(Apple TV+ and YouTube are missing.) You can also load your media onto a microSD card and use the VLC app to play it.Īmazon's Kids+ service locks the tablet into an age-appropriate content mode for kids under 12, with content from Disney, Nickelodeon, Sesame Workshop, and various popular toy-related video and book franchises. The tablet's app store also offers Netflix, Hulu, Sling, Disney+, Philo, HBO MAX, Starz, Showtime, and others. On the plus side, Amazon's interface makes it easy to select and download Amazon Prime video. Video is one of the best uses for the Fire HD 8 Press it and you get a device dashboard with all of your Alexa-enabled smart home gadgets and Alexa routines. In the lower left corner of the interface, there's a little house icon. For You is a slightly annoying algorithm-generated stack of things you've used recently followed by things Amazon would like you to buy based on what you've previously used. Library is a stack of carousels of different kinds of content you've downloaded from Amazon: Kindle books, audiobooks, apps, Prime Video, Amazon Music playlists.
Home is the app grid you expect from any Android device. Unlike on other tablets, you can't add widgets or customize the interface. Where Fire tablets used to have a launcher with types of content across the top-books, video, etc.-there are now three main tabs: For You, Home, and Library.
On the 2.4GHz band, I got 30Mbps down and 10Mbps up, with similar performance on the OnePlus 8 Pro.īattery life is very good, at 9 hours, 25 minutes of video playback over Wi-Fi at maximum brightness, fulfilling Amazon's promise of 12 hours with the brightness turned down a bit.Īmazon's operating system is now based on Android 9, and the most recent update radically simplified its collection of home-screen tabs. On a 5GHz Wi-Fi 6 network using a 100Mbps symmetrical connection, I got around 70Mbps down and 55Mbps up, as compared with about 85Mbps down on a premium Android phone, the OnePlus 8 Pro. The tablet has dual-band Wi-Fi, and performance is fine. It has a faster processor and more RAM, giving it better performance all around, although it uses the same limited app store. Our Editors' Choice overall for an inexpensive tablet is the bigger Fire HD 10. But because Amazon restricts the Fire HD 8 to its own inadequate app store, you don't get nearly the range of services you'll find on other Android and Apple tablets. For basic streaming video, picture books, kids' games, and Zoom calls, it's the best sub-$100 tablet available today, with a faster processor and more RAM than the 2018 model. The Fire HD 8 ($89.99) is a cute, easy-to-use 8-inch tablet that works entirely within Amazon's walled garden. Read our original review from Jbelow.Īmazon has sold its low-cost Fire tablet lineup for years now, and it isn't shy about making it clear that it's a way to enjoy Amazon content on the go, letting the company offer a quality product for a relatively low price.
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