The Alexa Tablet 12 Pro Is Almost the Android Tablet We Needed, Review Says

According to the review, the $549.99 model tested is one of four new devices in the Alexa Tablet lineup, which ranges from a $229.99 8-inch model to a $679.99 12 Pro configuration with the Nanomatte coating and extra RAM. The Verge says all are well-made, midrange tablets that can access the full universe of Android apps through the Play Store, and all arrive with Amazon bloatware whether buyers want it or not. The review did not test the other models but said cheap, good Android tablets are hard to find.

The centerpiece is a 12-inch, 2800 x 1840 panel. Amazon calls the technology Nanomatte and says it worked with Corning to etch the display at a sub-pixel level to reduce glare without the slight rainbow shimmer found on some matte screens. The Verge says the effect works: outdoors, an iPad can reflect the user like a mirror, while the 12 Pro shows only a small sheen and loses no sharpness. Viewing angles are described as incredible. The reviewer would like a little more brightness, but says glare is the main reason to raise brightness and it has not been a problem. The screen is not perfect: the anti-glare texture adds some shimmer, especially with light text on a black background, and the LCD's blacks are not as deep as an iPad OLED's; letterboxes in movies remain slightly lit. The 12 Pro has modes that adjust tone and color, and the review unit came with 'Boosted' mode on, which made colors too colorful; switching to 'Natural' improved the picture. The 120Hz refresh rate and 3:2 aspect ratio work well for games, web browsing and side-by-side work. After using it indoors and outdoors, the reviewer prefers the 12 Pro's screen to any iPad tried, though no iPad Pro with nano-texture glass was available for comparison.

Performance comes from a MediaTek Dimensity 8400 processor. The Verge says it benchmarks between a flagship high-end Android phone from last year and a flagship phone from two years ago, and is far behind practically every current iPad; in one graphics-heavy benchmark, the current 13-inch iPad Pro scored about nine times higher. In day-to-day use, the tablet has enough power for games, work and watching NFL RedZone, according to the review. The only slowness detected was minor Android stuttering, including the app switcher sometimes stuttering when it loads. The reviewer worries about how the tablet will age because it lacks the iPad's oversupply of processing power.

The rest of the hardware is summed up as fine. The four speakers are a little thin and muddy but loud and clear enough. The cameras wash out some colors but work for video calls. The $149.99 keyboard case is nice to type on but a little awkward to detach and manipulate. The $89.99 pen is smooth and responsive. The Verge lists the screen, Android apps, design and build quality as positives, and Amazon bloatware, Alexa Plus and middling specs as negatives.