Amazon is working on a new Fire tablet with Android. which would mark a turning point in its device strategy, according to information to which Reuters has had access through several sources.
The project, known internally as KittyHawk, responds to years of criticism from users and developers towards Fire OS and aims to offer an experience more compatible with the Android ecosystem, albeit with nuances.
Project Kittyhawk: What Amazon Proposes
The company would have decided to make the leap from its Android fork (Fire OS) to the open source version of Android, which would allow it to maintain a high degree of customization without direct coordination with Google.
This change does not necessarily imply the inclusion of the Google mobile services as standard, but it does open the door to greater interoperability with apps and devices in the Android universe that are not always available on the Fire today.
Price and positioning in the range
The cited sources point to a high end tablet whose price under discussion would be around $400, well above the Fire Max 11 (usually around $230) and far from the more affordable Fires.
This would be a significant change for a line that has traditionally been sold to adjusted prices to boost consumption of the company's content and services, although with concessions in areas such as screen and battery life compared to more expensive rivals.
In the market, this positioning would place it against devices such as the input iPad (from ~$350) and Android models from manufacturers like Samsung or Lenovo.
What changes for users and developers
For over a decade, Amazon's own store and the Fire OS customization have forced developers to maintain separate versions of their apps, reducing their catalog and complicating support.
Analysts like Jitesh Ubrani (IDC) have long pointed out that users are demanding access to recent versions of Android and popular apps bluntly, something that this movement could facilitate.
So far, many Fire owners have resorted to workarounds such as enabling the “apps of unknown origin” and install the Google Account Manager, Google Services Framework, Google Play Services, and Play Store APKs in order to access the Google ecosystem, including a restart.
This method, although useful, has limits: not all apps work (due to SafetyNet, GPS, or other requirements), and the experience is far from native integration; an official move to Android could eliminate much of this friction.
Schedule, risks, and what Amazon says
Sources speak of a possible launch as soon as next year, but they warn that the plan could be delayed or even canceled for financial or operational reasons.
Amazon, consulted by the agency, does not comment on rumors or speculation, so the project remains without public confirmation and deadlines are not guaranteed.
Fire OS, Vega, and the software strategy
In parallel, the company evaluates new avenues for your software: Some affordable tablets may use a proprietary Linux-based system (Vega), already seen on certain Fire TV devices.
In the medium term, several sources suggest that the full range of tablets would end up moving to some version of Android, with Vega as a temporary solution in entry-level models or in other categories such as TV.
Market context and precedents
According to IDC (Q2), Amazon ranks fourth place in the world on tablets with around 8% share, behind Lenovo (~8,2%) and far behind Apple (33,1%) and Samsung (18,7%).
The company already experienced a setback with the Fire Phone In 2014, a project was canceled with an accounting impact of $170 million, partly due to its dependence on Fire OS and a high price.
In recent times, Amazon has been more pragmatic in using thirdparty services when it suits them: its investment in Anthropic and the integration of Claude into Alexa+ and internal tools are an example of that openness.
What is not clear yet
For now they have not been revealed key specifications of the new Fire with Android (screen size and type, speakers, memory or battery), nor whether it will include Google Play or an alternative set of services from the factory.
There are still doubts about the Roadmap coexistence between Android, Fire OS and Vega on the tablet range, and how this will affect updates, support and compatibility in the long term.
As of today, everything points to a draft twist on Fire tablets: a commitment to Android to reduce friction, expand compatibility, and enhance the catalog, with an ambitious initial pricing model and a plan that, while promising, still depends on variables that could alter it.
