Amazon Kids Tablets land with the one perk Fire tablets were always missing

Amazon Kids Tablets are now official as announced by the company today. These come in two sizes, 8.7-inch and 11-inch, run Android, and are equipped with Google Play (with parent-approved downloads). They start at $229.99 and $329.99 respectively, giving direct competition to tablets such as Samsung's Galaxy Tab A11+ Kids Edition.

What Amazon is bringing to the table for kids’ tablets

Amazon unveiled two models for the Kids Tablet, the Kids Tablet 8 and the Kids Tablet 11. Each one comes in versions appropriate for ages 3+, featuring a soft bumper, and for ages 6+, featuring a slim hard case.



As far as pricing, the Kids Tablet 8 starts at $229.99, comes with 64GB of storage and promises up to 14 hours of video playback. The Kids Tablet 11, which is clearly the premium offering, starts at $329.99, sports a 2.5K display, 8GB of RAM, and stylus support. Every model comes with the below out of the box:

• A kid-proof case.
• A year of Amazon Kids+ (Amazon's subscription service for kids, formerly known as FreeTime Unlimited). Kids+ starts at $7.99 a month for Prime members and $8.99 a month for everyone else, and they kick in after the free year.
• Amazon's Parent Dashboard preinstalled.
• A 1-year limited warranty.

Case designs include children’s favorites such as Paw Patrol, Barbie and SpongeBob. Pre-orders are open now, but shipping won't start until October 14 in the US, Mexico, Canada and Japan. In the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, shipping will begin on October 19.

The tablets will be sold directly on Amazon.com and through retail partners Best Buy and Target.

How this kids tablet differs from the Galaxy Tab A11+ Kids Edition

Unlike regular Android tablets, Fire tablets have historically run Fire OS with Amazon’s own app store and no Google Play built in. However, this marks the end of that chapter with Amazon ending Fire tablet production, kids models included. Note that Amazon will continue to support existing Fire devices for at least four years after the last one ships, according to this report.

This also marks the beginning of the Amazon Kids Tablets, as well as the new Alexa Tablets that were just announced today. One huge benefit of this is that these tablets support full Google Play integration, meaning you now have the freedom to install any app you want from the Play Store.

For the Kids tablets though, parents will, of course, need to get involved and individually approve the installation of apps outside of the Kids+ realm. This could mean apps that the school requires or recommends, or games that the kids might want to play with their friends.

For reference, the Galaxy Tab A11+ Kids Edition launched at $349.99 in the US back in April, which we covered. With an 11-inch 1920x1200 90Hz screen and 128GB storage, it includes the same hardware that the non-kids edition of the A11+ has.

Also, it brings a Crayo-pen stylus and a thick Kids Cover out of the box. Included parental controls cover screen time and which apps are accessible.

This means the Kids Tablet 11 is $20 cheaper, has a sharper screen and more RAM than the Galaxy Tab A11+ Kids Edition. However, Amazon hasn’t said how long the Kids Tablets will get updates for versus the seven years of Android OS and security updates the Galaxy Tab A11+ Kids Edition will get. This is certainly an important consideration when choosing which hardware to buy.

How much work will parents have to actually put in

The Parent Dashboard comes preinstalled and there is a free companion iOS and Android app available for remote control of the kids’ devices. Parents will be able to set screen-time limits, set “Learn First” goals to prioritize reading and education apps, control web browsing, and pause or resume the device remotely.



Parents will also be able to see what kids create in Stories with Alexa, Storybuilder and Art Studio. Up to four child profiles can be tied to a Parent Dashboard across Amazon devices.

Google Play integration: more freedom or more work

The question here, at least to me, is whether having access to the Play Store constitutes more freedom or more work for the parents. Sure, the kids will love having access to the larger catalog of apps, but that could mean more work for the parents when it comes to maintaining and approving them.

If you like to have complete control of what gets installed on your child’s tablet, I think this is a good trade-off. I’d rather have the freedom to approve or deny an app, than be worried that the app might not be available at all.

More on kids tablets and Android slates:

• Samsung's Galaxy Tab A11+ Kids Edition arrives in the US
• Everything about the Galaxy Tab S12 series
• Why the Galaxy Tab A11+ is still a top budget tablet

• Follow me on X and Threads

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