Amazon has unveiled its first tablets running Google’s Android operating system, marking a major shift from its long-standing Fire tablet strategy as the company seeks to compete more directly with Apple and Samsung.
The Seattle-based company introduced its new Alexa Tablets on Oct. 8, with prices ranging from about $230 to $550. The devices feature aluminum construction and Amazon’s Alexa+ generative artificial intelligence assistant.
Amazon moves beyond Fire OS
The new tablets represent Amazon’s move away from its Fire OS platform, a modified version of Android that has historically offered a more limited app ecosystem.
With the new Android-based tablets, users will have access to the Google Play Store, addressing a longstanding limitation of Amazon’s Fire tablets. Amazon had been developing the devices under the code name “Kittyhawk,” Reuters previously reported.
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The lineup includes models priced from $230 to $500, with the highest-end version reaching $550. All feature aluminum cases, replacing the plastic construction used on previous Fire tablets. The top model, with 128 gigabytes of storage, costs $550, compared with a $450 Apple iPad and a $550 Samsung Galaxy tablet, according to Reuters.
Alexa+ becomes central to tablets
Amazon is also making its generative AI-powered Alexa+ assistant a central feature of the new devices.
Alexa+ can answer questions and perform actions using generative AI. Access requires an Amazon Prime membership or an Alexa+ subscription, according to the company. Amazon has invested billions of dollars in upgrading Alexa to support functions including connected-home controls, shopping and third-party services such as Uber and Grubhub.
The move comes under Devices chief Panos Panay, who is leading Amazon’s effort to move away from inexpensive hardware that was often sold at or near cost to drive engagement with Prime Video, Kindle, music and Amazon’s broader e-commerce ecosystem.
Amazon faces declining tablet market share
Amazon is making the move as the global tablet market contracts.
Worldwide tablet sales fell 12% year over year in the second quarter to 33.6 million units, according to IDC data cited by Reuters. U.S. tablet sales dropped 32% during the same period, with a shortage of memory chips contributing to the decline. Amazon’s share of the global tablet market fell to 1.9% in the second quarter from 8% a year earlier. Apple led the market with a 34% share, followed by Samsung at 17.5%.
The company’s new strategy therefore represents a significant departure from the low-cost approach that defined its Fire tablet business.
Lock-screen advertising continues
Amazon is retaining advertising on the lock screens of the new tablets, with customers required to pay a one-time $20 fee to remove the ads. That is up from the $15 fee associated with Fire OS tablets.
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The highest-priced Alexa Tablet will not include the lock-screen advertising, according to Amazon. Existing Fire OS tablets will continue to work, but Amazon has not said whether it will continue maintaining the operating system or its app store.
Amazon says the new Alexa Tablets will begin reaching customers in North America on Oct.14, with launches in several European markets on Oct. 19.