Amazon refreshes tablet lineup

Amazon has cut the price of its Fire HD 8 tablet by $10, with an upgraded model that will be available next month for $80 (all figures US).

The company also announced a new version of the 7-inch Fire tablet, which will keep its $50 price tag. It also introduced two new versions of its tablet for children — a $100 update to its Fire 7 Kids Edition and new $130 Fire HD 8 Kids Edition — and a limited promotion that will slice 20 per cent off for anyone who buys at least three Fire devices at once.

The price cut comes as Amazon and other manufacturers try to settle on the right price for a tablet. Apple recently dropped the price of its cheapest iPad to $330 — far above what Amazon is offering — in an acknowledgment that people aren’t as eager to update their tablets as they are their smartphones.

Amazon also seems to know that you aren’t sure if you can justify buying a new tablet. It’s trying to make them cheap enough that you might not care.

Tablets have become a tricky product for many gadget-makers to address, as enthusiasm for the devices continues to cool.

Analysis firm IDC recently reported that sales of tablets are down 8.5 per cent from the same time in 2016.

Shipments of Amazon tablets, IDC said, are down 8 per cent from the same time last year.