Amazon to release $50 Fire tablet in time for Christmas after top price devices flopped
Amazon’s Fire smartphone flopped last year
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Amazon is reportedly releasing a $50 tablet with a 6-inch screen in time for Christmas.
Amazon’s newest tablet will be one of the cheapest on the market and undercut the price of its own Fire HD 6-inch tablet by more than half, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
The cheap price of the new tablet will take its toll on quality. Insiders have suggested it could have a mono instead of a stereo speaker, for example.
Jeff Bezos, the Amazon boss, has said that Amazon prefers to sell services, like books and movies, rather than make money on devices. The cost of the Kindle’s ink-like screen had stopped the price of the device from creeping under $50. The cheapest Kindle at the moment is $79, while the cheapest Fire tablet has a 6-inch screen and sells for $99.
Amazon’s Fire smartphone flopped last year when the company confounded expectations that it would release a cheap tablet and instead priced its new device to match Apple’s iPhone, without any of Apple’s cult appeal. When price-cuts couldn’t save it, Amazon absorbed $170 million in unsold handsets and laid off dozens of engineers.
Amazon has now come full-circle with the cheaper device, which builds the company’s business around the services it can sell once the consumer has bought the cheaper reader.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments