Amazon has long followed the same formula for its tablets. Fire tablets are known to be cheap, durable devices good for watching video and doing casual tasks like browsing, playing basic games and checking out Facebook. Amazon's own app store has received plenty of support from developers over the years, but it's still missing plenty of crucial options like Whatsapp and YouTube, just to name a few. This year, however, Amazon is changing up its strategy. Its new series of Alexa tablets may highlight the company's services and assistant first and foremost, but they're also full-fledged Android tablets with plenty of Google's own apps and access to the Play Store.

Look Up Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Mashable @Home Trending Now Mashable Selects Say More Top creators, ranked Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Creator Playbook In My Bag AI at School Safety Net All Series Samantha Mangino, is an e-reader expert. She's tested all the Kindle and Kobo e-readers, diving into the buzziest models. Her love of reading extends beyond the e-reader beat, covering books and authors, too. In the tech space, she covers tablets, smart rings, and headphones. All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers.

Amazon is rumored to be making a smartphone, and the Alexa-powered experiences on its new tablets give us a taste of what might come if that happens. Is Amazon making a smartphone? A Reuters report from earlier this year revealed details about a device codenamed Transformer under development, with Amazon's Alexa+ AI assistant as the focus of the experience. With Amazon announcing a complete rebrand of its tablet line on Thursday --killing the cheap Fire Tablets and replacing them with premium Alexa Tablets that finally run Android with access to the Google Play Store--we now have a blueprint for what an Android-powered Amazon phone could look like. Amazon's souped-up Alexa+ assistant is front and center on the tablets.

The three new aluminum Alexa Tablets now run Android with full access to the Google Play Store. There are versions for kids too. The era of Amazon's Fire tablets --cheap slate computers ranging from $60 to $280--is over. All of the Fire tablets are being replaced by the all-aluminum Amazon Alexa Tablet. These tablets will, in a first for Amazon, run official Android and have full access to the Google Play Store.

When it comes to tablets, only a few names are left standing: iPads, Galaxy Tabs, Surface and Fire. Amazon's Fire tablets have acquired a bit of a cult following, thanks mostly to the value they deliver for their relatively low prices. So it's a bit of a risky move for the company to announce today that it's completely replacing that line with a new family of Alexa tablets. The good news is, you'll still find the new 8-inch and 11-inch models fairly comparable to the Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 10. The new Amazon Alexa Tablet 12 Pro looks set to take on the iPad Pro.