Amazon has discreetly announced that starting in late 2022, Kindle devices will support the EPUB format, broadening the range of ebooks available to customers.

There is, however, a catch. EPUB will not be supported natively on Kindles. To convert the ebook from EPUB to a format that the device can read, you’ll need to send it to your Send to Kindle email account. Although Amazon did not specify the name of this format, it is expected to be released in the near future.

Furthermore, Amazon is discontinuing support for the.MOBI and.AZW file formats in Send to Kindle.

The reason for this is that these are outdated formats that are unable to support the most recent Kindle features, as well as any future ones. However, if you already have MOBI files on your Kindle, don’t panic; they will continue to work. You won’t be able to receive any new ones after the upgrade is out.

Trying to catch up

This format change will put the Kindle on par with competing e-readers. The EPUB format was first released in 2007 and was soon adopted by e-reader manufacturers like Kobo, Sony, and Barnes & Noble.

Previously, it was possible to read EPUB files on the Kindle, but the procedure was a little cumbersome. You have to get a third-party ebook converter, such as Calibre or Convertio. The ebook is then uploaded and converted into a MOBI format. Then you submit it to your Send to Kindle email account, where it will be uploaded to your Kindle reader. It wasn’t the most difficult work, but it will be easier to complete now.

Support from competitors

While this is a positive move for readers, it’s unclear how far Amazon is ready to go in order to support EPUB files. On Amazon’s store, you can only buy Kindle formatted ebooks, whereas competitors have more options.

On a Sony reader or a Barnes & Noble reader, an EPUB file worked just as well. You were not reliant on anyone’s store or supply. Owners of Kindles, on the other hand, were effectively barred from downloading a free book from Google or a public library. Of course, grateful owners can borrow books from a library that uses a third-party app like Libby to connect them to the Amazon store, where they can have temporary access to the Kindle-format ebook.

Don’t get your hopes up about simple EPUB format access because it won’t be available until later this year. There are various possibilities for an e-reader that accepts EPUB files, including the Kobo Libra 2.

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