Amazon is planning a major change to the Fire tablet line, which has been associated with the customized Fire OS operating system for more than a decade.
According to many sources, an internal project called Kittyhawk will mark the first time Amazon has included standard Android in its product, expected to launch next year.
Since 2011, Amazon has taken advantage of Fire OS, a fork version of Android, to build its own ecosystem, forcing developers to release apps on its own app store.
However, this approach often causes users to complain about the lack of popular applications, slow Android updates, while developers spend more resources to maintain many versions.
According to observers, the transition to Android is a strategic change. If successful, the Fire board will become more attractive thanks to its wide compatibility.
However, the exithawk project is still at risk of being delayed or canceled due to financial or technical factors. Amazon has declined to comment, only saying it has not responded to rumors or speculations.
Another notable point is that the new Fire product is expected to cost around 400 USD, nearly double the current Fire Max 11 model (230 USD).
This price brings Amazon devices closer to the iPad segment, which ranges from $ 350 to $1,200. Although there is no detailed information about the configuration, the technology world believes that Amazon wants to elevate Fire to compete directly with high-end rivals.
Amazon is currently fourth in the global tablet market, accounting for 8% of the market share, after Apple (33.1%), Samsung (18.7%) and Lenovo (8.2%), according to IDC.
For many years, the company's strategy has been to sell cheap devices, even without profit, to attract users to the digital content ecosystem. However, for Kittyhawk, Amazon seems to want to break that limit to conquer the higher demand customer base.
If this turning point is successful, Fire OS, an icon associated with the Amazon tablet since 2011, may soon be a thing of the past.
