Amazon yesterday unveiled a slate of higher-end tablets that for the first time feature its Alexa+ voice assistant and run on Google’s Android operating system, a bet that consumers will pay ‌ more for premium devices after years of focusing on the budget end of the market.

Seattle-based Amazon, according to a Reuters report yesterday from San Francisco, said had been working on the tablets under the code name Kittyhawk, as the news agency reported exclusively last year, to transition away from its more limited homegrown Fire OS operating system software, after years of gripes from consumers and app developers.

Fire OS is a “forked” version of Android, with modifications to make it work like a unique operating system.

Known as Alexa tablets, the line features several different versions with starting prices from $230 to $500; all are made with aluminum cases, a switch from Fire tablets’ plastic.

The new tablets ⁠will cost as much as $550, a big bump from Amazon’s more recent top-of-the-line Fire HD 10 tablet which cost upwards of $180, though the company often discounted them.

The top Alexa tablet, with 128 gigabytes of memory, for $550 compares with an Apple iPad for $450 and Samsung’s Galaxy tablet for $550.

The product revamp marks a new strategy under devices chief Panos Panay to move upscale and away from the inexpensive gadgets Amazon sold at or near cost to hook customers into using Prime Video, Kindle, music apps and the main e-commerce website.

That focus on affordability came with compromises, like lower screen quality and battery life, compared with rivals Apple and Samsung and others.

Alexa+, an advanced AI-powered version of the Alexa voice assistant, will feature prominently on the devices to help perform actions or answer questions using generative AI.

Accessing Alexa+ on the tablets will require a Prime membership or Alexa+ subscription, Amazon said.

The Seattle company held just 1.9 percent of the global tablet market in this year’s second quarter, down from 8 percent a year earlier, according to IDC. Apple is the leader with 34 percent, followed by Samsung at 17.5 percent.