Amazon could have massacred Apple's struggling iPads, but the new Alexa Tablets are not it
Apple's iPads are getting pricier and less popular, but it doesn't look like Amazon will be able to benefit in any way with the deeply flawed new Alexa Tablets.
The unexpectedly low-key launch of the aptly named Alexa Tablet 8, Alexa Tablet 11, and Alexa Tablet 12 Pro made me feel basically all of the feelings before and during the weekend. While I was initially baffled and then outraged by the relatively modest excitement these seemingly game-changing new Play Store-supporting devices generated in the media and on various online forums, I'm now firmly in the skeptical camp too and no longer think any of the world's top tablet vendors are in danger of being overtaken anytime soon.
The Alexa Tablet family could have been great
Whatever long-time iPad users and hardcore Apple fans might think, I still have a lot of faith in Android's potential to become a market-leading tablet platform... eventually.
The Alexa Tablet 8 cuts far too many corners for its starting price. | Image by Amazon
Unfortunately, said potential has been squandered time and time again over the last few years by insanely derivative, annoyingly underpowered, and increasingly costlier Samsung Galaxy Tabs, not to mention Google's inability (or unwillingness) to design a "normal" product and stick with it.
With that in mind, all the Alexa Tablet roster had to do was ditch the protracted Fire OS experiment, offer a variety of screen sizes and price points, not make any unnecessary hardware compromises, and perhaps most importantly, (substantially) undercut its Apple-made rivals. In short, Amazon needed to pull a Lenovo to hope to get some of its lost tablet market relevance back, but that's only happened to a certain degree.
The value propositions as they stand range from bad to okay
If you're confused by what I mean when I say Amazon is looking to become a global force in the Apple-dominated tablet landscape again, I need to remind you that the e-commerce giant used to be the world's number three vendor just four short years ago.
Since then, however, the company has only released a handful of sub-par Fire slates with uninspired designs, underwhelming specs, not-low-enough prices, and no Google Play access, so compared to those, the 8.7, 11, and 12-inch new Alexa Tablets are clearly a breath of fresh air pretty much in every aspect that counts (including branding).
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There's always a catch with Amazon. My Echo Show now spends 1/3 of the time displaying ads (recently video ads!). Prime Video added in ads unless you pay the supplemental fee. If the tablets aren't already showing you ads, they will. Buyer beware.
kwajkid92 on Reddit, October 8, 2026
But their more inspired names, premium build quality, and... standard-issue software can't make up for the fact that the Alexa Tablet 8, for instance, cuts way too many corners for its $229.99 starting price. I'm talking 64GB internal storage space, 4GB RAM, 4,600mAh battery capacity, a mediocre MediaTek 8189 processor, and on top of it all, lockscreen ads as well.
Of course, you can get rid of the ads that so many prospective buyers seem to have a big problem with, as well as bump the memory and storage up to 8GB and 128GB respectively, but in that case, you need to pay $299.99... and you're still left with the same chipset and smaller battery than something like the 6.3-inch Pixel 10a handset, not to mention an unremarkable 8.7-inch display with 1340 x 800 pixel resolution.
Do you think Amazon's Alexa Tablets will sell well?
7 Votes
No matter how you look at it, that's a bad deal even in this age of rapidly rising product prices, and although the Alexa Tablet 11 and 12 Pro obviously come with far few compromises, their bang for your buck also doesn't look right. Not when the most impressive model packs a MediaTek Dimensity 8400 processor at a starting price of $499.99 (fortunately, without ads).
Lenovo remains my biggest hope
Before you accuse me of being a Lenovo or Android fanboy (which I kind of am) and an Apple hater (which isn't completely untrue either), I must stress my main gripe with iPads nowadays are their prices. And I believe the only way the Cupertino-based tech giant will ever keep them in check after reportedly preparing to charge as much as $799 (!) for a new iPad mini with 128GB storage (!!) and no 120Hz display refresh rate technology (!!!) is if someone starts chipping away at Apple's market share with cheaper and similarly feature-packed slates.
That someone could have been Amazon after the release of the Alexa Tablet trio, but it's probably going to be Lenovo instead. After all, the brand is already the world's third largest tablet vendor, and it's the only one of the top five group that managed to improve its sales numbers in both Q1 and Q2 2026 compared to the same timeframes of last year.
The Yoga Tab Gen 2 is impressively affordable right now for a high-end 11-inch slate with 256GB storage and both a keyboard and stylus included. | Image by Lenovo
That was before a number of impressively powerful, versatile, and affordable new devices saw daylight between July and September, mind you, and the incredible value delivered by the likes of the Yoga Tab Gen 2, Yoga Tab Plus Gen 2, Idea Tab Pro Gen 2, and Tab Plus Gen 2 essentially week in and week out is made to feel that much more remarkable by the Amazon Alexa Tablet lineup. By the way, do we know how many OS updates the Alexa Tablets are supposed to get... after disappointingly running Android 16 out the box? Exactly.
Of course, you have to remember that Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was Lenovo's exceptional current tablet portfolio, so maybe, just maybe Amazon will learn from what makes its first-gen Alexa Tablets less than perfect and come out with a second edition next year truly capable of challenging Apple's iPad bestsellers and the aforementioned Yoga Tab and Idea Tab bargains.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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