Amazon launches Alexa Tablet range, replacing Fire tablets, from $229.99 to $499.99

Mixed · 2Amazon on Thursday 8 October unveiled a new tablet lineup, the Alexa Tablet 12 Pro, Alexa Tablet 11 and Alexa Tablet 8, which run Android with full access to the Google Play Store and have the Alexa+ AI assistant built in. 1 2 Mixed · 2The Alexa Tablet 12 Pro starts at $499.99, the Nanomatte-display version at $549.99, the Tablet 11 at $329.99 and the Tablet 8 at $229.99. 1 3 Mixed · 2Amazon says all three go on sale on 14 October in the US, Mexico and Canada, and on 19 October in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain; preorders are open. 1 2

Left · 1The tablets replace the Fire line: Wired reports Amazon will stop shipping Fire tablets within a month or two and support them for four years from the last ship date, and the new tablets get at least four years of software updates, launching on Android 16 with Android 17 due early in 2027. 2 Left · 3Outlets differ on whether this is a rebrand: an Amazon spokesperson told TechCrunch it is an all-new product line with new hardware and a new OS, The Verge says the tablets bear almost no resemblance to earlier Amazon tablets, while Wired's opinion piece calls it a complete rebrand of the tablet line. 1 3 4 Left · 3The 12 Pro is 6.5 mm thick and about 550 grams, with a MediaTek Dimensity 8400 chip, a roughly 12-inch 3:2 display at 120Hz and 500 nits, and a 9,000 mAh battery; Amazon says it has nearly three times the processing and nine times the graphics performance of any tablet it has shipped before. 1 3 2

Left · 2Reports give slightly different screen and RAM figures for the 12 Pro: Wired lists a 12-inch display with 8 or 16 GB of RAM, The Verge's feature says 12.5 inches with 8 or 16 GB, and its hands-on says 12.3 inches with 8 or 12 GB. 2 3 5 Left · 1The Nanomatte display, developed with Corning, is a matte, anti-glare screen; The Verge's hands-on reviewer said it almost completely eliminates glare in a sunlit room and seemed to retain slightly more contrast than Apple's matte iPad Pro display, though without a side-by-side test. 5 Left · 3Amazon also sells a Pro Pen (about $90) and a Pro Keyboard (about $150) for the 12 Pro, which it says turn the tablet into a workstation; the Verge's reviewer found the keyboard shallow and clunky to attach. 2 1 5

Left · 2Alexa+ is central to the software, with an "Ask Alexa" box, live conversation sessions, and an opt-in On-Screen Intelligence feature that lets the assistant see and act on what is on screen, including adding items to an Amazon cart; Amazon's Kevin Keith said no subscription is needed for Alexa+ on these devices. 2 5 Mixed · 2Opening the Kindle app triggers a Kindle mode that silences notifications, reduces blue light and extends battery life to as much as 20 hours. 1 2 Mixed · 2Kids' editions of the 8 and 11 come with a case, a year of Amazon Kids+ and, per Wired, a one-year replacement guarantee. 1 2

Left · 2Commentators read the launch as a push upmarket: The Verge says the 12 Pro is aimed at the iPad and calls Amazon a possible "proper iPad competitor" if the screen delivers, while noting Amazon is optimising for Kindle and Prime Video and that Alexa+ is pervasive and tries to sell users items; Wired's opinion piece argues the software foreshadows a rumored Amazon phone, on which Kevin Keith said Amazon had "nothing to share". 3 4 2