A major downside to Amazon Fire devices is that they come without Google’s apps and services; even the Google Play Store is replaced by Amazon’s own Appstore. But with the latest Fire tablets, it’s possible to install the Play Store manually without root access.

Amazon doesn’t prevent users from manually side-loading Android apps, but many Google apps rely on the Google Play Services framework, and installing that isn’t so easy. With previous Fire devices, users needed root access — but not anymore.

One member of the XDA Developers forum has discovered a way to install the Play Store and Google Play Services on the latest Fire tablets without root. It’s incredibly simple, but it does require a PC running Windows.

Once you’ve downloaded the files you need and installed the drivers for your Fire tablet, the process is as simple as enabling ADB debugging on your device, plugging it in, and running a .bat file, which takes care of the rest.

The process is demonstrated in the video below, while written instructions and the files you’ll need can be found in the XDA thread via the source link at the bottom of this post.

Now that you have Google Play Services installed on your Fire tablet, you can download almost any Android apps you want — and they’ll work just fine. You’ll also be able to access all your previous purchases and downloads.

You will also be able to install other Google apps that rely on the Play Services Framework. Gmail, Google Search, Google Account Manager and more have been tested and work well; Inbox, Google’s awesome email client, is the only one that appears to be problematic.

Now that it’s possible to get the Play Store and any Android app on the Fire tablet, are you tempted to invest in one of Amazon’s new devices?

• SourceXDA Developers