Amazon Replaces Fire Tablets With New Alexa Android Tablet Lineup

After 15 years of selling Fire tablets, Amazon is making a major change to its tablet strategy. The company has dropped the Fire branding in favor of Alexa, and its new Alexa tablets are Google-certified Android devices with access to the Google Play Store and the apps users expect.

Amazon historically downplayed Android on its Fire tablets. Although those devices could run Android apps, they relied on Amazon’s Appstore rather than Google services and Fire OS integration. Amazon shut down its app store last year, and the new Alexa tablets now use a full version of Android with Google Play.

The shift also sets Amazon’s tablet lineup apart from its Fire TV Stick platform, which moved away from Android to Amazon’s custom Linux-based Vega OS.

Amazon Alexa Tablet lineup: Three new models

The new Alexa tablet lineup includes three devices, each with a redesigned unibody aluminum housing.

• Alexa Tablet 8: Starts at $230.
• Alexa Tablet 11: Starts at $330.
• Alexa Tablet 12 Pro: Starts at $500.

The Alexa Tablet 8 and Alexa Tablet 11 use the lower-priced MediaTek 8189 processor. Both feature a 16:10 display ratio, which is well suited to watching video, while offering an upgrade over previous-generation Fire tablets.

Alexa Tablet 12 Pro specifications

The flagship Alexa Tablet 12 Pro is designed for more demanding multitasking. It has a 3:2 display ratio for running multiple apps side by side and uses a more powerful MediaTek Dimensity 8400 processor with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.

Its display has a 2800 × 1840 resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 500 nits of brightness. Amazon also offers a matte-display upgrade for $50, along with a $150 keyboard and a $90 stylus.

With Google Play support, aluminum designs and a higher-end Pro model, Amazon’s new Alexa tablets represent a significant departure from the company’s long-running Fire tablet formula.