On May 14, 2020, Amazon announced the next generation of its signature Fire 8 tablet range.
The all-new Fire HD 8, Fire HD 8 Plus, and Fire HD 8 Kids Edition will be launching on June 3, 2020, and are already available to pre-order via Amazon.co.uk.
The Fire 8 is already an established presence in the tablet market, offering a compelling combination of affordable tech with full Amazon ecosystem integration, providing users with ready access to, amongst other things, Prime Video, Prime Music, Kindle e-books, Audible, and Alexa smart assistant. As we’d expect, these functions are all present in the latest range – so, is there anything to get excited about?
We took a quick look at the upcoming Fire Tablet range to find out. Here’s what we found…
Fire HD 8 - £89.99
We last received an update on Amazon's Fire 8 tablet in 2018 and it proved to be a popular model, balancing size, performance, and price point to create a great entry-level tablet. The all-new 2020 Fire HD 8 takes its predecessor's popular size and gives it little power upgrade. The 1.5GB of RAM and 1.3Ghz quad-core processor has been boosted to 2GB and 2Ghz, providing a reported 30% increase in performance speeds.
Internal storage has also been given a lift with a 64GB variant of the device being announced alongside the standard 32GB model, which is good news for those users who like to download from Prime Video and Music for offline access. The expandable memory slot has also been given a huge overhaul, revamping the previous generation’s 512GB microSD card limit to a huge 1TB.
The Fire HD 8 now comes with a dedicated Game mode, which is said to offer up a “distraction-free, optimised gaming experience that lets you focus on your game without interference from notifications.”
The device’s form has also been given a refresh, now featuring a more mature and softer edging, which is available in a range of matte finishes, including Plum and Twilight light blue.
Battery life still hangs on at 12-hours with a five-hour recharge time, and both front and rear cameras are 2MP – these remain unchanged from 2018’s model.
Fire HD 8 Plus - £109.99
The Fire HD Plus offers up 3GB RAM and 2Ghz of processing power, which is a healthy bump-up from the baseline stats of the standard Fire HD 8, including Game mode, softened aesthetic, overall battery life, and storage volumes. The whole Amazon Fire experience is here, as expected. The real change with the Plus model comes with the new addition of wireless charging.
The Fire HD Plus is a Qi-certified device, and will charge from any compatible Qi-wireless charger. This is great news for anyone who is already taking advantage of smartphone wireless charging. Amazon is also offering a dedicated Plus charging port (which is sold separately), which will switch the device into ‘Show mode’ while powering the device up. This Show mode will allow the Plus to mimic an Echo Show devices, providing the user with full hands-free Alexa control and all that the assistant has to offer. While plugged in via USB-C adapter, the Plus also charges quicker than the Fire 8, hitting full charge after only four hours, rather than five.
As a little sweetener, Amazon is throwing in three months of Kindle Unlimited for Fire 8 HD Plus customers.
Fire HD 8 Kids – £139.99
The Fire HD Kids tablet follows on from the success of 2019’s Fire 7 Kids Edition by offering parents the chance to provide their young ones with a tablet, while addressing the financial weight, and online safety concerns.
The Kids Edition of the Fire 8 is effectively just the all-new Fire HD 8 in a rugged, protective shell. However, adults will have access to Amazon Parent Dashboard, which is a parental control suite allowing time limits, age filters and app usage to be set, as well as providing daily usage reports. Also, the Kids Edition comes with one free year of Kids Unlimited, which grants users access to a library of child-friendly books, audiobooks via Audible, videos, and educational games and apps. The device carries a two-year guarantee, too.
When can you pick one up?
The all-new Fire HD 8, Fire HD 8 Plus, and Fire HD 8 Kids Edition will be launching on June 3, 2020, and are already available to pre-order via Amazon.co.uk.
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