5 reasons to buy Amazon’s new kids’ tablets over an iPad

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At an event in October 2026, Amazon announced two new tablets designed just for kids, the Kids Tablet 8 and Kids Tablet 11. These new tablets, starting at $229.99, promised big changes from the Fire Kids tablets the company previously sold. First, the company ditched its oft-criticized Fire operating system in favor of stock Android. This means kids will finally have better access to apps from Google Play instead of being stuck with Amazon’s own app store. The bad news, however, is that they cost more than the old Fire Kids tablets, which regularly started at $100.

The Kids Tablet 8 will start at $229.99 while the Kids Tablet 11 will cost $329.99. Although this higher price brings the new tablets closer to the $449 you’d pay for a standard iPad. Amazon’s tablets have many strengths that make them comparable – and in some cases even a better choice – than the iPad for kids.

Both tablets are already available for pre-order now and will begin shipping on October 14. Buying an iPad for older kids can still be a good idea, but if you’re considering getting some new tech for your kids this year, it’s worth looking at what Amazon’s new tablets have to offer.

The most obvious reason to opt for one of Amazon’s new kids’ tablets is the price. Apple’s entry-level iPad is the 11-inch model with the A16 chip, and it starts at $449 for the 128GB Wi-Fi-only version. That’s a lot to invest in a device for kids, especially for younger ones who might be prone to dropping things.

The Kids Tablet 8 starts at $229.99, so you’re saving around $219 right off the bat. And for that, you still have access to standard games, apps and streaming services, as it supports the Google Play Store. The Kids Tablet 8 has an 8.7-inch screen and 64GB of storage, and Amazon says it offers up to 14 hours of video playback. If your child is older, the Kids Tablet 11 will probably be a better option. It costs $329.99 but comes with an 11-inch display with 2.5K resolution, 8GB of RAM, and full stylus support. The Kids Tablet 11 is designed to last up to 15 hours, so it lasts a little longer. Apple, meanwhile, rates the iPad for up to 10 hours of web browsing or video, so you get more battery than Apple without having to pay more.

Of course, there are other affordable kids’ tablets with great battery life if you want to spend even less than Amazon’s offerings. The savings can add up quickly if you have more than one child, since you would be buying two or three tablets instead of just one.

If you’ve ever handed a child a smart device, you probably already know it’s going to be abandoned. Sometimes a lot. That’s why a good case is essential when buying a tablet for your kids. Apple doesn’t include one with the iPad, however, and a separate case can add between $20 and $100 depending on what you use. Amazon, meanwhile, includes a case with each of its new kids’ tablets.

The case you get depends on your child’s age, and your child will probably care a lot more about their appearance than you do. Versions for ages three and up come with a soft bumper case that has a handle, while versions for ages six and up get a slim hard case with a folding kickstand. There are also character designs like “Paw Patrol,” “Barbie,” and “SpongeBob SquarePants,” in case that’s something your child wants.

The included rugged cases are one reason the Amazon Fire Kids Tablet might be safer than other Android options for some time now. These older Fire Kids tablets also came with a two-year warranty, where Amazon would replace a broken tablet for free. Amazon’s announcement only lists a one-year limited warranty for the new kids’ tablets, however, so you should keep that in mind before purchasing.

Giving your child a tablet doesn’t mean you want them to stare at it all day, so parental controls are a big deal here. Every new kids’ tablet comes with Amazon’s Parental Dashboard already installed. In the dashboard, you can set custom screen time limits and see what your child has been doing. You can even control which apps and content they can open, which is useful considering how many apps exist in the Google Play Store. You can also download the Parent Dashboard app on iOS and Android, making it easier to manage your child’s tablet without having to take it out of their hands every time.

A very useful parental feature offered by Amazon is Learn First, which allows you to set different goals for your children to achieve, such as reading or playing in educational apps, before they can open games or video streaming services. Additionally, any downloads from the Google Play Store will require parental permission.

It’s worth noting that Apple offers many of the same features on the iPad. Screen Time will let you set limits on games and other apps, and Ask to Buy even makes it so that you have to approve downloads before installing them. However, you’ll first need to create a child account in your Family Sharing group, and you may have difficulty setting the kind of granularity that Amazon’s system offers.

Content is another important element of value to consider with Amazon Kids tablets. Each kids’ tablet comes with one year of Amazon Kids Plus, which includes access to books, games, videos, apps and audiobooks. This gives your child plenty of things to do right away without you having to spend extra money on apps. The library includes ad-free content from Disney, Nickelodeon, LEGO and Sesame Street.

Kids Plus is also designed to be age-appropriate for your child, meaning the catalog of recommended apps will be different for three-year-olds than for ten-year-olds. And since Google Play is included, you can even let your kids download other apps and experiences from there. Once the year is over, Kids Plus will increase to $7.99 per month for Prime members and $8.99 per month for non-Prime members. That’s only a savings of $1 per month, so it’s not a good reason to sign up for Prime on your own. However, if you’re already trying to figure out how much you need to spend to make Amazon Prime worth it, help yourself cross the line.

Much of what kids do on tablets is as simple as watching videos. However, Amazon has included some built-in experiences to help develop your child’s creative side. You’ll need Kids Plus to use them all, but the biggest is Storybuilder, an AI feature that lets kids use their voices to create their own characters and worlds. AI then takes these ideas and turns them into specially designed picture books and comics for your children to enjoy. Other features include included Art Studio and even one called Stories with Alexa.

The system is supposed to have different guardrails in place to keep kids safe, and the parental dashboard will show you everything your kids have created using Storybuilder, Art Studio, and Stories with Alexa. This feature may or may not be compelling, depending on how you feel about AI. But it’s increasingly becoming a standard part of all our devices, and Amazon seems to be designing systems that are pretty safe for kids. The 11-inch kids’ tablet also supports a stylus, which could be a solid option for the budding artists in your life who want to draw on their tablet.