Amazon begins slow roll out of new Fire OS 4 update to its 3rd gen Kindle Fire tablets

Amazon just recently announced the launch of new Kindle Fire tablets and Kindle readers. The new tablets will come with version 4 of Fire OS, known as "Sangria" already installed, but it seems last years models will also be shown some love.

Those who turned on their devices today found a surprise -- a letter from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos overlaying the home screen. The announcement is fairly short, but lets customers know that their device will be updated in the coming weeks and also provides a "Learn more" link for the curious.

The online retailer has already detailed information on Sangria, doing so along with the new devices announcement that took place just a couple of weeks ago.

"When we think about Fire OS, we start with what matters to customer -- ease of use and performance,” said Dave Limp, Senior Vice President, Amazon Devices at the time. “Fire OS 4 improves in both of these areas, and deeply integrates software, content, and the Cloud to deliver services that are only available from Amazon, including Family Library, Firefly, and free cloud storage for photos".

Fire OS 4 is based on Android KitKat, though it's a highly customized version of the Google platform, and bares little resemblance to what many Android users expect.

At the time, the company did allude to the fact this would find it's way to the third generation tablets, though didn't state a time-frame. We still don't have one that's concrete, but "coming weeks" is a start, and also could indicate a gradual roll out.