75I've collated a massive list of all my favourite things on my website 👉🏻 https://www.markkelly.me/affiliate-links Get full access to The Spark! at markdkelly.substack.com/subscribe