Amazon has put a magnetic keyboard on sale for its new Alexa tablets, and it fits only one of them. Engadget's launch report says the $150 Alexa Tablet Pro Keyboard is an accessory made exclusively for the Alexa Tablet 12 Pro, which costs $500 at the time of writing. For anyone shopping for a tablet keyboard, the price and the lock-in matter more than the headline features.
What Amazon announced
Amazon is replacing its Fire tablets with a premium Alexa line. According to Engadget's roundup of Amazon's October announcements, the Alexa tablets come in three sizes: the Alexa Tablet 8, the Alexa Tablet 11 and the flagship Alexa Tablet 12 Pro. The roundup puts the 12 Pro at $500 and says it is the model designed more for productivity. The two smaller tablets are described as primarily for entertainment.
The keyboard sits beside a second accessory. Engadget lists a $90 Alexa Tablet Pro Pen alongside the $150 keyboard, and both are described as exclusive to the 12 Pro. The roundup adds that an anti-glare Nanomatte display option costs $50 extra on the 12 Pro, and the launch report says the Nanomatte version starts at $550.
On availability, Engadget reports that the tablets go on sale in the US, Mexico and Canada on October 14, and in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain five days later, on October 19.
What we know about the keyboard
The published detail is thin. Engadget reports two facts about the keyboard itself: it attaches to the tablet magnetically, and it needs no Bluetooth pairing. That is a real convenience, because there is no pairing step and no separate connection to lose.
The articles we reviewed do not say anything about key travel, layout, backlighting, a trackpad, the typing angle or how the keyboard is powered. We have left those points out rather than guess. Before paying, check Amazon's own product page for them, and read independent reviews once they appear.
The cost of the full setup
Using only the prices Engadget reports, the arithmetic is straightforward:
- Alexa Tablet 12 Pro with the standard display: $500.
- Add the Pro Keyboard: $650 in total.
- Add the Pro Pen as well: $740.
- Choose the Nanomatte version instead of the standard display, keyboard and pen included: $790.
The keyboard alone is 30% of the tablet's base price. Those totals exclude tax, cases, shipping and any promotions, and prices can change, so confirm them on Amazon's page at the time you buy.
Why the Google Play change matters for typing
Keyboard buyers usually care about what they will type into. Engadget reports that, unlike earlier Amazon tablets, the new Alexa tablets have full access to the Google Play store alongside Amazon's own apps. The report says this applies to all three models. The roundup adds that the tablets run Android 16 with a custom layer on top, and that there appears to be no microSD card slot for expanding storage.
In practice, that means writing, email and office-style apps from Google Play are an option on these tablets, which makes a keyboard more useful than it was on Fire tablets with a smaller app selection. Whether any particular app handles a hardware keyboard well is something to check in that app's own listing.
What buyers should check
- Which tablet you are buying. The keyboard is for the 12 Pro only. If you choose the Tablet 8 or 11, this accessory is not an option.
- The full bundle price. Compare the tablet, keyboard and any pen as one purchase, not three separate small ones.
- What you need to type. If you write only short messages, the on-screen keyboard may be enough, and that costs nothing extra.
- Third-party options. A separate Bluetooth keyboard is a common alternative on Android tablets. Check Amazon's compatibility notes and the keyboard maker's before buying, since Engadget does not cover this point.
- Return terms. Look at the return window for the tablet and for the accessory on Amazon's page.
- Regional dates. Availability differs by country, with the UK and EU markets named by Engadget getting the tablets five days after the US.
What we could not confirm
We could not open Amazon's own announcement or product pages when preparing this report, so every figure here comes from Engadget's coverage of the launch and should be checked against Amazon before you spend. We have not tested the keyboard, and we make no claim about how it feels to type on. The question for keyboard buyers is the same as with any accessory: does the price, compared with the alternatives, match how much you will actually type?
