Seattle — Amazon Swaps Fire Branding for New Alexa Tablets

Amazon has retired the Fire tablet name after 15 years, launching a three-device lineup called the Alexa Tablets that runs Google-certified Android with full Play Store access, Ars Technica reported Oct. 8. The devices go up for preorder now and ship Oct. 14.

What changed with Amazon's tablet branding?

For over a decade, Amazon's tablets ran Fire OS, a custom build of Android that used the company's own Appstore instead of Google's. That changed last year when Amazon shut down its app store, according to Ars Technica. The new Alexa Tablets drop the Fire name entirely and ship as Google-certified Android devices, meaning they carry the Play Store and standard Google app integration rather than Amazon's walled-off software stack. The redesign also brings unibody aluminum housings across all three models, a shift from the plastic builds of prior Fire tablets.

What tablets are available and what do they cost?

The lineup has three tiers. The Alexa Tablet 8 starts at $230, and the Alexa Tablet 11 starts at $330; both run the budget MediaTek 8189 processor and use 16:10 displays suited to video playback, Ars Technica reported. The flagship Alexa Tablet 12 Pro starts at $500 and uses a taller 3:2 display ratio aimed at running multiple apps side by side. It runs a MediaTek Dimensity 8400 chip with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, with a 2800×1840 display at 120Hz refresh and 500 nits of peak brightness, per the outlet. Amazon sells add-ons for the Pro model separately: a matte display upgrade for $50, a keyboard for $150, and a stylus for $90.

Why did Amazon drop its own app store for Google Play?

Amazon's Appstore shutdown last year left Fire tablets without a path to new apps built on Amazon's platform, according to Ars Technica's reporting. Rather than build a replacement, Amazon moved its tablets onto standard, Google-certified Android — the version with Play Store access and Google service integration that Fire OS had avoided for years. The shift puts tablets on a different track than Amazon's Fire TV Stick line, which Ars Technica notes has moved the opposite direction, abandoning Android for the company's own Linux-based Vega OS.

How does Alexa Plus work on the new tablets?

Even with Google Play unlocked, Amazon is positioning its own assistant, Alexa Plus, as the center of the experience, according to Ars Technica. Users can trigger Alexa with the wake word, ask questions, and get product recommendations that Amazon says will often point back to its own storefront. The assistant can also read on-screen context to answer questions about whatever is displayed. Because the tablets run full Android, owners aren't limited to Alexa — Gemini and other Android-compatible AI tools are available through the Play Store as well. That also opens the door to third-party AI utilities such as the mindfulAI Keyboard or AlterEgo, which weren't accessible on the old Appstore-only Fire tablets.

How do the Alexa Tablets compare with Apple's iPads?

Ars Technica frames the pricing as a step up from prior Fire tablets but still competitive against Apple. Apple's entry-level iPad starts at $450, the iPad Mini at $600, and the iPad Air at $750, the outlet reported. Amazon's tablets undercut all three on price while matching some hardware specs, though Ars Technica cautions that despite Google's repeated promises, there still aren't many Android apps optimized for tablet-sized screens — a gap Apple's iPadOS ecosystem doesn't have.

The push toward subscription-bundled AI assistants isn't unique to Amazon; Meta has also detailed new AI-focused subscription plans this year, HTT News reported, as platforms compete to make premium AI features a recurring product.

What to watch

• Whether Google Play's tablet app library expands now that Amazon's device base no longer runs Fire OS exclusively.
• How Alexa Plus's product-recommendation behavior is received once reviewers test the Tablet 12 Pro after its Oct. 14 ship date.
• Pricing moves from Apple or other Android tablet makers responding to Amazon's $230–$500 range.
• Whether Amazon brings the same Google-certified Android approach to other device categories beyond tablets.