Which Fire tablet to buy in 2026? Fire vs new Alexa Tablets

Amazon’s tablet lineup just changed

Amazon replaced the top of its tablet range on October 8, 2026. It announced three Amazon Alexa Tablets (the 8, 11 and 12 Pro) plus two Amazon Kids Tablets, all shipping in the US on October 14. They have aluminum bodies, run Android, and come with Google Play, which means YouTube, Netflix, Gmail and Google Docs install the normal way.

The new tablets don’t carry the Fire name. Amazon’s announcement doesn’t mention Fire at all, and a spokesperson told GeekWire that Fire tablets will keep working and get at least four years of support “after the last Fire tablet we sell.”

Fire tablets haven’t disappeared, though. When we checked Amazon’s US store on October 20, 2026, the Fire HD 8, Fire HD 8 Kids and Fire HD 10 were all still for sale, at about $100, $150 and $155. The Fire Max 11 was quietly discontinued in the US before the new launch, according to Engadget, so don’t go hunting for one.

Every current model and its price

Prices below are as of October 2026. Alexa Tablet and Kids Tablet prices are Amazon’s starting prices from its launch announcement. Fire prices are what Amazon’s US store showed on October 20, 2026; Fire tablets are discounted often, so check the live price.

Model	Screen	Apps	Starting price
Fire HD 8 (2024)	8 in, 1280 x 800	Amazon Appstore only	$100
Fire HD 10	10.1 in, 1920 x 1200	Amazon Appstore only	$155
Alexa Tablet 8	8.7 in, aluminum, 4GB/64GB	Google Play	$229.99
Alexa Tablet 11	11 in, 2.5K, 90Hz, 8GB/64GB	Google Play	$329.99
Alexa Tablet 12 Pro	12 in, 120Hz, 8GB/128GB	Google Play	$499.99 ($549.99 Nanomatte)
Fire HD 8 Kids (2024)	8 in, kid-proof case	Amazon Kids+	$150
Fire HD 10 Kids Pro	10.1 in, slim case	Amazon Kids+	$190
Amazon Kids Tablet 8 / 11	8.7 in / 11 in	Kids+ and Google Play (parent-approved)	$229.99 / $329.99

Two add-ons change the real cost. Fire tablets come with lock-screen ads at the base price, and WIRED says removing them costs about $15 more. For the 12 Pro, the Pro Keyboard is $149.99 and the Pro Pen is $89.99, so a Nanomatte model with both comes to nearly $790.

What Fire OS can’t do

The big limit on a Fire tablet is apps. Fire tablets run Fire OS, Amazon’s own version of Android, and get apps only from the Amazon Appstore. There’s no Google Play Store, so Google’s own apps (Gmail, Google Docs, Google Maps, the official YouTube app) aren’t there. WIRED notes that none of Google’s office apps work on the Fire HD 10, not even in the browser, and that Fire OS is based on Android 11 from 2020.

The Appstore itself is shrinking. Amazon shut down the Amazon Appstore for regular Android phones on August 20, 2025, and ended its Amazon Coins program the same day. It said the store would stay available on Fire tablets and Fire TV, and it has. Our read: with the store now limited to Amazon’s own devices, expect fewer developers to keep their Fire versions current. Our piece on what happened to Amazon’s Free App of the Day covers how the store got here.

You’ll see guides on sideloading Google Play onto a Fire. WIRED says it has become harder and no longer recommends it for most people. If you need Google apps, buy a tablet that ships with them.

Which one to buy

We haven’t tested any of these tablets. The picks below follow from the prices, specs and app access above.

Tight budget, Amazon content only: Fire HD 10. For Prime Video, Kindle, Audible and web browsing, the Fire HD 10’s 1920 x 1200 screen is the best value in the range. Wait for a sale if you can; WIRED reports Fire tablets regularly drop 30% or more, and further on Prime Day. Skip it if anyone in the house uses Google’s apps.

Smallest spend: Fire HD 8. It’s the cheapest Fire we’d consider. WIRED also lists the Fire 7 at $60 but calls it tough to recommend. The 1280 x 800 screen is the trade-off, and it’s fine for reading and casual video, less so for films.

Most people: Alexa Tablet 11. At $329.99 you get Google Play, 8GB of RAM, a 2.5K 90Hz screen and up to 15 hours of video playback, per Amazon. That covers every app a Fire can’t run. It’s the one we’d buy for a household tablet that gets used for everything.

Readers who want a small tablet with real apps: Alexa Tablet 8. It weighs 329g and costs $229.99. Opening the Kindle app on any Alexa Tablet switches on a reading mode that silences notifications, cuts blue light and stretches battery life to up to 20 hours, according to Amazon. The base model has 4GB of RAM, half the 11’s.

A note on Alexa+ before you pick an Alexa Tablet. Alexa+ is built into all three, and a feature called On-Screen Intelligence lets Alexa read what’s on your screen and act on it, such as copying a game schedule into your calendar. Amazon says every On-Screen Intelligence feature is off by default, needs a deliberate opt-in, and shows a visual indicator whenever Alexa can see the screen. Leave it off if you don’t want it; the tablet works without it.

Work and heavy reading: Alexa Tablet 12 Pro. The 12-inch, 120Hz screen, up to 16GB of RAM, a snap-on keyboard and a USI 2.0 pen make it the model Amazon is pitching for work. The $549.99 Nanomatte version has an etched anti-glare screen made with Corning. Once you add the keyboard and pen, you’re paying close to iPad money, so compare it with an iPad (A16) at $449 before you buy.

Kids: depends on age and apps. The Fire HD 8 Kids at $150 is the cheapest route, and every Fire Kids tablet comes with a two-year worry-free guarantee: if it breaks, Amazon replaces it. The new Amazon Kids Tablets cost more but run Android with Google Play, managed through Parent Dashboard, so every download needs parental approval. Amazon lists a 1-year limited warranty for them, not the two-year guarantee. Both come with a year of Amazon Kids+. After that, Kids+ costs $7.99 a month for Prime members or $8.99 without Prime, per Amazon.

Fire, Alexa Tablet or something else

If you’re coming from an old iPad, a Fire tablet covers video and reading for far less money; our look at whether the iPad 2 is still usable compares the options. If you want Android without Amazon’s home screen and Alexa+ built into everything, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab A11+ (11-inch, 128GB) is $299.99 at Samsung’s US store as of October 2026.

The Fire versus Alexa Tablet choice also says something about where Android is going. Fire OS is one of the best-known Android forks, and Amazon has now moved its new tablets to Google’s version instead. Our explainer on whether Android is still open source covers what that means for forks.

How we got here

Amazon announced the original Kindle Fire on September 28, 2011, a 7-inch tablet for $199, and it went on sale that November. The plan was to make money from the books, video and apps people bought on it, not from the hardware. Amazon dropped “Kindle” from the name in 2014 and pushed the line further down-market in 2015 with the $49.99 Fire 7.

That low-price approach ran for a decade. With the October 2026 Alexa Tablets, Amazon took its main tablets upmarket, toward iPad prices, and handed app distribution to Google Play.

What to do next

Decide whether anyone needs Google’s apps (Gmail, Docs, the YouTube app). If yes, rule out Fire tablets and look at the Alexa Tablet 8 or 11.
If you only want Amazon content, pick the Fire HD 10 or HD 8 and wait for a sale rather than paying list.
Budget about $15 extra to remove lock-screen ads on a Fire.
For a child, compare the $150 Fire HD 8 Kids with the $229.99 Kids Tablet 8 on one question: do you want Google Play available under parental approval?
Before buying the 12 Pro with keyboard and pen, price an iPad (A16) at $449 on Apple’s site.

Which Amazon Fire tablet should you buy?