Amazon’s Fire devices are often one of the best values in the Android tablet space, offering decent power and quality screens for media consumption at a very low cost.
The company’s latest Fire HD 8 tablets are no exception. The base model retails for a reasonable $99.99 ($10 more than the previous iteration), has a 30% faster processor than the last model, and lasts up to 13 hours on a single charge. Amazon has updated the more powerful Fire HD 8 Plus model ($119.99), which offers even more improvements.
You get the same 8-inch HD screen on both the tablets. Amazon hasn’t revealed the resolution of either, but we expect it to be the same as previous models (1,280 by 800 pixels). Amazon says the devices are thinner and lighter than before, but we’re yet to confirm how much smaller they are compared to older iterations.
Both the Fire HD 8 and HD 8 Plus now feature an improved hexa-core processor, though the company hasn’t specified which one. For reference, older models ran a quad-core chip. Amazon hasn’t bumped up the base model’s 2GB of RAM, but the higher-end variants benefit from an upgrade to 3GB of RAM. This extra memory will help it switch between apps and multitask more smoothly.
(Credit: Amazon)
The Fire HD 8 Plus has some charging advantages over the base model. It supports both 9W wired charging (Amazon includes a power adapter in the box) as well as (slower) wireless charging. In comparison, the more affordable model comes with a 5W wired charger and doesn’t support wireless charging at all.
Both tablets are available in 32GB and 64GB configurations, with support for up to 1TB of additional storage via microSD card. The Fire HD 8 is available in black, denim or rose, while the Fire HD 8 Plus comes in gray with a dimpled finish.
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Amazon unveiled the Fire HD 8 Kids (for ages three to seven) and Fire Kids Pro (for ages six to 12), which feature the same hardware as the HD 8 and HD 8 Plus tablets, respectively. Kids’ models are pricier (starting at $149.99), but support kid-friendly features, include a protective case, unlock access to Amazon Kids+, and come with a two-year warranty.
All new tablets are available for pre-order now and will ship in October. We’ll be testing them, so be sure to check back for our full review.
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