My phone is fuzzy until I set the font size to maximum. That’s how much I dislike wearing my reading glasses, and that’s why I like large screens for reading books, Reddit, Facebook etc.
Get the Amazon Kindle Oasis if Mom (or Grandma) has a hard time learning new technology. Get the iPad 11-inch version if Mom wants to watch movies and listen to music as well as read on her device.
I had previously recommended the 13-inch iPad. It’s much too large and heavy, and so I recommend getting the smallest iPad, which is 11 inches.
Larger eReaders have More Room for Bigger Fonts
I love two things about reading with large tablets.
I can make the fonts big. Then I can read without wearing my glasses.
There’s no “enlarge” button on paper books and newspapers.
eReaders Can Read Aloud to Me
The easiest answer for low vision is not to use your eyes at all. I love listening to books. I do find it to be slow, though. So I increase the playback speed
Some Moms and Grandmas Don’t Like Learning New Technology
An eReader should be simple to operate. If you’re giving a tablet to Mom or Grandma as a gift, think about teaching her how to use it. Will the process be easy? Or will everyone end up frustrated?
The iPad and Oasis features are easy to use, so teaching an older person to use it should be easy too.
Get the Kindle Oasis for Bathtub, Sunlight, Nighttime Reading and Listening
The Kindle Oasis is a book eReader. It is not a tablet with music, email and movies.
The Oasis has one job, and it does that job very well. It’s a book reader. You can read books on it, and it will read books to you.
Check the Price of the Kindle Oasis on Amazon
Check the Price of the 11 inch iPad on Amazon
No Glare or Water Damage When Reading the Oasis Outdoors (or in the tub)
The Oasis has a glare protection screen so you can read even in the noonday sun.
If that sun happens to be over a nice blue pool, the Oasis has waterproofing to protect it should it accidentally fall into the water.
No pool? How about a bathtub? The Oasis is waterproof in bathtubs, too.
(Is Mom having trouble getting into and out of the bath? You should see the bathtub lift in my article 10 Ways to Safely Climb Stairs, Get Into the Bath, Get off the Floor, Walk, Sit and Stand.)
Check the Price of the Kindle Oasis on Amazon
Check the Price of the 11 inch iPad on Amazon
The Lighter, Thinner Oasis is Easy to Hold, Even with One Hand (better for arthritis)
If there’s any kind of arthritis or handgrip issues, then the lighter Oasis is the right eReader. The Oasis is less than 7 oz., and is 1/3 of an inch thick at the largest point.
It’s easy to turn the page with one hand.
The Oasis is significantly smaller than the iPad Pro but is large enough to enlarge the font and still be a useful screen reader.
Check the Price of the Kindle Oasis on Amazon
Check the Price of the 11 inch iPad on Amazon
Close Your Eyes While the Oasis Reads to You
The Oasis VoiceView screen reader reads documents and books over the Bluetooth audio. To make this work you will need a Bluetooth headset or speaker. This technology reads with a “robot” voice.
Oasis also reads Audible.com books, which voice actors record in studios.
Check the Price of the Kindle Oasis on Amazon
Check the Price of the 11 inch iPad on Amazon
How the Oasis is Better for Low Vision than Other Kindle Devices
All Kindles come with glare-free screens. Only the Oasis model has 25 LEDs to light the front screen. The PaperWhite and Kindle models have five and four LEDs, respectively. That’s why you can read the Oasis in the sunshine.
Only the Oasis has the warm light option for night reading. The warm light is easier on the eyes at night while still being bright enough to read. The warm light is especially comforting to people who get migraines.
The Oasis is also the only model to have page turn buttons. Rather than swiping the screen, this model allows swiping but also one-handed use through button pushing. Page turning buttons are more intuitive for some people than the screen swiping action.
Check the Price of the Kindle Oasis on Amazon
Check the Price of the 11 inch iPad on Amazon
Should You Get the WiFi or Cellular Oasis?
The WiFi and Cellular options determine how you download books over the internet. The WiFi version is more reliable for some people as the cellular connectivity depends on services at their location. The purpose of cellular is to give people without WiFi a way to download Amazon’s books. Cellular might work, and it might not. If you already have cell service you can potentially turn your phone into a “hotspot” and then download over your phone’s cellular network.
Check the Price of the Kindle Oasis on Amazon
Check the Price of the 11 inch iPad on Amazon
Pros of Using a Kindle Oasis for Reading
- the Oasis is a dedicated book reader that works well with very enlarged fonts for easier reading
- the Oasis warm light is easier on the eyes for some people, especially those who get headaches
- the Oasis shines light at the text, not the reader’s eyes
- the Oasis screen is crisp
- the Oasis screen is readable in sunshine
- the Oasis is waterproof so you can read in the tub or pool
- the Oasis is lightweight (under 7 ounces), reasonably small (7 inches), and so feels like a paperback book
- the Oasis can read material aloud and play Audible.com eBooks
- the WiFi version downloads books over your internet connection; the cellular version downloads books over Amazon’s cellular connection
- Prime members can read thousands of selected Amazon books for free
- Kindle Unlimited members can read even thousands more books in addition to the Prime library
Check the Price of the Kindle Oasis on Amazon
Check the Price of the 11 inch iPad on Amazon
Cons of Using a Kindle Oasis for Reading
- the Oasis is not a computer tablet with access to the internet, email, movies and music
- the Oasis does not have built in speakers, you need a Bluetooth speaker or headset for audio
- the Oasis cellular service does not always work
- the cost of Prime for the free books is over $100/year
- the cost of the Kindle Unlimited free books $10/mo. ($120/year)
Check the Price of the Kindle Oasis on Amazon
Check the Price of the 11 inch iPad on Amazon
The iPad Pro is a Netflix, Spotify, Email, Reddit, Facebook, Fully-Functioning Computer that is also Awesome a Displaying Books and Reading them Aloud
The iPad Pro is a computer tablet that has book apps on it.
It runs thousands of apps for Mom’s entertainment such as games, streaming music, streaming movies, YouTube for movies and education, Reddit for conversation, Facebook for family connection, and Instagram and Pinterest for images.
It’s also an eReader with access to millions of books. The iPad beautifully displays books, and will read them to you.
Check the Price of the Kindle Oasis on Amazon
Check the Price of the 11 inch iPad on Amazon
10 Ways the iPad Pro is an Entertainment Device for Mom (or Grandma)
The iPad Pro is a powerful computer that happens to have a kick ass book-reading app on it. If Mom is bored, this is how the iPad Pro can keep her busy. These are just samples; there are hundreds more where these came from.
- watch movies on YouTube, Apple TV, Netflix, and lesser known apps such as Plex, MovieBox, Google Play and Flixter
- listen to music on Apple Music, YouTube, Amazon Music, Play Music, Spotify and iTunes
- acquire an Apple Pencil, then download apps like Duet
- read, write and send email using Apple Mail
- upload and view photos in Apple Photos
- practice piano using Simply Piano and a real piano or a virtual 3D piano on the screen
- play games such as Solitaire, Words with Friends (online Scrabble), Elevate Brain Training and Uno
- learn another language using Duolingo, Rosetta Stone or Hello Talk
- write a diary, novel or letter using Google Docs, Apple Pages, or Microsoft Word
- watch all the TED Talks using the TED app
Check the Price of the Kindle Oasis on Amazon
Check the Price of the 11 inch iPad on Amazon
Use iPad for Written and Audible Books
The iPad come with Apple Books, the Apple Bookstore. You buy and access the books through this app.
Get “printed” and narrated books from Apple Audiobooks, Audible.com, Google Play, Kindle Reader, Overcast or Libby.
Check the Price of the Kindle Oasis on Amazon
Check the Price of the 11 inch iPad on Amazon
Adjust the iPad Display for Low Vision
The iPad display is incredibly crisp, sharp and bright. You can dim it to a warmer color for nighttime reading. This is also helpful for people who get headaches from blue light.
Change the fonts and make them bigger. Add notes to electronic books, and bookmarks to remember interesting pages.
Low vision changes you can make:
- change the font
- enlarge the font
- change the background color
- cast a warmer color light
- invert the colors
- increase contrast
- turn off animation
- add labels to color-coded content
- change button shapes
- zoom in and out
Check the Price of the Kindle Oasis on Amazon
Check the Price of the 11 inch iPad on Amazon
Have the iPad Read Aloud While you Listen
The iPad VoiceOver feature reads the screen including items like the buttons and links. Voice Aloud Reader, Text to Speech!, Capti Voice, Text to Speech and Speechify read aloud your books, PDFs, magazines and websites.
Check the Price of the Kindle Oasis on Amazon
Check the Price of the 11 inch iPad on Amazon
Should You Get the WiFi or Cellular iPad?
The iPad cellular feature allows you to connect to the internet over a mobile phone connection. It gives you everything the mobile phone gives you except the ability to make phone calls, because the iPad is not a phone.
To use the cellular feature you go to the mobile phone company to get an account. You get a SIM card that you put into the cellular slot in the iPad. Your iPad now has a “phone number” but that’s just an identifier. There’s no phone equipment on the iPad.
When you surf the internet, you can use your local WiFi or connect to your cellular service.
Check the Price of the Kindle Oasis on Amazon
Check the Price of the 11 inch iPad on Amazon
Conclusion
The Amazon Kindle is a dedicated book-reading device with an amazing display and access to millions of books. The iPad Pro is a complete computer tablet with thousands of entertainment options including reading books on the beautiful display. Both are easy to use, but the Oasis is better for those who do not like learning new technology, and the iPad is better for the Mom who enjoys movies, music, games and using the internet.
Check the Price of the Kindle Oasis on Amazon
Check the Price of the 11 inch iPad on Amazon
