Has Kindle become irrelevant in China?

It's widely believed that e-books are spelling the end of physical books. But is it now the end of e-book giant Kindle in China?

Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter, is abuzz with speculation that Amazon might be pulling Kindle out of China after its e-ink reading devices ran out of stock on e-commerce portal JD.com and the closure of its flagship store on Alibaba in October.

While the speculation has drawn sarcastic comments, with some netizens saying Kindle has long become irrelevant in China, where the device was just good enough to serve as a lid "to help cook" a cup of instant noodles, devoted users are unwilling to say goodbye to the once e-reader leader, which heralded the e-reading craze in China.

Responding to queries, Amazon reaffirmed its commitment to serve Chinese customers who can continue to purchase Kindle e-reading devices through third-party online or offline retailers. And it should be noted that Kindle's e-book service will continue despite troubles its hardware end is facing.

But it wouldn't be surprising if Amazon is indeed planning to downscale Kindle operations in China.

Although China has about 494 million digital readers and a digital reading industry that is worth 35 billion yuan ($5.48 billion), according to the China Audio-video and Digital Publishing Association and China Institute on Press and Publication, only 27.2 percent of adults read on e-reading devices, while 76.7 percent read on their smartphones.

In an era when popular short video, game and audiobook apps are vying for smartphone users' attention, it is difficult for a single-function reading device to compete in the market. As a matter of fact, grown-ups in China, on average, spent 100.75 minutes a day on their smartphones and only 11.44 minutes on e-readers in 2020.

Besides, there has been little innovation in Kindle's hardware equipment since it was launched in China in 2013, despite there being competitors in the form of more than 2,800 e-book enterprises across China. The leading ones, such as Boox, Hanvon, iReader Technology, QQ Read of Tencent, and JDReadVenus of JD.com, have even tailored their products to suit Chinese consumers' tastes and habits including, for instance, bigger color screens.

Even the edge Kindle once enjoyed, such as the sealed-off ecosystem of an e-book library, has become obscure, as some apps provide many e-books for free or at lower rates.

To be fair, Kindle has had its run in China. It made huge profits just six months after its launch. Millions of Kindle reading devices were sold in China from 2013 and 2018, with China becoming the largest market for its devices by the end of 2016.

Kindle is also one of the most popular products on online second-hand goods trading platforms such as Xianyu of Alibaba, because many people rarely used the e-reader after buying it. That speaks volumes about the difficulties Kindle faces in maintaining, let alone expanding its customer base.

While Kindle seems to have fallen out of favor because of its shortcomings, lack of reading habits could also be a reason. Amazon's evasive response is not enough to dispel people's concerns over Kindle's future in China. As a Kindle user myself, I hope it does not completely disappear like MP3 and DVD players, because of the immersive reading experience it offers — even though I haven't opened my device in months.

The author is a writer with China Daily.