Amazon Alexa Tablets Arrive With Full Android and a Glare Free Screen

Amazon spent years selling Fire tablets as cheap doorways into Prime Video and Kindle. Yesterday, the company set that approach aside and introduced three devices that carry the Alexa name instead: an 8.7-inch model from $229.99, an 11-inch model from $329.99, and a 12-inch Pro from $499.99. Orders opened the same day. Shipments in the United States, Mexico, and Canada start October 14, with the United Kingdom and several European countries following on October 19.

Aluminum unibody casings run across the lineup, a significant step up from the plastic Amazon Fire tablets that most people are likely now using. The smallest one weighs 329 grams and is 7.95 millimeters thick, making it light enough to grasp in one hand while relaxing on the couch. The color selections differ from the typical gray: Rosette and Teal on the 8, Amethyst and Matcha on the 11, while Graphite is the only option for the Pro. The two larger variants include a fingerprint reader as well. All three are suitable for a little dusting and a fast splash, but avoid submerging them in the sink.

The choice of display does more to divide the lineup than the material does. The 8.7-inch panel is absolutely serviceable at 1340 by 800, 60 frames per second, and 400 nits. The 11-inch panel boosts the resolution to 2560 by 1600, 90 frames per second, 276 pixels per inch, and 500 nits, all in a 16:10 format ideal for watching video. The 12 Pro features a 2800 by 1840 display with 280 pixels per inch, 120 frames per second, 500 nits, and a 3:2 aspect ratio that’s similar to staring at a sheet of paper. Amazon boasts that the Pro is nearly three times quicker in processing and nine times faster in graphics, all of which are similar to their prior tablets.

Nanomatte is the standout feature that has gotten the most attention so far. For an additional $50, Corning offers a glass etched finish for the 12 Pro, which is achieved by a process known as photolithography, which aligns the texture with the pixels rather than simply applying a sandblasted surface that scatters light. One reviewer was so impressed with it in a bright briefing room that he assumed a powered-on device was a dummy because the surface scarcely reflected the windows at all. It took extreme angles and the brightest areas of light to make the image difficult to interpret. To stick a pin in it, the peak brightness remains 500 nits, which is far from an iPad Pro OLED, indicating that the coating is doing a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to outdoor usability.

The Pro features a MediaTek Dimensity 8400 processor, 8 gigabytes of memory on the base model for $499.99, and up to 16 gigabytes as the storage capacity increases. The Pro’s storage capacity ranges from 128 to 256 gigabytes. The 11 and 8 begin at the low end, with the 8189 Dimensity processor and 8 and 4 gigabytes of RAM, respectively, on the base versions. The Pro features Wi-Fi 6E and a USB 3.2 connection with displayport output, whereas the smaller tablets only have Wi-Fi 6 and USB 2.0. The Pro features quad Dolby Atmos speakers, whereas the 11 just has two speakers. The rear camera on the Pro is 13 megapixels, while the other two are 8 megapixels, and the front cameras range from 5 to 8 megapixels. The Pro has a 9,000 milliamp-hour battery, which is suitable for 16 hours of video and 20 hours in Kindle mode when charged at 27 watts. The 11 quotes 15 hours of video from a battery that is 6,500 milliamp-hours huge. The 8 claims 14 hours on a 4,600 milliamp-hour battery. Kindle mode on all of them will turn off notifications, quiet the colors, and allow you to obtain an extra 19 or 20 hours of battery life.

Where things truly get interesting is on the software side. Fire OS and the Amazon Appstore have been removed from these models in favor of full Android with the Google Play Store, allowing you to simply search for YouTube, Gmail, and other apps and install them the traditional method. The Amazon apps, however, are still present: Prime Video, Kindle, Audible, Music, and Luna come preloaded. Alexa+ is a dynamic tab on the home screen that displays your current activity as well as some suggestions. You can also enable an opt-in function known as On-Screen Intelligence, which looks at your screen and answers any questions you may have. There is also a clear indicator that it is turned on and working. You can enable or disable the privacy restrictions based on your preferences. A magnetic keyboard costs $149.99, while a USI 2.0 pen with 4,096 pressure levels and wireless charging on the dock transforms the Pro into a useful work tablet. The Kids versions of the 8 and 11 include a case and a year of Amazon Kids+.