Ok, so we have somewhat gotten through the Fire HD, the Fire HD Kids Edition and the Fire HDX 8.9. You might have noticed that they ditched the ‘Kindle’ branding, that took a few looks to get straight. Along with the three new tablets comes a fairly major update to the Fire OS that accompanies them. All three of the new tablets will come pre-loaded with the all new Fire OS 4 code named Sangria.
The Fire OS 4 update is a pretty massive overhaul that doesn’t just add a few things or make a few little changes. Amazon really dug in and put a lot of effort into the new version of the Android KitKat based OS for their tablets. First, and definitely a welcomed one, is a complete UI face lift. While Amazon doesn’t offer up a ton of details about the new look, it is semi apparent in the images of the tables above.
The OS update also touts new features, like ASAP, Smart Suspend, profiles and Family Library (coming soon).Â
- ASAP is not short for ‘as soon as possible’, but it delivers a similar effect really. In Amazon world it stands for Advanced Streaming and Prediction. In a nutshell, Amazon will think it knows what you want to watch next and pre-buffer it for you so that it can play instantly. the ASAP caching prediction will get better over time, so expect a few oddballs in the beginning.
- Smart Suspend is a your basic time of day connection manager that does its own thing and will turn Wi-Fi connections on and off based on your usual usage throughout a day. It will connect randomly to check for notifications really quick though.
- Profiles are a pretty big deal really. This is Amazons take on the multi-user experience. Simply put, the house hold can share one tablet and sign-in as themselves and not mess up your world while they are using it.
- Family Library is something that is coming soon, but not ready for mass consumption just yet. Using the cloud you will be able to share your apps, games audiobooks, books and Prime Instant Video content with other members of your household. This Family Library feature actually syncs across not only the new line of tablets, but also Amazon apps for Android and iOS.
- The new OS refresh also brings in the FireFly feature that was a big todo on the Fire phone. It basically lets you identify and take action on artwork, text, and audio instantly on over 100 million items.
These features, and I am sure more, are all part of the new 4th generation of Fire tablets that were announced and available for pre-order tonight. More good news though, Amazon is also going to be pushing the Fire OS 4 “Sangria” update out to all the 3rd generation tablets as well. While FireFly is apparently only making its way to the Fire HDX 8.9. Amazon fails to mention an update timeline for those, but I would image it would be some time after the new generation of tablets are shipped and in hands. Don’t feel left out Fire phone owners, you will be getting the OS update as well, but they make a special point to say that you won’t see it until early next year.
Looking to pre-order? Here are all the newbies all lined up.
