Hands-on with Amazon’s Alexa Tablet 12 Pro and its wild new matte display

Key facts

• Amazon announced the Alexa Tablet 12 Pro, starting at $499.99, with a Nanomatte model at $549.99.
• It runs full Android with Google Play access, unlike Fire tablets.
• It has a 12.3-inch 3:2 display, optional Corning Nanomatte coating, and a MediaTek Dimensity 8400 CPU with 8GB or 12GB RAM.
• It weighs 550 grams, has an aluminum unibody, and supports an optional Pro Keyboard and Pro Pen.
• Alexa features include an Ask Alexa bar, Dynamic Tab, and opt-in On-Screen Intelligence.
• Smaller Alexa Tablet 11 and Tablet 8 start at $329.99 and $229.99.

Amazon has spent years building a reputation for Fire tablets that are inexpensive, durable, and family-friendly. Those devices are often the first tablet a child uses, or the cheap screen that lives on a coffee table for streaming and casual browsing. They are not, however, premium Android tablets. The company is now trying to change that with the Alexa Tablet 12 Pro, a $499.99 device that aims to be something an adult might genuinely want to use every day. It arrives alongside two smaller models, but the 12 Pro is the one that signals Amazon’s ambition.

Unlike the Fire Tablet lineup, the Alexa Tablet does not run a heavily modified version of Android tied to Amazon’s own app store and saturated with promotions for Amazon services. It offers full access to the Google Play Store. That single change dramatically expands the tablet’s appeal, because users can install the same apps, games, and productivity tools they would use on any other modern Android tablet. The Alexa Tablet 12 Pro is powered by 8GB or 12GB of RAM and a MediaTek Dimensity 8400 eight-core CPU. That combination is more than enough for light gaming, Alexa interactions, web browsing, email, video, and basic apps. It is not a high-end gaming machine, so demanding titles such as Alien: Isolation should not be expected to run at maximum smoothness.

Design and hardware

The aluminum unibody gives the Alexa Tablet 12 Pro a solid, premium feel. At 550 grams, or about 1.2 pounds, it is light enough to hold for extended reading sessions but does not feel flimsy or hollow. For context, it is slightly lighter than a 13-inch iPad Air, which weighs 617 grams, but heavier than the 11-inch iPad Air at 465 grams. That places it in a comfortable middle ground for a large tablet. The 12.3-inch screen uses a 3:2 aspect ratio, which is taller than the widescreen 16:10 or 16:9 ratios common on many entertainment-focused tablets. The 3:2 shape is better for reading documents, comics, books, and web pages, and it gives productivity apps more vertical room.

The most exciting part of the hardware is the display option. The standard model starts at $499.99, while the Nanomatte version costs at least $549.99. The Nanomatte screen uses Corning’s Nanomatte technology, which is similar in concept to Apple’s nano-texture finish on high-end displays. It reduces glare and gives the screen a more paper-like feel. The difference between the Nanomatte display and the standard glossy one is dramatic.

In a brightly sunlit room, the glossy screen acted almost like a mirror. It was easily washed out when viewed at an angle, and reflections competed with whatever was on screen. The Nanomatte display, by contrast, was clearly readable at nearly any angle and barely reflected ambient light. Only at extreme angles and in the brightest patches of light did it become difficult to see. It is impossible to fully convey the effect in photos or video. At first glance, the Nanomatte unit looked like a dummy device with a cardboard placeholder image inside. That illusion broke only when a representative began swiping around the screen.

Reading, writing, and battery life

The screen pairs particularly well with the immersive Kindle mode. In this mode, background activities are limited, notifications are silenced, and blue light is reduced to lower eye strain. Amazon has included three Kindle-specific display modes. Standard delivers the full vibrancy of the screen. Color offers a softer, more muted experience. Ink is full grayscale. In Kindle mode, battery life is also extended from 16 hours to 20 hours, making the tablet more competitive with dedicated e-readers for long reading sessions.

Using a stylus with the Nanomatte display is much more pleasant than using one on a glossy screen. The added friction and reduced glare make handwriting and sketching feel more natural. Without placing the tablet side-by-side with an iPad Pro, it is hard to say exactly how it compares to Apple’s matte display, but anecdotally the Alexa Tablet appears to retain slightly more contrast. The difference between it and an iPad is not obvious in casual use. The Alexa Tablet Pro Pen and Pro Keyboard attach magnetically and seem serviceable enough. The keyboard has shallow, cramped keys, so it is not something most people would want to type on all day, but it is fine for knocking out a few emails. The keyboard case is a little clunky to get on and off because it comes in two parts: the back cover and stand are separate from the keyboard base. The keyboard costs $149.99, and the Pro Pen costs $89.99.

Alexa everywhere

The tablet pushes Alexa into nearly every corner of the experience. In the bottom right-hand corner is an Ask Alexa bar that lets users quickly chat with the AI assistant. In the top left-hand corner is what Amazon calls the Dynamic Tab. It offers proactive suggestions from Alexa. Those suggestions can be as simple as picking up where you left off in a book or movie, or as involved as offering an itinerary for a three-day trip to New York. The feature is powered by Amazon’s deep well of information gathered from reading, viewing, and shopping habits.

Amazon keeps some of Alexa’s more invasive features off by default. On-Screen Intelligence, which can see what is on the screen and take actions based on it, is strictly opt-in. There are also robust controls for limiting what Alexa can hear and remember. If users do opt in, Alexa becomes a powerful shopping companion. It was possible to open random photos from the internet and ask Alexa to find something in them, such as a coffee table or a mirror. Even when it could not track down the exact item, it often found something close. It could then add the item to an Amazon cart if asked. Whether people will regularly ask Alexa to identify a bathroom fixture from a Pinterest photo and deliver it via Prime in two days is another question. The same goes for having Alexa automatically add school holidays to a calendar from a Department of Education site, though it will do that if asked.

Models, pricing, and competition

The Alexa Tablet 12 Pro starts at $499.99, but the Nanomatte model costs at least $549.99. Adding the keyboard case and the Pro Pen brings the total to roughly $790 before tax. Amazon also announced two smaller models that lack the Nanomatte screen option. The Alexa Tablet 11 starts at $329.99, while the Alexa Tablet 8 starts at $229.99. Those smaller tablets come in more playful colorways, including rosette and matcha, in addition to the graphite finish of the Tablet 12 Pro.

The Alexa Tablet 12 Pro enters a crowded market. Apple’s iPad lineup dominates the premium tablet space, and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab series offers strong Android alternatives. Google’s Pixel Tablet has tried to carve out a home-focused niche. Amazon’s advantage has traditionally been price, but the Alexa Tablet 12 Pro is priced much closer to an iPad Air than to a Fire tablet. Its full Google Play access, 3:2 display, and Nanomatte option give it a distinct identity. The Nanomatte screen, in particular, addresses a common frustration: tablets are often used outdoors, in kitchens, or near windows, where glossy reflections make them hard to see. A display that almost completely eliminates glare could be a meaningful quality-of-life improvement for readers, commuters, and anyone who works near bright light.

The MediaTek Dimensity 8400 is a capable midrange chip, not a flagship processor. It should handle daily multitasking, streaming, and casual games without issue. Buyers who want console-quality gaming or heavy video editing will need to look elsewhere. The tablet’s value depends on how much someone values the matte display and Alexa integration. For Kindle readers who also want apps, the combination of a large 3:2 screen, grayscale reading mode, and extended battery life is compelling. For Alexa households, the Dynamic Tab and Ask Alexa bar could make the tablet a natural control center. For everyone else, it is a premium Android tablet with a standout screen and a heavy dose of Amazon’s assistant.

The Alexa Tablet 12 Pro is Amazon’s first proper Android tablet, and it shows the company is willing to experiment beyond budget Fire devices. The Nanomatte option is the headline feature, but the full Play Store, aluminum build, and optional accessories are just as important. The smaller Alexa Tablet 11 and Alexa Tablet 8 will offer more affordable entry points and more playful colorways, while the 12 Pro sticks with graphite and aims squarely at productivity and reading.

Source: The Verge News