Amazon's new Kindle Oasis has leaked: cool battery case, but not waterproof

Amazon has a new, top-of-the-line Kindle announcement coming at some point this week, but a Tmall page (that went down while I was writing this story) has spoiled the details before Jeff Bezos' grand reveal. It's called the Kindle Oasis, according to the page, and right away you'll notice the large bezel on the right side — or left, depending on how you prefer to hold it. Sure, it's a bit unsightly, but I can see the appeal; it's probably more comfortable to hold one-handed, and those large page turn buttons mean you'll never have to gunk up the screen with fingerprints.

The Oasis features a 300ppi screen, matching the Kindle Voyage in terms of sharpness and text clarity, and apparently there's been a 60 percent increase in the number of LEDs inside, so the backlighting should be even more uniform when you're reading in the dark.

A rough translation of the page, corroborated by Redditors, reveals some more specifications. The Kindle Oasis weighs 131 grams (0.29lbs), which Amazon claims is 20 percent lighter than past models. As for dimensions, it's 3.4 millimeters at its thinnest point and 8.5 millimeters at its thickest. The difference between those two is quite noticeable. This is definitely the funkiest looking Kindle that Amazon has designed in quite some time.

There's also a big section on the rechargeable battery case we've recently heard about. It allows the Kindle to last for up to 20 months of standby time, which is pretty insane. It attaches to the Oasis with magnets and comes in three colors — all of them genuine leather. A new "Kindle sleep mode" (presumably a software feature) also contributes to best-ever longevity for the Kindle line. Amazon refers to this as a "dual-battery system," since the Kindle's internal battery and the case's work together; when charging the device with its case attached, both batteries will be charged simultaneously. And when it's unplugged, the Kindle will use up the detachable case's battery before depleting its internal juice.

Here's the real downer, though: despite this thing being called the Kindle Oasis, there's nothing here about it being waterproof — or even water-resistant. That feature, which would enable worry-free reading by the pool or at the beach, is something Amazon's customers have wanted for years now. But as best we can tell from this page, the Oasis won't be the Kindle that delivers. Still, it's looking like a nice next step from the Paperwhite. Or is this thing meant to succeed the Voyage? Not clear. Unfortunately, this page also leaves us with no idea of how much the Kindle Oasis will cost, which could be the determining factor for existing Kindle owners considering an upgrade. For that, we'll need to wait for Bezos' proper unveiling. Could all of this be a fake? Maybe, but it'd be a pretty extensive one. And as Motherboard notes, KindleOasis.com happens to be owned by Amazon. So...