For the past 15 years, you’ve been able to buy a Fire tablet on Amazon. Which Fire tablet? No matter: like Kindles, they’ve been pretty much the same year after year. However, the company’s new line of tablets marks a big change. Amazon ditched the Fire brand in favor of Alexa, and the new Alexa tablets are now Google-certified Android devices.
Throughout the history of Fire Tablets, Amazon minimized the use of Android. They ran Android apps from the company’s Appstore platform, but there was no Google integration with “Fire OS.” However, Amazon closed its app store last year. The new Alexa tablets run full versions of Google’s Android with the Play Store and all the apps you’d expect. This is in stark contrast to Amazon’s Fire Sticks, which have abandoned Android for the custom Linux-based Vega operating system.
The Alexa Tablet line consists of three devices, all redesigned with aluminum unibody cases. The Alexa Tablet 8 starts at $230 and the Tablet 11 jumps to $330. They’re powered by the affordable MediaTek 8189 processor, but it’s still an upgrade from the last-generation Fire tablets. Both devices have 16:10 display ratios that are better for watching videos, but the flagship tablet is a little different.
Starting at $500, the Alexa Tablet 12 Pro has a higher 3:2 ratio that’s better for running multiple apps side by side. It also offers a matte screen upgrade for $50, and Amazon also sells a keyboard ($150) and stylus ($90) for this device. This device is powered by a more powerful MediaTek Dimensity 8400 processor with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The display clocks in at an impressive 2800×1840 resolution with a 120Hz refresh rate and 500 nits of maximum brightness.
