Amazon intros new tablets: Fire HDX 8.9 with Snapdragon 805 CPU, Fire HD 6, and more

Not long after releasing the Fire Phone (which, as it turns out, is a failure), Amazon today announced a bunch of new tablets, including its “most powerful ever”, and its cheapest ever.

Let’s start with the powerful one: it’s an all new Fire HDX 8.9 tablet that looks similar to last year’s model, but brings several internal improvements. The new Fire HDX 8.9 is powered by a 2.5 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 805 processor (with an Adreno 420 GPU), apparently being the world’s first slate to feature this chipset. Another novelty is the use of Dolby Atmos audio, this allowing the slate to deliver clear and crisp sound while being “twice as loud as an iPad Air.” The tablet sports the same 8.9-inch display with 2560 x 1600 pixels that’s found on the older model. Amazon is offering the new Fire HDX 8.9 for prices starting at $379 (16 GB version). Pre-orders are already available, but shipments won’t begin before October 21.

Now let’s talk about Amazon’s cheapest slate yet. It’s called Fire HD 6, and offers a 6-inch display with 800 x 1280 pixels, a quad-core 1.5 GHz processor (unknown maker), 2 MP rear camera, VGA front-facing camera, and 8 GB / 16 GB of internal memory. The Fire HD 6 costs $99 (8 GB variant), and will be released on October 2. There’s also a new Fire HD 7, which has the same internals, but sports a larger, 7-inch display with the same 800 x 1280 pixel resolution. The HD 7 will also be released on October 2, starting at $139.

The new 6-inch and 7-inch Fire HDs have Kids Editions, which can be pre-ordered for as low as $149. These come with kid-proof cases, 2-year worry-free guarantee, “best-in-class parental controls”, and access to Amazon FreeTime Unlimited for 1 year. Both will be out on October 21.

All the new Amazon tablets run Fire OS 4 Sangria - the latest version of Amazon's Android-based platform, which was unveiled today. Fire OS 4 Sangria brings various performance enhancements, plus lots of Amazon-exclusive features - including Firefly (which was first introduced on the Fire Phone).


source: Amazon (1), (2), (3), (4)