Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition

Design and Durability

First, it’s worth talking about the design of the Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition and how rugged it’s going to be. You wouldn’t leave your child with a brand new iPad Pro in the worry that they’d drop and break it, but can this happen with Amazon’s product?

The design of the Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition is exactly the same as the Amazon Fire 7, with a seven-inch screen with a large and bulky border around it making the tablet look much bigger than it is.

We don’t love this feature of the Amazon Fire 7 tablet, because it could be much smaller than it is. Alternatively, the screen could be larger without the wasted space around it. However, the Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition does also come with a protective case.

This comes in three colors – blue, pink, or purple – and also comes with a plastic stand so that your child doesn’t have to constantly hold the tablet up. This case is also kid-friendly as there is nowhere that small fingers can get trapped.

The protective case allows for drops without an issue, but be careful about water damage. The case won’t protect from this, but Amazon’s warranty should.

Performance

The Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition performs in the same way that the Amazon Fire 7 does – simply but effectively. Using the tablet only for the children’s technology is annoying for the adults, but seems to satisfy children suitably.

You can switch the tablet to the adult version of Fire 7, but it takes much longer to work and we got too frustrated with the waiting time to use it for a substantial amount of time.

There is only one option for storage – 16 GB. This isn’t the best and won’t hold too many pictures, but it’s manageable as long as you keep on top of deleting all of the blurry pictures of fingers that kids like to take.

The resolution is 1024 x 600, which is not the best for adults watching television and movies. It is okay for watching a few YouTube videos, but you wouldn’t want to watch any more than that.

However, as children don’t necessarily care about the resolution too much and will be happy with a slightly blurry picture, this isn’t a dealbreaker for kids. The low price and durability tend to make up for this slight issue.

FreeTime

FreeTime is a cool feature of the Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition, and it is one of the main selling points of this tablet. It includes thousands of apps, games, audiobooks, movies, and television shows that your child can watch between the ages of 4 and 12.

FreeTime is a subscription service, so you’ll have a monthly fee to pay for your child to keep using this technology. The platform is easy to navigate so your child will be able to use it themselves.

However, there are parental controls that you can adjust through your phone. You can add and restrict certain content and manage how much time your child is using their tablet.

One of the most important features of being able to manage their usage on your phone is that you can approve or decline purchases. Where other tablets might allow your child to run up a hefty bill playing their favorite games, the Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition keeps you in control.

We like that the Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition comes with a one-year subscription to FreeTime so that you aren’t subjected to paying right away. Once this runs out, you’ll have a small fee to pay from $2.99 to $6.99.

Battery Life

The battery life of the Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition is the same as the Amazon Fire 7, lasting for seven hours on a full charge and taking four hours to charge up. A few customers have expressed disappointment with how the tablet holds its charge after a few weeks of usage.

This might be something to consider seeming as children don’t always understand that devices need to be recharged every so often to keep them working.

The micro-USB port is a dying port and we would have preferred to see the USB-C. However, the tablet comes with a lead so it’s not too much trouble to carry around another lead with you when you go away on holiday.

Cameras

Again, the Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition is the same as Amazon Fire 7. There are two 2 MP cameras on the front and back of the tablet, which are not as impressive as the cameras on other leading tablets.

Summary

Overall, the Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition is a decent tablet for children. The FreeTime technology is easy to use and features plenty that will keep them busy throughout the day. We love the fact that you can monitor their usage on your phone and control the tablet remotely.

The Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition is not the most high-tech tablet on the market and it certainly doesn’t have the capabilities that other leading tablets have. However, many kids still love it and don’t even notice the difference.

If you’re looking for a tablet exclusively to keep your children entertained, the Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition is a great option. However, don’t expect a tablet that the whole family can use. Adults will get frustrated very quickly – you have been warned!