Products · Product
Kindle
Raised as a usability problem by 518 people on Hacker News over 20 years (2007–2026), in 353 threads.
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- 8List views show only six books at a timeUnreviewed
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- 8Touchscreen is unresponsive to inputUnreviewed
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- 14Couldn't find a buy button in the appUnreviewed
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- 26List views show only six books at a timeUnreviewed
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- 34Series books are not shown in orderUnreviewed
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Every issue, all time, most people first
Touching screen accidentally turns pages too oftenUnreviewed
20072026- Page turns often trigger accidental taps or are not recognised at all2026-10-04
- Small touch zones and sensitive gestures cause missed taps and accidental page turns while reading on the train2026-05-24
- Touchscreen registers water droplets as touches, making page turns unreliable in wet conditions2026-05-24
E-ink refresh so slow that scrolling and typing lagUnreviewed
20072026- UI lags badly when navigating before a book opens2026-10-04
- Interface is laggy from day one before a book opens2026-05-24
- No pagination; only smooth scrolling, which is slow and blurry on e-ink2025-02-16
PDFs are hard to read on the small screenUnreviewed
20072026- Small screen forces tiny font when reading PDFs all day2024-10-16
- Reading PDFs on the small screen requires scrolling and is unpleasant2022-09-28
- Scrolling through PDFs is a nightmare due to the slow refresh rate2020-12-17
On-screen keyboard is poor and interactions lag half a secondUnreviewed
20072026- Interface is very slow and the on-screen keyboard is sluggish to use2026-04-20
- Input lag makes typing on the screen a bad experience2024-08-05
- UI is slow and unresponsive, making the keyboard unusable2024-05-14
Cannot natively read EPUB files, confusing those who email themUnreviewed
20072026- Kindle renders ebooks poorly and can't natively read epub, confusing customers who email epubs2026-04-20
- Can't download the ePub version of a purchased ebook; methods don't work2025-12-20
- Can't tell which eBooks are downloadable as ePub or PDF in the web UI2025-12-19
Touchscreen is unresponsive to inputUnreviewed
20072026- Touch screen takes about five seconds to respond to taps2024-10-16
- Touch screen could be improved, though the commenter finds it good enough2020-08-02
- Touch screen has usability problems that make interaction frustrating2020-04-10
Page turning is much slower than flipping paper pagesUnreviewed
20072026- Slow page changes, can't turn pages with either hand, hard to switch books2019-08-30
- Skips lines on page turns, making reading disorienting and frustrating2018-04-07
- Page turn latency is inconsistent, making reading experience annoying2018-01-14
Highlights interface is slow and poorly designedUnreviewed
20072026- Highlights need extra steps to import and review, and the feature is sluggish2023-10-10
- Highlights get cut off randomly past a publisher-set limit, so notes are unreliable2021-05-10
- Exporting highlights takes several hidden steps; it took a while to notice the option2018-08-27
Book typography and page layout are hard to readUnreviewed
20072026- Kindle publishing toolchain is awful, forcing authors to accept inferior formats2024-01-05
- Lost most formatting, making the text almost completely unreadable on the device2019-01-03
- Text, footnotes, images and tables are formatted so badly the books are hard to read2011-11-19
Hard to jump back a few pages to recheck somethingUnreviewed
20072026- Going back a page lands on a different paragraph than before2024-12-04
- Can't quickly flip back a few pages to re-check earlier content like timelines2021-09-21
- Jumping back to previously seen pages in a 1000-recipe book is cumbersome and frustrating2012-02-16
Loading books requires returning to the PC, even while travelingUnreviewed
20072026- Having to run back to the PC to load books is incredibly frustrating, including on vacations2026-04-20
- Using the desktop app to get book files is more hassle than alternatives2022-08-11
- Sideloaded books' covers only show after a USB disconnect workaround.2021-09-21
Code snippets unreadable as long lines wrap into a messUnreviewed
20072026- Code snippets in free AWS Kindle ebooks reflow into a badly broken, messy layout2021-02-07
- Code formatting looks awful in the web reader, with little that can be done2012-10-09
- Code is hard to read on Kindle, and page advancing is painful2011-11-21
Page transitions are clunky compared with taps and swipesUnreviewed
20072026- Swiping to turn pages pulls attention away from reading, unlike tactile buttons2018-05-01
- Tapping to turn pages has an artificial delay, so swiping is faster2018-05-01
- Swipes don't respond until finger lifts, making the browser and book list hard to use2015-06-17
Buying a book takes longer than searching and sampling onlineUnreviewed
20072026- Buying an e-book takes longer than pirating; login gets blocked for suspected fraud2022-12-29
- Users can search and read samples but can't find any way to buy the book2020-09-24
- User spent a long time trying to figure out how to get a book2019-03-14
Cancel option for one-click purchases is not obviousUnreviewed
20072026- One-click ordering makes purchases easy to trigger without confirmation2014-10-27
- Unclear how to cancel a one-click purchase; cancel option not obvious2012-08-16
- Tapping an ad's Buy button instantly completes a purchase with no confirmation2011-10-07
Math equations as images are unreadable and wildly sizedUnreviewed
20072026- Math formulas in ebooks render ugly and unusable on Kindle2024-11-05
- Math symbols show as blank space and equation images are too tiny on eInk Kindle2022-12-29
- Math equations display as blurry, wrongly sized pictures instead of readable text2021-05-01
Scrolling lags and stutters, not tracking the fingerUnreviewed
20072026- Finger-gesture scrolling is painful to use on slowly refreshing eink screens2025-04-17
- Scrolling only happens after releasing finger, making it hard to judge position2013-09-03
- Browser is slow and scrolling often fails to respond to touch2011-11-18
Changing common settings takes more taps on slow e-inkUnreviewed
20072026- Changing common settings now takes more taps, which is annoying on slow e-ink2021-09-21
- Kindle e-ink screen and UI are not very responsive when tapping through options2020-08-25
- Double-tapping to highlight often opens dictionary instead because slow e-ink hides the default option2011-11-03
List views show only six books at a timeUnreviewed
20072026- Library view inaccessible to screen reader; books lack labels so users can't tell which book they're opening2026-08-05
- Recommendations and large covers crowd the library so only five titles fit per screen2024-10-16
- Cover focus in list views shows only six books at a time, making library navigation a chore2022-08-11
Can't search book text or organize books; dictionary takes minutesUnreviewed
20072026- Can't search book text or organize books; dictionary lookups take minutes2012-08-30
- Dictionary search takes about 20 seconds to show any results, making it useless2011-11-27
- Listing bookmarks and substring search take about 20 seconds and are buggy2010-03-22
Technical book images are mis-sized, forcing constant zoomingUnreviewed
20072026- Images compressed so heavily they become illegible on the Kindle2024-06-27
- Technical ebook images are mis-sized, forcing constant switching between text and zoomed images2017-12-30
- Can't zoom in on tiny Chinese characters in Kindle textbook images2013-01-03
Page positions shift, so previously read passages can't be refoundUnreviewed
20072026- Kindle randomly jumps to a different page and user can't tell what triggers it2021-08-08
- Kindle page positions shift, so readers can't find a previously read passage again2014-04-07
- Kindle apps animate page turns and sync to farthest page read, not the most recent page2012-09-07
Must leave app, log in, search and buy to continue readingUnreviewed
20072026- Can't buy content in the app; must go to a website instead, taking far longer2022-07-07
- Must leave the app, buy in Safari, then return and hope it syncs2016-06-30
- Must leave the app, log in, search and buy, then sync to continue reading2013-05-23
Converted PDFs show formatting glitches and extra textUnreviewed
20072026- Adding books works unpredictably; sometimes email or app fails and formats need converting2022-08-11
- Converted books lose necessary pictures and break chapter navigation, leaving the reader to notice2013-07-15
- PDFs are unpleasant to read; converted books have formatting slipping through and extra text to wade through2010-07-01
Justified text without hyphenation creates irregular spacingUnreviewed
20072026- Forced justified text without hyphenation looks bad and is hard to read on phones2022-07-24
- Default text setup lacks hyphenation, leaving ragged margins and harder reading2011-12-02
- Justified text with no hyphenation shows irregular spacing and looks hideous at large font sizes2010-09-07
Series books are not shown in orderUnreviewed
20072026- Home screen shows too few books in progress, hard to find books to read2020-08-02
- Series books aren't shown in order, and store pages are messy and cluttered2019-02-27
- Books are hidden on deep pages, so owner forgets them and scrolling is slow2014-05-01
Download shows no compatible devices despite app being installedUnreviewed
20072026- Only offers device transfer, which requires owning a Kindle; no plain file download2025-10-16
- Download option shows a popup saying no compatible devices are registered, despite the Kindle app being installed2025-02-16
- Purchase page doesn't show that Kindle editions are licences, not owned copies2019-06-30
PDF zoom drifts left, cutting off the right half of pagesUnreviewed
20072026- PDF zoom zooms toward the left, leaving margins and cutting off the right half of pages2013-06-05
- Wide PDF margins are not removed, forcing reading sideways or zooming2012-04-26
- Can't reflow PDF text, and zooming breaks page turning until zoomed back out2012-01-03
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Loading documents onto the Kindle was a pain, and papers needed zooming2026-10-26
- Install took many attempts and reboots into slow demo mode; docs confusing about package managers2026-10-14
- No way to tell if a book has a download link before buying2026-10-05
- UI lags badly when navigating before a book opens2026-10-04
- Page turns often trigger accidental taps or are not recognised at all2026-10-04
- Selfie camera cutout sits over the scrolling text area and is disorienting2026-10-04
- No easy way to browse library; file browser is the only option2026-08-21
- Tapping the small menu button causes a major context change that takes extra steps to undo2026-08-11
- Clicking read now shows a refresh modal; dismissing it hides the whole UI until a slow restart2026-08-10
- Library view inaccessible to screen reader; books lack labels so users can't tell which book they're opening2026-08-05
- Settings menus are poorly organized, making setup tricks hard to find2026-07-29
- Kindle's interface feels sluggish and frustrating to use compared to KOReader2026-07-29
- Stock Kindle interface became too slow to use2026-07-29
- Navigation and cross-referencing are slow, clunky and hard for technical reading2026-07-29
- Touchscreen registers water droplets as touches, making page turns unreliable in wet conditions2026-05-24
- Touch screen page turning and onscreen keyboard are awkward compared to physical page-turn buttons2026-05-24
- Interface is laggy from day one before a book opens2026-05-24
- Small touch zones and sensitive gestures cause missed taps and accidental page turns while reading on the train2026-05-24
- Invisible touch zones and gestures cause unpredictable page turns, settings opening, and brightness changes2026-05-24
- Library interface has become sparser and worse with each newer Kindle model2026-05-23
- Users would face confusing warnings about which books work on which of their multiple devices2026-04-20
- Having to run back to the PC to load books is incredibly frustrating, including on vacations2026-04-20
- E-reader usability has not improved since 2008; obvious problems remain unfixed2026-04-20
- Kindle renders ebooks poorly and can't natively read epub, confusing customers who email epubs2026-04-20
- Manga reader bugs: huge margins, wrong page side in two-page mode, laggy page turns2026-04-20
- Kindle opens on Home instead of the books, and switching to Library takes over 5 seconds2026-04-20
- Kindle UI is laggy and slow to respond to input2026-04-20
- Interface is very slow and the on-screen keyboard is sluggish to use2026-04-20
- Sideloaded manga reader has wrong page order, huge margins, and laggy page turns2026-04-08
- Kindle software is poor and getting worse every year2026-04-08
- Page turns lag, margins are huge, and two-page landscape shows pages on the wrong side2026-04-07
- Tapping the screen to turn pages sometimes does something unexpected, interrupting reading2026-03-29
- Switching pages on a Kindle feels cumbersome and distracting, like scrolling on a phone2026-03-16
- No way to request a refund on the order page; had to contact customer service2026-03-15
- Can't download the ePub version of a purchased ebook; methods don't work2025-12-20
- Can't tell which eBooks are downloadable as ePub or PDF in the web UI2025-12-19
- Download options use dark patterns, with the default set to push users toward one choice2025-12-19
- Taps take several seconds to register on the latest Kindle software2025-12-10
- Every book change shows a cloud-not-found error; categorizing requires registration and being online2025-10-17
- Only offers device transfer, which requires owning a Kindle; no plain file download2025-10-16
- Book progress doesn't sync on opening the app; sync now sometimes takes a minute2025-10-16
- Last-read position resets to the beginning of a book after syncing2025-10-16
- Author search shows other authors' books, with no way to see only one author's works2025-10-05
- Page-turn animation cannot be turned off2025-09-27
- Entering words on Kindles with a five-way button is a pain2025-08-31
- Built-in frontlight is so bad the user never uses the device2025-06-02
- Buying books requires leaving the app to enter credit card details on a website2025-05-06
- Finger-gesture scrolling is painful to use on slowly refreshing eink screens2025-04-17
- Blind user can't read with TalkBack; auto page turn stops when screen locks2025-03-21
- Delete option for sample books disappears from the menu, so the user cannot remove them2025-02-26