You may be able to stuff a $50 Amazon tablet into someone's stocking this holiday season.
As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the e-retail giant will release a 6-inch slate that will be half the price of the company's current 6-inch Fire HD tablet.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the Journal suggested that the upcoming device would provide simple tasks like streaming video and shopping on Amazon.com. Don't expect a high-class experience, though: The cheap gadget will have a mono speaker instead of stereo, the paper said, as well as other compromises.
The paper also said Amazon is prepping new 8- and 10-inch slates. An Amazon spokeswoman declined to comment on the reports to PCMag.
The new comes just a day before rival Apple is expected to announce new versions of its iPad and iPad mini, alongside new iPhones. In an effort to keep up with the tech giant, Amazon is looking to lower costs enough to entice new users.
Amazon's exising 6-inch tablet sells for $99 (or $114 without ads). A kids' edition (above) sells for $149.
News of the low-cost tablet comes as Amazon reportedly laid off "dozens" of engineers at Lab126, a division that focuses on hardware development—including the Fire Phone. Lab126 also reportedly shelved a smart stylus called Nitro, the Shimmer projector, and a 14-inch tablet code-named Project Cairo.
Editor's Note: This story was updated at 11:10 a.m. Eastern with a response from Amazon.