But if you already have a Fire tablet or just want to run specific Android apps a really cheap tablet, then it’s handy to be able to install Google’s app store. If you don’t want to jump through all these hoops, you may be better off buying a cheap tablet like the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite, which comes with Android rather than Fire OS. Pressing the home button will take you to Amazon’s home screen and from there you can open your preferred launcher manually… although there’s a sort of workaround for that. But Amazon doesn’t make it easy to completely remove the default Launcher. For example, if you’re not a fan of Amazon’s home screen and app drawer, you can install a third-party Launcher app. But you’ll be able to easily find and install millions of apps that may not be available from Amazon’s Appstore… including apps you may have already paid for if you have an Android phone.īut some Android apps that weren’t designed for Amazon’s tablets may not work properly on a Fire device. It will still be running Amazon’s Fire OS software. Keep in mind that installing the Google Play Store won’t suddenly change a Fire tablet into a full-fledged Android tablet. But it’s not difficult to install them yourself. And while the Kindle, Amazon Prime Video, and Amazon Music apps are pre-installed, if you want to use the official YouTube, Gmail, or Chrome apps, for example, they are not included. Instead of the Google Play Store, there’s the Amazon Appstore. But they also come with an operating system called Fire OS, which is Amazon’s custom version of Android. They have decent displays, long battery life, and affordable price tags: you can pick one up for as little as $35 during the week starting March 21, 2022.