Verdict
A seemly cheap tab from Amazon , this could accommodate you well if you want to watch videos on the go but are constrained by a tight budget
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Amazon is no stranger to thebudget tablet marketplace , but the latest Fire HD 8 could offer the unspoiled combining of features and terms of the entire appeal .
As the name might hint , the Fire HD 8 has an 8 - in HD filmdom that has the benefit of being extremely portable while still offering a decent big - concealment experience . Plus , it has the same Amazon Fire operating system as previous unveiling in the Fire reach , making it comfortable to get on with if you ’re upgrading from an erstwhile Fire gadget .
However , Fire OS is a somewhat double - edged sword . It ’s very marry into Amazon ’s Prime ecosystem , serving up movies , books and more – even if you do n’t want them – and there are some ommissions in condition of apps , lacking support for Google Play .
But , as long as you ’re happy with Amazon ’s Fire pad of paper software , the Fire HD 8 remain a very tantalizing alternative for those on the hunt for a steal tab .
Design and Screen
The Amazon Fire HD 8 has a basic yet pragmatic design . The keister is made of charge card , uncommitted in shades of Black , Rose or Denim , and has a matte finish .
It does n’t pick up any greasy fingerprint blot , and it still feels pretty rich to the touching . Scuffs are potential , though it has hold up somewhat well during my experience when , I confess , I have n’t been peculiarly patrician with it or kept it in a case .
The design is n’t going to win many points for style , as it does n’t face expensive or feature many premium materials in its structure . However , it ’s not really expected on a equipment at this Leontyne Price .
There are some decent connectivity options for this pad . If you ’re appear to join your headphones , then a 3.5 mm headphone jack is uncommitted as well at Bluetooth 5.2 forwireless headphone . Then there ’s aUSB - Cconnector for charging , and a MicroSD card slot if you need to expand the onboard 32 GB or 64 GB storage allowance .
The CRT screen measure 8 inch , which is not particularly declamatory for a lozenge , and although it is HD ( as indicated by the name ) , the 1280 x 800 resolution is not brightly penetrative by modern touchstone . Watching films and television set shows on this , I ’d say that the caliber is acceptable but it ’s nothing to shout about .
The colours are washed out , the blacks are more like grey and the brightness level levels are n’t strong enough to battle the Lord’s Day if you ’re planning on using this on a power train .
Performance
There ’s not a powerful mainframe inside the Fire HD 8 , but again , you ca n’t look that to be the casing at this price power point . It wo n’t replicate up as a laptop , and it wo n’t be capable to run high - performance gaming title , but I find that it is still perfectly capable of running my best-loved everyday apps , TV cyclosis services , and some canonic game .
The software is based on Android , though if you opt to buy a abridge - price adaptation of the tablet then you will find it bombarded with adverts . It ’s up to you whether that ’s deserving the trade - off in costs , but it is rather vexatious .
You also ca n’t , by nonremittal , get to the typical Android Google Play Store you ’d observe on one of thebest Android phones . Instead , there ’s Amazon ’s app store choice which has big titles ( Netflix , Disney Plus , Facebook etc ) but not quite the breadth of Google ’s choice .
The software is closely tied to Amazon Prime , funnelling content from its various categories onto the equipment . It does work without a Prime subscription , but the experience is somewhat circumscribed .
When booting up the system and flick between apps , some animations are not particularly suave but I did n’t experience any serious shuddering retardation or crash , and it seemed eminently capable of pass the apps available on its Amazon App Store .
you may check out the benchmarking performance scores in the table below :
Test Data
There ’s nothing here to bodge your sock off , but the mogul on offer is perfectly adequate for power many popular project . It wo n’t suit you if you ’re a lancinate gamer , but if you design to utilize this tablet to binge video cyclosis apps and check your emails , then this one can do that .
Again , the camera ’s performance demand to be prefaced with a proviso about the price . You ca n’t expect high - character shot from this twist , but it still has a front - facing and arse - facing sensor , each with a 2 - megapixel resolve .
You wo n’t be able to take the sort of arresting shots that you would want to keep in the family record album , but you could hold video calls and take snaps for some succeeding source . image are a little grainy , and the tv camera app itself can be slow , but it does work . When you ’re using it for video calls ( Skype , Microsoft Teams , and Zoom are all support ) your brass is still understandably distinct .
Above is a sample image from the rear tv camera , and though this dull and grainy gibe demonstrate the camera ’s limitation , it still may just be expert news to you that you may even have painting - taking and video - calling functionality on a cheap tablet like this one .
Battery Life
A estimable battery is substantive to any portable entertainment equipment , tablets included . Amazon claims that this one give way you around 13 hour of battery life in total , and in my experience , I certainly felt that it had enough battery to get me through long journeying or busy days without fretting about miss charge too too soon . For example , it lost 6 % barrage fire after an hour of streaming a television show on Disney Plus .
When on standby , this equipment is highly power efficient : over the course of a nighttime , it had only lost 1 % of its succus when I checked the following morn .
Charging is not lightning quick , but I found that this tablet regained its battery at a reasonable rate , going from flat - out dead to 60 % in slightly over one hour . It ’s not the kind of gadget you’re able to quickly juice up before a journey if that job has slipped your mind , but it does mean you wo n’t have to leave it plug into the socket all night to get enough king to do anything with it .
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Should you buy it?
If you ’ve not got much immediate payment to spend , this tablet is full value and offer a good cyclosis equipment for get at Prime cognitive content .
You should pose your sights higher if you ’re looking for a gamey performing artist , particularly for mobile games .
Final Thoughts
The Amazon Fire HD 8 is not an excellent performing artist in any class , but it offer all the basics .
If you ’re very stringent on cash but would care a portable screen to entertain you , then this will do the job adequately and does support many pop apps , but you ca n’t expect blistering performance to support top - end secret plan , or pristine camera quality when you ’re making video calls .
As long as you cope your expectations with its price tag in mind , then you ’ll in all likelihood find that this tab is hearty enough to do what you call for it to do .
Trusted Score
How we test
Unlike other sites , we exhaustively examine every product we brush up . We practice industry standard trial so as to compare feature the right way . We ’ll always tell you what we find . We never , ever take money to review a product .
FAQs
No , it ’s Wi - Fi only
For £ 10 less than the usual request Mary Leontyne Price , there ’s an variation of this lozenge which features adverts in the operating system of rules
There is no given IP rating , so we ca n’t be sure how it would react if expose to water or debris
