Amazon’s new Alexa Tablets run Android with Google Play: 8, 11 and 12 Pro start at $229.99
Amazon announced the Alexa Tablet line on 8 October 2026, a new tablet range that runs Android with access to the full Google Play Store rather than Fire OS and the Amazon Appstore. The range spans the $229.99 Alexa Tablet 8, the $329.99 Alexa Tablet 11 and the $499.99 Alexa Tablet 12 Pro, all with Alexa+ built in. Shipping began 14 October in the US, Mexico and Canada, with five European markets following on 19 October.
The details
- Amazon introduced the Alexa Tablet line on 8 October 2026 in a post by Kevin Keith, Vice President of Devices, saying the tablets "run Android, and come with access to the full Google Play Store" — a break from previous Amazon tablets, which ran Fire OS with Amazon's own Appstore.
- The flagship Alexa Tablet 12 Pro starts at $499.99 for a Graphite unit with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and has a 12-inch 280-PPI display at a 120Hz refresh rate and a 3:2 aspect ratio, a 6.5mm-thick aluminium unibody, quad Dolby Atmos speakers, Wi-Fi 6E and up to 16 hours of video playback; the anti-glare Nanomatte version costs $549.99.
- Amazon says the 12 Pro uses a 4nm eight-core chip with up to 16GB of RAM and delivers nearly 3x the processing performance and 9x the graphics performance of any tablet it has previously made.
- Engadget's 15 October 2026 review by Nathan Ingraham identified the 12 Pro's processor as a MediaTek Dimensity 8400 and measured the panel at 2,800 x 1,840 and 500 nits, with the 1.21-pound tablet carrying a single 13-megapixel rear camera; the reviewer got close to eight hours off the charger in mixed work use against Amazon's 16-hour video claim.
- The two cheaper models are the Alexa Tablet 11 at $329.99, with an 11-inch 2.5K display at 276 PPI, a 90Hz refresh rate, a 16:10 aspect ratio, 8GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, dual Dolby Atmos speakers and up to 15 hours of video playback, and the Alexa Tablet 8 at $229.99, with an 8.7-inch display, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, Wi-Fi 6, up to 14 hours of video playback and an all-aluminium body weighing 329 grams and measuring 7.95mm thick.
- 9to5Google reported on 8 October 2026 that the Alexa Tablet 8 and 11 are sold with lock-screen ads at $229.99 and $329.99 and ad-free for $20 more, that a 128GB option adds $50 to each, and that no 12 Pro configuration carries ads, with a 16GB/256GB 12 Pro listed at $680.
- Alexa+ is built into every model and is summoned by saying "Alexa" or tapping an "Ask Alexa" button; the tablets add On-Screen Intelligence, which lets Alexa read and respond to what is on screen and which Amazon says is off by default and requires opt-in, plus Live sessions for hands-free conversation and a personalised For You feed.
- Opening a book in the Kindle app switches the tablets into a distraction-free mode that silences notifications and reduces blue light, with Amazon citing up to 20 hours of reading on a charge and three display themes.
- Pre-orders opened on 8 October 2026 through Amazon.com, Best Buy and Target, with shipping from 14 October 2026 in the US, Mexico and Canada and from 19 October 2026 in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain; separately announced Amazon Kids Tablets in 8.7-inch ($229.99) and 11-inch ($329.99) sizes, offered in versions for ages 3+ and ages 6+, also ship 14 October in Japan, each bundled with a year of Kids+, which then costs $7.99 a month for Prime members or $8.99 for non-members.
- Amazon has not publicly declared Fire OS discontinued: an Amazon spokesperson told TechCrunch that the Alexa Tablets are a new product line with new hardware and a new OS "rather than a rebrand of Fire Tablets", Amazon's own announcement pages do not mention Fire OS, and Kids+ is still listed as working on existing Fire tablets.