Amazon Retires Fire Branding, Launches Alexa Tablets Running Google-Certified Android

The lineup covers three aluminum unibody models. The Alexa Tablet 8 starts at $230 and the Alexa Tablet 11 at $330, while the flagship Alexa Tablet 12 Pro costs $500. Ars Technica reports that the two smaller models run MediaTek's 8189 processor, which it describes as a budget chip but still an upgrade over the previous generation of Fire tablets. All three go on sale in the United States, Mexico and Canada on October 14, followed five days later by the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

According to Engadget, the Alexa Tablet 8 has an 8.7-inch display, an 8-core CPU, a 2-core GPU, 4GB of RAM and a choice of 64GB or 128GB of storage. It is 0.3 inches thick and weighs 16.4 ounces, and Amazon claims up to 14 hours of video playback and 19 hours of Kindle reading per charge. The Alexa Tablet 11 moves to a 2.5K, 11-inch screen with a 90Hz refresh rate and a 16:10 aspect ratio, and adds a fifth-generation MDLA neural processing unit for on-device AI, 8GB of RAM and dual Dolby Atmos speakers, with Amazon claiming 15 hours of video playback.

The Alexa Tablet 12 Pro has a 12-inch, 280 PPI display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a 3:2 aspect ratio, an 8-core CPU, a 7-core GPU, an eighth-generation MDLA NPU, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Amazon claims it is three times faster in processing and nine times faster in graphics than any of its earlier tablets, and puts battery life at up to 16 hours of video or 20 hours of Kindle use. It carries a fingerprint sensor, and an anti-glare Nanomatte option adds $50. Amazon is also selling a $90 Alexa Tablet Pro Pen and a $150 magnetic Alexa Tablet Pro Keyboard for the 12 Pro, which the company positions as a productivity device.

The tablets run Android 16 with a custom layer on top and ship with the Google Play Store, a change from Fire tablets, which pushed users toward Amazon's own Appstore. Ars Technica notes that Amazon downplayed its use of Android throughout the Fire era and shut down its app store last year. Amazon's Fire TV Sticks have moved in the opposite direction, abandoning Android for a custom Linux-based Vega OS. Alexa+ is built into the tablets, and users can opt in to a feature that lets the assistant answer questions about whatever is on screen. The Kindle app is installed by default, and Engadget reports that the tablets have no microSD card slot. Kids versions of the Alexa Tablet 8 and Tablet 11 come with a protective case and a year of Amazon Kids+.

The tablets are part of a broader run of October product announcements. Rather than hold a fall hardware event, Amazon has been releasing devices week by week. Panos Panay, Amazon's chief of Alexa and devices, told Engadget that last year's event was "a fine moment, but it turns out only two products really got any attention and everything else was just there," adding that teams behind overlooked products did not get the credit he felt they deserved. Amazon also announced a new standard Kindle starting at $150, with an extra $20 to remove lockscreen ads; it is 6.8mm thick, weighs five ounces, has a flush six-inch screen and comes in Graphite and a purple finish called Ube. New Ring smart home gear and an updated Fire TV Stick 4K were announced as well, and Amazon has said more Alexa-branded devices are coming.