Amazon sells cheap tablets with decent screens and reasonably adequate specs because the company wants you to spend money on Amazon products and services. And that’s one of the reasons Amazon Fire tablets ship with a fork of Android called FireOS rather than stock Android software – because it allows Amazon to ship its own […]
fire os
How to install Google Play on 12th-gen Amazon Fire tablets (2022 models running Fire OS 8)
The 12th-gen Amazon Fire tablet is the first device to ship with Fire OS 8, the latest version of Amazon’s tablet operating system, and it’s now available from Amazon for $60 and up. While Fire OS continues to put an emphasis on Amazon’s apps and services, making Fire tablets most useful for customers who stream […]
Amazon Fire tablets: How to disable the Continue & Discover row on the home screen
The operating system for Amazon’s Fire tablets is a fork of Android called Fire OS that’s tightly integrated with Amazon’s apps and services including Kindle, Prime Video, Prime Music, and the Alexa voice assistant. And instead instead of the Google Play Store, the tablets ship with Amazon’s Appstore. It’s fairly easy to sideload third-party apps […]
Google Play Store can be installed on 2022 Amazon Fire tablets again
Amazon’s Fire tablets ship with a modified version of Android called Fire OS. It’s tightly linked with Amazon’s apps and services including the Kindle, Prime Video, and Amazon Music apps. It also features Amazon’s Appstore instead of the Google Play Store. But folks have been installing the Play Store on Amazon’s tablets for years. Up […]
Fire Toolbox v30 brings new features for hacking Amazon Fire tablets (including Fire OS 8 models)
Amazon’s Fire tablets are some of the cheapest tablets worth buying, with starting prices as low as $50 (or even lower during Amazon’s Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Prime Day sales). But they ship with a modified version of Android called FireOS that lacks some of the features you might find on other Android tablets. […]
Amazon Fire HD 8 (2022) is now available for $100 and up
Amazon’s new Fire HD 8 tablet is now available. First announced in September, the latest version of Amazon’s 8 inch tablet has a faster processor and a lighter body than the previous-gen model. It also ships with the latest version of Amazon’s Fire OS software, for better or worse. The new Amazon Fire HD 8 […]
Lilbits: Nobody is playing Netflix games, Fibit is killing its desktop sync apps, Moto Razr 2 and Kobo Clara 2E on the way
Fitbit is pulling the plug on its desktop apps, which means you may soon no longer be able to sync your steps and other activities with a PC or Mac. If you have a Fitbit watch, that means you’ll also no longer be able to transfer music to your wearable unless you’re using the Deezer […]
How to use an SD card with Amazon’s Fire tablets
Every tablet Amazon Fire tablet released in the past few years has featured a microSD card slot, which is a nice thing to have if you’re using a tablet that may have as little as 8GB of built-in storage. You can pick up just about any Class 10 or UHS microSD card to add up […]
Amazon Fire 7 (2022, 12th-gen): First look at Fire OS 8
The 12th-gen Amazon Fire 7 tablet is now available, and it’s the first of Amazon’s tablets to ship with Fire OS 8, the latest version of the company’s Android-based operating system for tablets and smart TVs. As we reported when Amazon announced the new tablet in May, Fire OS 8 is based on Android 11 […]
Amazon Fire OS 8 debuts this summer (Android 11-based software for Fire devices)
The new Amazon Fire 7 (2022) tablet brings a better processor, more memory, and longer battery life to Amazon’s entry-level tablet. The $60 tablet will also be the first to ship with Fire OS 8 when the new Fire 7 begins shipping June 29, 2022. Fire OS is the Android-based operating system Amazon uses for […]