Amazon retires Fire tablets for Android-based Alexa Tablets, from $229.99
Amazon is replacing its 15-year-old Fire tablet line with Alexa Tablets — three Android models priced from $229.99 to $549.99, shipping October 14 in the US, Canada and Mexico and October 19 in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. They are Amazon's first tablets to run Android with full Google Play Store access, all include Alexa+, and an opt-in On-Screen Intelligence feature can read what is on the display (off by default, with an on-screen indicator). Amazon says it will stop making Fire tablets and support them for four years after the final shipment, while devices chief Panos Panay teased a "Neo" design language and more Alexa-branded hardware for later this month.
Amazon is promoting Alexa from assistant feature to hardware brand, a sign consumer device makers are re-centering product lines and prices on AI.