Amazon’s New Tablet Is a Credible iPad Rival for Much Less Money - Bloomberg.com

This budget tablet is now even more affordable PC Guide is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Read More

This tablet is a great value, even if Android apps still aren't great on a big screen. Nanomatte display is outstanding in a variety of lighting conditions

We have to talk about this screen. It’s the first thing you notice, and maybe the only thing that matters, about the Alexa Tablet 12 Pro. It’s a 12-inch, 2800 x 1840 panel with a new technology Amazon calls “Nanomatte” that is meant to decrease glare and increase the feeling that you can reach out and touch the things you see onscreen. When Amazon set out to build the best tablet the company has ever shipped, it started with this screen. The $549.99 device I’ve been testing is one of four new models in the Alexa Tablet lineup, which ranges from a $229.99 8-inch model up to a $679.99 12 Pro with this Nanomatte coating and some extra RAM you don’t really need. The pitch for all those devices is the same: They’re well-made, midrange tablets that can access the full universe of Android apps through the Play Store and come with a whole bunch of Amazon bloatware whether you want it or not. I haven’t tested those other devices, but I’m glad they exist — cheap, good Android tablets are too hard to come by.6Verge Score$550The GoodScreen is gorgeousAndroid apps! Nice design and build qualityThe BadAmazon bloatware everywhereAlexa Plus isn’t greatSome middling specsBut the Nanomatte.

Rigaku Corporation, a group company of Rigaku Holdings Corporation and a global solutions partner in X-ray analytical instrumentation, will introduce the DicifferX™ Microarea Edition at JASIS 2026. This X-ray diffractometer enables materials characterization of microareas only a few tens of micrometers in size in a laboratory environment. As electronic devices become smaller, electronic components such as multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) are becoming increasingly miniaturized and more densely integrated, driving demand for materials characterization of microareas only a few tens of micrometers in size. Conventional micro-area measurements present challenges such as the loss of X-ray intensity caused by reducing the beam size and shifts in the irradiation position caused by even slight mechanical deflection of the instrument. Purpose-built to overcome these technical challenges, the DicifferX Microarea Edition enables stable measurement of micro-areas at the scale of a few tens of micrometers.