Amazon is replacing its Fire tablet line with a new family of Alexa tablets, and the 12-inch Alexa Tablet 12 Pro looks set to take on Apple's iPad Pro at less than half the price. The 12-inch model starts at $499, with a more premium variant going up to $549. That version comes with 16GB of RAM and a textured screen Amazon calls a "nanomatte" display. It is powered by a 4-nanometer 8-core MediaTek Dimensity 8400 processor and can refresh at up to 120Hz, with a 3:2 aspect ratio and a pixel density of 280ppi. Four speakers with Dolby Atmos support and a promised 16-hour battery life round out the specs.
Alexa is deeply integrated into the tablet's interface, reflecting the name. Panos Panay, Amazon's head of devices, Alexa and Leo, said the tablets are the result of 2.5 years of work and were rebuilt from the ground up to offer "the most premium experience we possibly could" at an affordable price. Amazon focused on three areas: the apps users want, delivered for the first time through the Google Play Store, Alexa woven throughout the operating system, and the redesign and hardware. Panay said the team's one non-negotiable was reinventing the screen.
The nanomatte display is striking in person and closely resembles the nano texture Apple introduced on the iPad Pro with the M4 generation in 2024. Both reduce glare effectively. In side-by-side recordings, the untreated model reflected overhead lights more noticeably, though the textured screen slightly reduced brightness and readability in direct sunlight.
The main point of difference from Apple is Kindle Mode. Panay said the team was challenged to ask whether the nanomatte screen should feel like a Kindle Scribe when a pen is used on it. According to the story, the team delivered, and Kindle Mode is available across the Alexa tablet lineup.
Source: Engadget · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing