AppleInsider Staff
Amazon on Thursday announced seven new hardware products from its Fire lineup of tablets and streaming TV accessories, including an entry-level tablet that costs just $49.99, and a new $99.99 Fire TV with support for 4K video content.
With its newly updated tablets, Amazon continues to focus on the low end of the market, as headlined by the new $50 Fire tablet. Amazon is also offering discounts on buying the Fire in bulk, with a six-pack of the devices available for $250.
The 7-inch Fire tablet includes a quad-core processor and front- and rear-facing cameras. It comes with 8 gigabytes of storage, but is expandable to up to 128 gigabytes with a micro SD card.
The entry-level Fire is available for preorder now, and it will be released on Sept. 30.
The $50 Fire is joined by new Fire HD tablets priced at $149.99 for an 8-inch model, and $229.99 for a 10.1-inch size. Both feature a quad-core processor and Dolby Atmos stereo speakers.
The 8-inch version comes in 8- or 16-gigabyte varieties with color options of black, magenta, blue, or tangerine. The 10.1-inch Fire HD has capacities of 16 or 32 gigabytes, and is available in black or white.
The Fire Kids Edition has also been given a price cut to $99.99. It features an all-new Fire tablet, a year of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited, a kid-proof case, and a 2-year guarantee that the device will be replaced if it's broken in any way.
Finally, Amazon's Fire OS has been updated to version 5, dubbed "Bellini." It features a new home screen that simplifies content discovery, a new Amazon Underground app store with free titles, and new "Word Runner" capabilities that aid reading by showing words faster or slower based on their difficulty.
As for the Fire TV, Amazon's set-top box has been updated with support for 4K Ultra HD content, thanks to hardware that is 75 percent more powerful than last year's model. Priced at $99.99, Amazon says it's half the cost of any other 4K streaming media player. Apple's forthcoming $149.99 Apple TV will not stream 4K content.
Fire TV has also brought Alexa, the brain behind its Echo device, to the television. Users can ask for music, information, weather, traffic, and more.
The Fire TV Stick also gains access to Alexa thanks to a new Voice Remote bundled with the hardware. The new Fire TV Stick includes twice the memory of a Google Chromecast, and is priced at $49.99. The device can also be purchased with a standard remote for $39.99.
Amazon has also launched a new Gaming Edition of its set-top box, which includes the all-new Fire TV, a dedicated gaming controller, a 32-gigabyte microSD card, and two popular games, "Shovel Knight" and "Disney's Ducktales." The bundle is priced at $139.99, a discount from the full price of $187.95.
The new Amazon Fire TV will start shipping on Oct. 5, while the Fire TV Stick with Voice Remote will ship on Oct. 22.
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212 Comments
Don't give a hoot about the tablets, but I'll pickup a Fire TV to hook up to my 4K TV, replacing my Roku 3.
Just ordered the Fire TV. Much better value than the Apple TV I think. It's a shame I can't stream from my iPhone or Mac. But small price to pay for a proper 4K box with Netflix etc. And why are they forcing silly gaming options on us! In terms of tablets - it's still the case that it's the iPad and then everything else. No interest in these at all.
How are they able to make a tablet that costs less than the price of an iPad cover?
[quote name="leighr" url="/t/188285/amazon-updates-fire-tablets-tv-products-introduces-50-tablet-100-4k-fire-tv#post_2777843"]How are they able to make a tablet that costs less than the price of an iPad [B]cover[/B]? [/quote] The trick is locking you in to Amazon services, advertising and shopping, that's where the money is.
More loss leaders from Amazon. Impressive capabilities on their Fire TV. Probably worth getting for evaluation purposes.