Amazon Alexa Tablets Replace Fire Tablets From $230

MW Contributor · 2026-10-10T14:27:55+08:00

Amazon has ended its Fire tablet range after 15 years and replaced it with three Alexa-branded tablets that run Android 16 with full access to the Google Play Store. It is the first time the company has shipped Play Store support on a tablet. The Fire brand exits with tablets that ranged from about US$60 to US$280. The new Alexa Tablets start at US$229.99 and go up to US$549.99. An Amazon spokesperson confirmed the company will sell through remaining Fire stock but has stopped building new units under that name. Existing Fire tablets will keep working. The switch to standard Android matters for buyers outside the United States too. Fire tablets ran Fire OS, Amazon's own Android fork, and depended on the Amazon Appstore, which the company closed last year. The new tablets install apps such as YouTube, Netflix and Gmail directly from the Play Store, alongside preloaded Prime Video, Kindle, Audible and Amazon Luna apps. At the top of the range, the Alexa Tablet 12 Pro runs a MediaTek Dimensity 8400 chip. Amazon says it delivers close to three times the processing and nine times the graphics performance of any tablet it has previously shipped, against the Fire Max 11 benchmark. It pairs the chip with 8GB of RAM on the US$499.99 standard model, or up to 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage on the US$679.99 top version. Its 12-inch display has a 3:2 aspect ratio, a 2,800 by 1,840 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. A Nanomatte variant developed with Corning adds anti-glare etched glass and starts at US$549.99. The aluminium body measures 6.5mm thick and weighs 550g. Amazon claims up to 16 hours of video playback, extending to 20 hours in a dedicated reading mode that switches off notifications and cuts blue light. Two accessories turn the 12 Pro into a work device. The Alexa Tablet Pro Keyboard, priced at US$149.99, connects through a direct wired link rather than Bluetooth. The Alexa Tablet Pro Pen costs US$89.99. It is a USI 2.0 stylus with 4,096 pressure levels, tilt detection, magnetic attachment and wireless charging. The tablet's USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port supports video output over DisplayPort. The Alexa Tablet 11 costs US$329.99 with 8GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, or US$379.99 with 128GB. It has an 11-inch 90Hz display, two speakers rather than the Pro's quad Dolby Atmos setup, and the slower MediaTek MT8189 chip previously used in Chromebooks. Battery life is rated at up to 15 hours. Its USB-C 2.0 port does not support video output. The Alexa Tablet 8 is the smallest model, with an 8.7-inch, 1,340 by 800 display. It weighs 329g and runs the same MT8189 chip with 4GB or 8GB of RAM. Pricing runs US$229.99 for 4GB and 64GB, US$279.99 for 4GB and 128GB, and US$299.99 for 8GB and 128GB. Battery life reaches 14 hours. The two smaller models ship with lockscreen advertisements. Removing them costs a one-time US$20 fee, up from US$15 on Fire tablets. Only the 12 Pro ships ad-free. All three tablets carry the Alexa+ assistant at the centre of the operating system. It handles natural conversation without repeating a wake word and supports live voice sessions. An On-Screen Intelligence feature lets Alexa+ read the screen for contextual help, but it is off by default. Alexa+ normally requires a Prime membership or a paid subscription elsewhere in Amazon's ecosystem. Shipping starts on 14 October in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and on 19 October in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Kids editions of the 11 and 8-inch models sell at the same prices with a case and one year of Amazon Kids+. Amazon has not announced launch dates or local pricing for Malaysia or Singapore. Malaysian buyers currently rely on import or grey-market listings, and no local warranty arrangement for the new range has been announced. The country availability question will likely remain the key practical issue for readers in the region in the weeks after launch.

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October 10, 2026 at 2:27 pm
MW Contributor
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Amazon has ended its Fire tablet range after 15 years and replaced it with three Alexa-branded tablets that run Android 16 with full access to the Google Play Store. It is the first time the company has shipped Play Store support on a tablet.
The Fire brand exits with tablets that ranged from about US$60 to US$280. The new Alexa Tablets start at US$229.99 and go up to US$549.99. An Amazon spokesperson confirmed the company will sell through remaining Fire stock but has stopped building new units under that name. Existing Fire tablets will keep working.
The switch to standard Android matters for buyers outside the United States too. Fire tablets ran Fire OS, Amazon’s own Android fork, and depended on the Amazon Appstore, which the company closed last year. The new tablets install apps such as YouTube, Netflix and Gmail directly from the Play Store, alongside preloaded Prime Video, Kindle, Audible and Amazon Luna apps.
At the top of the range, the Alexa Tablet 12 Pro runs a MediaTek Dimensity 8400 chip. Amazon says it delivers close to three times the processing and nine times the graphics performance of any tablet it has previously shipped, against the Fire Max 11 benchmark. It pairs the chip with 8GB of RAM on the US$499.99 standard model, or up to 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage on the US$679.99 top version.
Its 12-inch display has a 3:2 aspect ratio, a 2,800 by 1,840 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. A Nanomatte variant developed with Corning adds anti-glare etched glass and starts at US$549.99. The aluminium body measures 6.5mm thick and weighs 550g. Amazon claims up to 16 hours of video playback, extending to 20 hours in a dedicated reading mode that switches off notifications and cuts blue light.
Two accessories turn the 12 Pro into a work device. The Alexa Tablet Pro Keyboard, priced at US$149.99, connects through a direct wired link rather than Bluetooth. The Alexa Tablet Pro Pen costs US$89.99. It is a USI 2.0 stylus with 4,096 pressure levels, tilt detection, magnetic attachment and wireless charging. The tablet’s USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port supports video output over DisplayPort.
The Alexa Tablet 11 costs US$329.99 with 8GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, or US$379.99 with 128GB. It has an 11-inch 90Hz display, two speakers rather than the Pro’s quad Dolby Atmos setup, and the slower MediaTek MT8189 chip previously used in Chromebooks. Battery life is rated at up to 15 hours. Its USB-C 2.0 port does not support video output.
The Alexa Tablet 8 is the smallest model, with an 8.7-inch, 1,340 by 800 display. It weighs 329g and runs the same MT8189 chip with 4GB or 8GB of RAM. Pricing runs US$229.99 for 4GB and 64GB, US$279.99 for 4GB and 128GB, and US$299.99 for 8GB and 128GB. Battery life reaches 14 hours.
The two smaller models ship with lockscreen advertisements. Removing them costs a one-time US$20 fee, up from US$15 on Fire tablets. Only the 12 Pro ships ad-free.
All three tablets carry the Alexa+ assistant at the centre of the operating system. It handles natural conversation without repeating a wake word and supports live voice sessions. An On-Screen Intelligence feature lets Alexa+ read the screen for contextual help, but it is off by default. Alexa+ normally requires a Prime membership or a paid subscription elsewhere in Amazon’s ecosystem.
Shipping starts on 14 October in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and on 19 October in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Kids editions of the 11 and 8-inch models sell at the same prices with a case and one year of Amazon Kids+.
Amazon has not announced launch dates or local pricing for Malaysia or Singapore. Malaysian buyers currently rely on import or grey-market listings, and no local warranty arrangement for the new range has been announced. The country availability question will likely remain the key practical issue for readers in the region in the weeks after launch.
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