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Amazon has spent much of October 2026 rolling out a new generation of hardware piece by piece rather than at a single fall event, and the headline change is the end of an era: the Fire tablet is being phased out in favour of a new Amazon Alexa tablet lineup built on Android. According to Engadget’s rundown of the announcements, most of the new devices had launched or been unveiled by 8 October 2026.
The Amazon Alexa tablet lineup, model by model
The new tablets run Android 16 with Amazon’s own custom layer on top, which means, notably, access to the Google Play Store, something Fire tablets never offered. None of the three models include a microSD slot. The Alexa Tablet 8 starts at $230 with an 8.7-inch display, 4GB of RAM, 64GB or 128GB of storage and up to 14 hours of claimed video playback. The Alexa Tablet 11 steps up to $330 with an 11-inch 2.5K display running at 90Hz, 8GB of RAM, dual Dolby Atmos speakers and up to 15 hours of video life. At the top, the $500 Alexa Tablet 12 Pro adds a 12-inch 120Hz display, an 8-core CPU, a fingerprint sensor and up to 16 hours of video or 20 hours of Kindle reading, with an optional $50 anti-glare display and accessories including a $90 Pro Pen and a $150 magnetic Pro Keyboard. Kids versions of the 8 and 11 ship with protective cases and a year of Amazon Kids+. All three became available on 14 October in the US, Mexico and Canada, with the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain following five days later.
Kindle gets a quiet but thorough refresh
Alongside the tablets, Amazon refreshed its e-reader line. The base Kindle starts at $150 (or $170 without lockscreen ads) in Graphite or Ube, and claims up to six weeks of battery life. A $190 aluminum-cased version adds 32GB of storage in Alpine Sky or Seaglass Green. The Kindle Paperwhite now starts at $200, with a $250 Signature Edition adding an aluminum back, 32GB storage and double-tap page turns. The Kindle Colorsoft, Amazon’s color-display model, starts at $290, with a $320 Signature Edition adding the same aluminum treatment; both Colorsoft models claim up to eight weeks of battery life. Kids versions across the Kindle range come with protective covers and a year of Kids+.
Ring’s first smart lock
The most novel announcement in this wave is Ring’s first smart lock, priced at $249 and expected in the US in early 2027, pending FCC authorization that the device has not yet received. It fits a standard single-cylinder deadbolt with no extra wiring and offers four ways in: a fingerprint reader, a backlit touchscreen keypad, the Ring app, or Alexa voice commands. Its standout feature is a manual power dial that recharges the lock by hand if the battery runs out, meaning a dead battery doesn’t lock you out. It connects over Amazon Sidewalk rather than home Wi-Fi for remote status and PIN syncing, while unlocking itself happens on the device. Ring also refreshed several of its 4K camera lines and added a new Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam 2K that rotates 360 degrees and automatically follows detected motion. Amazon’s own announcement of the lock, published on its newsroom, confirms the hand-crank backup power is the headline feature.
Where this fits for Amazon
Taken together, the moves mark one of Amazon’s bigger hardware resets in years: dropping its own tablet operating system in favour of Android, and finally entering the smart lock category Ring’s rivals have occupied for years. It also comes as Fire TV gets its own refresh, with a new $60 Fire TV Stick 4K announced in September that Amazon says launches apps more than 35% faster than its predecessor.
Frequently asked questions
Is Amazon discontinuing the Fire tablet?
Yes. Amazon is moving away from its long-running Fire tablet line in favour of new Alexa tablets, which run Android 16 with a custom layer and include access to the Google Play Store, something Fire tablets never offered.
What are the new Amazon Alexa tablet prices?
The Alexa Tablet 8 starts at $230, the Alexa Tablet 11 starts at $330, and the flagship Alexa Tablet 12 Pro costs $500, with optional accessories including a $90 Pro Pen and a $150 magnetic Pro Keyboard.
When can I buy the new Amazon Alexa tablet lineup?
The tablets became available on 14 October 2026 in the US, Mexico and Canada, with availability following five days later in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
What is the Ring Smart Lock and when does it launch?
It’s Ring’s first smart lock, a keyless deadbolt with a fingerprint reader, keypad, app and Alexa unlocking, plus a manual power dial for emergency recharging. It’s priced at $249 and expected in the US in early 2027, pending FCC authorization.
What changed with the new Kindle lineup?
Amazon refreshed its basic Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Colorsoft models, with Signature Edition variants adding aluminum builds, larger storage and auto-adjusting light. Prices range from $150 for the base Kindle to $320 for the Colorsoft Signature Edition.
Does the Ring Smart Lock work without Wi-Fi?
Yes. It connects over Amazon Sidewalk rather than home Wi-Fi for remote locking, status updates and PIN syncing, while the actual unlocking happens directly on the device itself.
For more on where consumer and enterprise hardware is headed, see our coverage of Nvidia’s 14-day AI data centre claim and Google Cloud’s newest chip instances.
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