Amazon Fire HD 8 Review

Last Updated on March 29, 2020

There is a lot to fall in love with when it comes to the brand-new Amazon Fire HD 8. The perfect size for those that want to enjoy videos, music, and to read books and magazines on their tablet (the real sweet spot between 6 inches and 10 inches), you’re going to really appreciate the fine attention to detail that the engineers over at Amazon have focused on when it comes to this tablet.

Powerful, compact, colorful, and exciting – not to mention priced VERY attractively – this is the perfect tablet for those that are looking to enjoy everything that Amazon has to offer content wise.

Initial Impressions

The first thing that you are going to notice about this tablet is that it looks a lot different than the overwhelming majority of options on the market. While most Android tablet manufacturers stick to the same old, same old black, silver, and possibly gold color schemes, the brand-new Amazon Fire HD 8 comes in four different colors – black, blue, pink, and orange.

Right out of the gate this tablet separates itself from the rest of the pack.

On top of that, the build quality on this Amazon tablet is second to none. It feels a lot more premium than Fire tablets did in the past, and improved hardware makes it a lot snappier as well.

This is a brand-new effort for Amazon, and it’s a fantastic step in the right direction.

Video Review

 

Hardware

The real star of the show when it comes to the Amazon Fire HD 8 has to be the introduction of one of the most impressive high-definition displays we’ve seen in any tablet. Featuring almost as many pixels as the brand-new Apple iPad Air, you’re going to get more than 1 million pixels in this screen at a resolution of 1280 x 800 – and a pixel density of 189 ppi. Colors are perfectly represented and rich, movies and TV shows look gorgeous, and reading on this tablet is a real pleasure.

Of course, the heartbeat of this tablet has to be the lightning fast quad core processor that pumps at 1.5 GHz. It’s the same quad core processor that you’re going to find in almost all high-end Android tablets (including the larger 10.1 inch Amazon Fire HD).

Storage is available in 8 GB and 16 GB configurations, though you’ll get free unlimited cloud storage based directly from Amazon for all Amazon content and photos that are taken with the Fire itself.

Expandable memory allows you to add 128 GB of extra storage as well!

Software

A big difference between traditional Android tablets and the Amazon Fire lineup is the operating system. The Amazon Fire HD 8 does not run the typical Android operating system, but instead the Fire OS – a fork that has been engineered in house by those at Amazon. It’s a different experience for sure, but that doesn’t mean that it is a negative. In fact, you’ll get native support for all Amazon content – something you can’t get with the traditional Android platform.

Pros

  • The new Fire OS 5 is a lot snappier, more responsive, and friendlier on your battery
  • Gorgeous high-definition screen look just as good as those in tablets that cost 4 to 5 times as much money
  • Expandable memory allows you to bring all of your books, movies, shows, and music with you in this tablet

Cons

  • The Amazon Fire HD 8 doesn’t have “out-of-the-box” access to the Google Play marketplace
  • Your unlimited storage is limited to your Amazon content
  • At this price, it may be worth stepping up to the 10.1 inch Fire just for the extra screen real estate you get
  • To get the low price you have to accept adverts on the lockscreen

Final Verdict

All things considered, the Amazon Fire HD 8 is easily one of the best bargain values in the world of Android tablets.

You’d have to be at least a little bit crazy to overlook all of the benefits that this tablet has to offer, and though there are some small drawbacks, at the end of the day a premium level tablet at this price point is a deal almost too good to be true.