Amazon’s new 7-inch Fire tablet costs just $50

Amazon's new tablet comes in a pack of six. Photo: Amazon

Amazon’s new tablet comes in a pack of six. Photo: Amazon

Amazon may have scaled back its hardware division, but it hasn’t given up on Fire devices.

The retail giant today announced a brand new Fire tablet with a 7-inch screen that costs just $49.99 — and if you buy six, you’ll only pay for five. Seriously!

The new Fire tablet is designed to be affordable, so it has midrange specifications that make that $50 price tag possible, including a 7-inch IPS display with 1024×600 resolution, a 1.3GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of internal storage with a microSD card slot.

Buyers also get front- and rear-facing cameras, the latest release of Amazon’s Fire OS 5 software with “hundreds of new and upgraded features,” and 7 hours of battery life in between charges. Amazon also promises that the new Fire tablet is “2x more durable than the latest generation iPad Air.”

Amazon's new 7-inch Fire. Photo: Amazon

Amazon’s new 7-inch Fire. Photo: Amazon

“Today, we’re taking another step in our mission to deliver premium products at non-premium prices,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO.

“The all-new Fire features a quad-core processor, is incredibly durable, and is backed by theAmazon content ecosystem, the new Amazon Underground, and Amazon customer service with Mayday Screen Sharing. Fire sets a new bar for what customers should expect from a low cost tablet.”

To make the 7-inch Fire tablet even more affordable, those who buy six together only pay for five. It’s unclear why Amazon thinks people will want to buy that many, but the deal could appeal to large families and educators.

Amazon’s new 7-inch tablet will start shipping on September 30, and you can pre-order yours today at Amazon.com.