Technology

Fire 8 HD Review 2024: The Features and Efficiency

If you are looking for a great tablet, the amazon fire 8 HD is a good one for you to get so keep reading this fire 8 HD review.

Making a good tablet is not an easy task. Moving on right from their previous sales boom after 2010, slates have started coalescing into different discrete segments because the device referred to as the ‘tablet’ in its basic sense is disappearing at a quick pace.

If you are a power user who requires a tablet that doubles as your PC, this fire 8 will serve you well. In the midst of all of this, Amazon has actually carved their own niche by producing and providing different lower-specification, affordable slates for people that cannot afford the ones that are very expensive.

By default, it comes along with lock screen adverts that will cost about $15 or £10 to take out as well as Amazon’s own special version of Android – this can be a great or not so good thing, it all depends on both your outlook as well as your purchasing habits.

There’s the fresh ‘Show’ dock, that lets the new tablet to operate as an affordable Alexa device if you want to have a smart speaker incorporated into your home. With all this in mind, do you think that the value that is promised in this package that is budget-friendly is worth the hype?

Or do you think that there were a lot of corners that were cut in the production to make it cheaper? We will answer all your questions and more as you read this fire 8 HD review.

2018 Fire HD 8 from Amazon – price and availability

This device is available now in the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

The base model which is 16GB costs about  £79.99  or $79.99. This device is available now and can be ordered directly from Amazon in America and the UK for about $79.99 / £59.99 which is around AU$110 depending on the model.

Amazon still provides the former generation of tablets, so you should check that you are purchasing the 8th generation which was released in the year 2018. Some of the tablets in the Fire series from Amazon during sales sell for about $30/£30 and on days like Amazon Prime Day that is quickly coming around, and this new Amazon Fire HD 8, the 2018 version takes this ethos then runs with it.

The two versions are sold for an out £79.99 £44.99. With its 8-inch HD display as well as a reasonable power below its hood and a lot of apps on offer, this device is an awesome, affordable tablet and now that you can save about £35 to get it, it is not an offer that you will want to pass. The base model of this device is offered at about $79.99 or £79.99 and it has even dropped even lower in the Amazon Prime Day deals. It offers you 1.5GB of RAM, as well as an 800 x 1280 screen plus 16GB of storage.

It has a quad-core 1.3GHz chipset that is unspecified. The price you see above is for the 16GB model, but if you want the 32GB kinds you can get it for $109.99 or £99.99 which is roughly AU$155 or include a ‘Show’ charging dock to any of the versions for extra cash still. You will also have to pay extra, about $15 or £10 if you require an amazon fire 8 HD that comes without any lock screen adverts.

Still, whichever version you pick this is still a cheap tablet that you should be able to afford when compared to others. Whenever Amazon hosts their regular deals, the cost will go lower and become even cheaper, so you should keep reading this review to see more of its specifications and why you should get it.  Keep reading this fire 8 HD review for more.

Key features of this device

It has an eight-inch 800 x 1280 screen. It also has 16 or 32GB storage as well as a large range of colour choices. You can also get a ‘show’ dock. What makes this 8th generation of Amazon’s Fire tablets stand above all others which were produced before is the optional addition of the ‘Show’ dock.

When they added this dock to their slate, as well as Amazon’s Alexa assistant also, what they have produces is a big rival to Amazon’s dedicated Echo Show.

True, there are other competitions in that space as well though, like the Lenovo Smart Display or the Google Home Hub for instance. The other features that this amazon fire 8 HD has must be seen within the lenses of the cost charged, with Amazon basically giving all that away with the hopes of locking their consumers into their shopping plus content ecosystems.

This device has a screen that is an 800 x 1280 pixel affair that outperforms all other tablets that are in this cost range especially when you consider its resolution and usability. The only real rival will be Amazon’s Fire 7 from 2017 which is cheaper and boasts of a screen that is directly from the distinct edge of 2011.

There are two flavours of this Fire HD 8 of the year 2018 available and they are the 16GB plus 32GB. You have the choice to include a microSD card that is up to about 400GB in size. Even though buying such a thing can cost even more than the tablet itself if you get it. Keep reading this fire 8 HD review for more.

This simply means that if you like to carry along a portable slate with you when you are travelling on public transportation, watching videos when you are on the go can become something you will really enjoy. This device also has another little but no less thoughtful inclusion that will no doubt make buyers happy – various colour choices and even a children’s version.

You can get blue, yellow, Red and even Black and their reviewed Canary Yellow model looks quite good and still commands attention regardless of the plastic build.

The ‘kids’ version of this device comes along with a unique and functionally indestructible rubber case that is thick as well as special software functions which assist helicopter parents. Not proclaimed quite as loudly as the other features that add to widely acclaimed ruggedness of this device with Amazon making it out to be even two times as strong as the glass and even the metal iPad lineup.

Surely, seeing your $80/£80 device fall towards your hardwood floor albeit in slow motion is quite different from seeing a cherished investment fall in the same manner- but the included durability is actually an appreciated feature regardless because it can be annoying and costly to replace devices all the time. For design, keep reading this fire 8 HD review.

Design

The design can be a little bit creaky, but the amazon fire 8 HD is nonetheless reassuringly weighty. Their Yellow model stands out and makes people admire it. Tablets that are at the budget rear of the spectrum can incur an entirely different set of criteria that it will be judged by especially if you are comparing them to smartphones.

Your smartphone is something that you take up in your hand throughout the day, you make use of it in the presence of a lot of people and overall, it is a good instance of conspicuous consumption. You should look it just as you would a swish suit, it is a luxury object. The point of this explanation is that a cheap tablet can be equated to a pair of slippers that are comfy.

It is a device that individuals come home to, and can be made use of during downtime. It usually resides in the space that is between your cushions on your sofa, or even at the end of a satchel or bag. This device fits well in to this kind of lifestyle.

It has a strong plastic build as well as the advertised durability and you can feel really comfortable tossing yours around the house though not too hard mostly without any consequence. For more information, keep reading this fire 8 HD review.

This amazon fire 8 HD is for families, that need a tablet but cannot afford something too extravagant so they value money over any flash. You may encounter quite an odd flex in some sections of the back of the device, however, this quirk might just be a part of the review unit.

At the back of the device, there is an Amazon logo as well as its back-facing camera. Every flank is almost totally flush, that is apart from its top, that has the volume buttons, plus a 3.5-millimetre headphone jack which you would like, the power button as well as a micro USB port. The left side of this device has two little cutouts for the dual speakers, while its right side has a microSD card slot.

Going to the front, you will find the eight-inch 800 x 1280 screen plus the 2MP camera for selfies. Overall, this is an unassuming tablet, and at 363g, it is not a dainty presence in your hand, but it still manages to exude a type of design sleekness which comes from totally being aware of its niche. For information on the screen, keep reading this fire 8 HD review.

Screen

The screen of this amazon fire 8 HD can get reasonably bright though it may not often exude very precise colours. Because the major use of different tablets is actually to consume media, it can be quite uncomfortable if the screen is made to break or shatter in almost every instance.

However, there are a lot of budget tablets, usually those that cost less than $100 or £100, which possess truly poor screens. Because of that, it is quite lucky that, even if this device will not be granted any awards because of the screen, neither will it be compared to the screens of devices that are much more expensive than it, it is still good enough when you want to watch some Netflix on the go, or even read a book.

The brightness of this device is probably its strongest suit. Even though it is not really suited to really sunny days, its brightness can definitely compete well with many indoor light sources and it even comes with a backlight, that has no ‘bleed’ problems as far as you would be able to see.

As for the resolution, this is basically the minimum that the producer could be able to offer their users for that price. It has 189 pixels per inch so it is probably less than what you might think will be ‘retina’ territory, which is the area that the human eye stops noticing individual pixels.

The text may look a little jaggy when you are reading, an issue which you may particularly encounter when you are making use of the web browser. But for the cost, it is forgivable, since it’s just that. What about colour? Keep reading this fire 8 hd review.

Color reproduction in this amazon fire 8 HD can be another weakness that you should consider. The screen of this device can be washed out and may lack some of the vibrancy that draws people into whatever content that they are interested in.

Again, however, nothing more can be realistically expected for the price and to be used for vegetating on your sofa it will prove to be more than generally adequate. This version has some small upgrades such as a great front-facing camera as well as the feature to be able to issue Alexa with voice commands even when your screen is on standby.

The eight-inch screen of this device is bright, the speakers it comes with are loud and it provides expandable microSD storage as well as ample parental controls. If you are an Amazon Prime member, you can access lots of free videos, good music plus other content if you have a subscription.

Its display may not be as sharp as that of the iPad but if you want to really take advantage of everything that this device has to provide, you will need to get an Amazon Prime membership. It slow charges which means it can take about six hours for it to really cap battery.

The bottom line is that there is no amazing upgrade over the model of last year except the “always-ready” Alexa feature that is hands-free which is a great inclusion to what in general remains the great value of the tablet. Want to compare? Keep reading this fire 8 HD review.

Comparisons

This new amazon fire 8 hd is actually considered more of a refresh than being an actual major upgrade. It is available in the exact colors plus chassis as it was in the former model. This device includes a 2-megapixel selfie camera as well as 720p video, and it has support for about 400GB extra storage through its microSD slot as well as a hands-free Alexa support that works even when the screen is still in standby mode.

It begins at the exact cost as the previous HD 8 which is $80 or (£80 which is the cost of the 16GB that has an inbuilt “special offer” advertisement that you can purchase out of the device at any time you want for a $15 price. Few months back, the producer Amazon unveiled Show Mode for the Fire HD 10 as well as the Fire HD 8 tablets plus a Show Mode Charging Dock which essentially lets you turn the Fire tablet into a great Echo Show.

It has an always-ready Alexa function that is built into the Echo devices from Amazon that is now available for the former generation of the 8 model through a software upgrade. This means that after getting the software upgrade, you will no longer have to touch your screen to activate voice commands. Previously, it didn’t operate if your screen was in standby mode except it was plugged into to charge.

Like Amazon’s HD 10, this new HD 8 possesses access to the ever available Alexa feature plus Show Mode that you can use without plugging it in. You will need to be connected to your Wi-Fi to make use of the efficient Alexa feature. This new Fire HD 8 presently possesses the exact Alexa hands free feature just like the HD 10. For updates, keep reading this fire 8 hd review.

Updates

This amazon fire 8 hd possesses an always-ready Alexa that can be accessed hands free which impacts on your battery usage. There are hardware features that assist in managing battery impact, but the Alexa hands-free is just an optional addition. If you decide to turn it off, you can get about two hours of extra battery life.

You will still be able to access Alexa simply by pushing your Home button. These updates in 2018 still reflect on the 32GB Edition for kids that is about $130/ £130. It comes with a protective case, plus a two year replacement policy which is free as well as a one full annum of FreeTime Unlimited, nice, friendly applications and even a media part of the content library from Amazon.

A Spanish language experience was included within Amazon FreeTime as well as FreeTime Unlimited. Much of the things that were present in the former HD 8 and the latest HD 10 still applies to this new device. It goes for $80 — and can be as low as $50 usually during Amazon sales though it still remains a great tablet value.

Though it may not as great as an entry-level iPad because the screen is usually smaller and it is not as sharp, and the device’s app library is not really extensive.




But since it is a quarter of the price, this device is good enough to make you see that it is worth it especially when it gets to streaming any video, reading your e-books and even surfing the web, which is why most people get the device anyway.

Even though it does not possess the multi-microphone layout of an Echo device, it performs spectacularly in Show mode and its screen is really a bit large and it possesses a higher resolution than that of the screen of the original Echo Show.

Perhaps the next generation HD 8 may get a performance boost plus a slightly better screen, and even USB-C charging. For now, however, this is what you get for the price and it really isn’t bad at all.


Con:

  • The downgrade to the amazon fire 8 HD is that its battery life has been decreased by two hours. In the former model, it was previously rated at twelve hours for “mixed-use”. Now it is rated at ten hours.

Pros:

  • It weighs 12 ounces which are about 341 grams. It has an eight-inch widescreen of 1,280×800 pixels. It has an HD display that has over one million pixels (189 ppi). It has a Quad-core 1.3GHz processor plus 1.5GB of RAM. It has a 16GB or 32GB choice with support for more expandable storage through the microSD.
  • It has a 4,750mAh battery that grants you about ten hours of mixed-use for a complete day of power while it gives you about twelve hours when the Alexa hands-free feature is turned off.
  • It has an ever available Alexa feature that is hands-free so even when the screen is on standby, the Alexa feature is enabled so you don’t need to touch its home button to activate voice commands.
  • The device has a Show Mode that basically turns the device into an Echo, plus full-screen visuals which complement the voice responses from the Alexa feature.
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