Amazon Phases Out Fire Tablets for New Alexa Tablet Line
Panos Panay confirmed to Bloomberg that Amazon will stop refreshing Fire tablets, keep security updates and move to Alexa Tablets.
Amazon is phasing out its Fire Tablet line and shifting to Alexa Tablets, Panos Panay confirmed to Bloomberg. The company will stop planning further hardware refreshes for Fire tablets, though it will continue to provide security updates for existing devices.
Panay said Amazon has more hardware announcements coming throughout the fall. He also said the company will not release an Amazon-branded computer or laptop.
The move marks the end of a tablet family that ran on Amazon's custom Fire OS. The new Alexa tablet lineup runs proper Android instead, with full access to the Play Store. On Fire tablets, Gmail, Google Calendar, YouTube, Google Drive and other Google services were only available via the browser, as the official apps were not in the Amazon Appstore.
Panay told Bloomberg the Fire tablet line "wasn't giving customers what they were asking for."
Quick answers
Will my Fire tablet still get updates?
Amazon will continue providing security updates for existing Fire tablets.
Is Amazon making a laptop?
No. Panay said Amazon will not release an Amazon-branded computer or laptop.
What is replacing the Fire tablet line?
Amazon is moving to Alexa Tablets, which run proper Android with full access to the Play Store.