Amazon's Alexa Tablet 12 Pro climbs toward mid-range on a matte screen built for reading

A Fire HD 10 owner paid $155 for the base model. For that they got 32GB of storage, 4GB of RAM and, by Engadget's account, roughly the performance of a cheap Chromebook ^[7][6]. It was well suited to watching videos and reading books, and Engadget says it was never a productivity machine ^[6].

Amazon pitches the 12 Pro as a device built around two things, reading and AI ^[5]. Engadget's account of why people buy Amazon tablets includes only the first. They buy them as a Kindle alternative that can also play video and run Android apps ^[14]. The AI half is Alexa+. On the 12 Pro it covers smart home controls, chat about what is on screen and a hands-free voice mode ^[10]. Engadget noted that Amazon would like buyers to be excited about the AI, then wrote that "it's hard to turn down better hardware" ^[15].

The reading changes are in the panel and in the software. The matte finish is optional. It sits beside a standard glossy panel of the same 12-inch size and 280 pixels per inch ^[9]. Engadget says Kindle reading is better on the nanomatte version ^[13]. Kindle mode is Amazon leaning on its first-party advantage, because the Kindle app already runs perfectly well on other brands' tablets ^[14]. Panos Panay said the mode is designed to "preserve the sanctuary of reading" ^[2].

The mid-range claim rests on the parts list. Up to 16GB of RAM is four times the base Fire HD 10's 4GB ^[16]. Engadget places the 12 Pro above Amazon's old bargain tier and below iPads and Galaxy Tabs ^[4]. Its account does not include the 12 Pro's price or say how much Alexa+ processing happens on the tablet itself ^[5].

For someone buying tablets for a household or a classroom, two questions sort the decision. Is most of the use reading? Does that reading happen in bright light? Reading in bright light is what the nanomatte 12 Pro was built for, since the finish is meant to cut glare ^[5][13]. In my view that is the version to buy for a reader in a sunny room. The tradeoff is paying for an 8-core Dimensity 8400 and up to 16GB of RAM that a reading tablet does not obviously need ^[8]. Reading indoors gets Kindle mode on any of the new Alexa tablets ^[1]. Outside reading, the light question drops out. For apps and work, the 12 Pro is up against iPads and Galaxy Tabs, and Engadget says it still falls short of them ^[4]. Video and casual use is what the $155 Fire HD 10 already did ^[6][7].