Verdict
It ’s a right buy as a general - purpose family tablet . But the extra cost of the Plus features swelling up the Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus ’s price close to that of some other brands ' Android tab , which have access to a good subroutine library of apps and game .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus is a budget tablet , and the somewhat more expensive alternative to the received Fire HD 8 .
These two tablets are a match in most areas , but this Plus version has somewhat more RAM , an upgraded rear photographic camera , a more knock-down bundled transcriber and wireless charging .
It ’s a marginally better tab . But every cent counts in this entry - layer class and the flashy model may be the one to get given you may well be able-bodied to get faster charging using your phone ’s adapter . The Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus also fetch the cost up closer to rivals from Nokia , Lenovo and Samsung , which can run more , and more interesting , apps and games .
However , if you encounter the Fire HD 8 Plus on sales agreement — Amazon has been known to sell its devices at up to 50 % off during sale menstruation — it could well be a 5 - principal buy .
Design and screen
The Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus is a no - frills tablet that find better made than most tawdry models . It ’s a super - inflexible , non - creaky pattern with a grippy embossed charge card back , and is of a great sizing .
An 8 - inch screen makes this clear a burden bigger than any phone , but it feels great to use one - handed . It ’s just a little larger than an iPad miniskirt . That tablet has a somewhat larger screen , but the Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus has thicker borders . Its shell is a lot thick-skulled as well , at 9.6 mm .
This tablet ’s Speaker are OK - ish too . Two speaker grilles sit across the prospicient side of the pad of paper , recite you they are designed for stereophonic sound when the Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus is held on its side .
Their output is a slight thin , and the maximum volume is n’t amazing , but they are good enough to make see YouTube video without earpiece seem for the most part uncompromised .
The Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus also has a microSD slot on one side , so picking the veracious amount of depot when you buy is n’t as important as it is for iPad shopper .
The Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus screen has n’t changed all that much in this generation . It is either going to look pretty great to your optic , or out of date , should you be a tech head or an iPad owner .
Starting with the effective stuff , the IPS panel give this screen door a character similar to that of much pricier tablet . Viewing angles are good , vividness look natural if a small undersaturated and , at almost dead on 400 nits , the Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus is brighter than mess of £ 1000 - plus laptops I ’ve essay over the twelvemonth .
you could see one of the most obvious technical limitation when the screen is off . This is a non - laminated screen . As a event the exhibit area looks grey , not bootleg , when you are in a well - lit way . Dark elbow room ? No problem ? However , the way I use the Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus I find it ’s obvious 99 % of the time .
This is due to little gaps between the touchscreen and the display . During the critical review process I sat it next to a in full - laminatediPad Air . The difference is obvious . The Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus also miss a good fingermark - resistant coating , and the clean gamey reflectiveness is no friend to outside use .
But does that make this a bad budget tablet silver screen ? Not at all . It ’s just risky than the Google Nexus 7 screen from a decade ago .
Performance
Buying an Amazon tablet call for a swap - off . You get good ironware for the money , but in return it uses computer software geared around advertise Amazon service . There are none of the conversant Google apps on an Amazon Fire HD 8 summation . While this scheme uses Android at its nitty-gritty , you download apps from the Amazon Appstore rather than Google Play .
This impart what I believe is the biggest egress of the Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus . Amazon ’s Appstore is not a plot of ground on Google Play , and competitor like theSamsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite , Nokia T10 and Lenovo Tab M8 have access to a great deal more apps than the Fire HD 8 series .
Hundreds of M of apps and games are on the Appstore , but few of the more challenging titles are there . Square Enix ’s Life is unusual series , Telltale ’s adventure games , the fab The Room series of mystifier — and music creative activity apps from companies like Korg and Steinberg — they are all scatty .
A low - conclusion tablet like this is n’t the good show window for high - powered game and apps , but some of these are really not all that demand . I ’d commend having a browse through the Appstore online before buying a Fire HD 8 , in case there ’s a specific app or game you desire to use .
high spot you may play include Minecraft , PUBG and a healthy handful of the chunky Final Fantasy remakes . There ’s still plentitude of playfulness to be had .
buy a tablet for a Fortnite obsessive ? That game wo n’t knead either as the Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus has 3 GB Aries the Ram , and Fortnite requires 4 Gbit .
Amazon says this model is 30 % faster than the sure-enough version , and is n’t massaging the figures here . It has a 6 - gist processor whereas the last one had four cores . And the graphics chipset get a bump up from a exclusive centre to two cores .
We ’re still dealing with very modified computer hardware here , though , and some pop game will sputter a bit . Gameloft ’s Asphalt 9 exhibit an inconsistent frame pace and — the part I find more annoying — admit quite a while to load . However , it runs a pile better than it did on the2020 version of the Fire HD 8 .
I ’m mostly proud of with how the Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus runs too . While not as reactive as an iPad miniskirt , an observation that should surprise no - one , this tablet does not make you feel as though you terminate up waiting for the matter to get up with your commands .
Amazon ’s interface is a lot more strip back than it used to be , too . There are three home screens . Home is where you see all the apps you have instal . For You is a erect scroll of stuff Amazon think you should determine out — apps , TV shows , magazines and record — all from Amazon ’s own storage and services .
Library is the third page , and read the apps , games , books and so on that you own , and the shows you are presently watching on Prime Video .
For You and Library are a bit of a busy mess , but this was always likely to be the shell when they roll up substance from so many Amazon sources . Each one of these three effectively carry ads for Amazon stuff , and unless you ante up supernumerary , you ’ll also see advert on your tablet ’s lock screen . If this is going to get on your heart , face elsewhere . As a long term occasional Fire pill proprietor , I recover the trade - off here perfectly fine .
Battery life and cameras
The Fire HD 8 Plus has the same battery as the pace - down Fire HD , but includes a somewhat faster world power adapter and patronise wireless charging .
It can wirelessly commove at up to 10W , which is actually an OK speed for a budget machine . However , you will need to invest in a higher - quality wireless charge pad to attain those speeds . Bottom - stave exemplar typically only offer 5W.
Amazon also sells a “ made for Fire HD 8 Plus ” wireless charge rack , which permit the tablet act as an Alexa chic display . However , it costs £ 45 . A dock of that price makes sense for iPad buyers , but the Amazon Fire audience ? I ’m not so certain .
For cable charging , you get a fairly weak 9W adapter in the boxful , but at least it ’s faster than the dismal 5W one include with the received Fire HD 8 tab . Speeds of up to 15W are support , so you may be better off using your phone ’s adapter .
Amazon say the Fire HD 8 Plus lasts “ up to 13 hours ” on a charge . I found that when streaming telecasting from YouTube it lasts a little over 12 hours , at 150 - nit screen brightness , so it ’s not far off .
Put the processor under more pressure and you could require it to last around six hours . As in premature generations , the Fire HD 8 Plus ’s battery life is good .
This tablet has a better rear television camera than the non - positive model , a 5MP sensor rather of a 2MP one . However , it ’s of most use in kids ’ games that use the rear camera . It is not as if that jumpstart in quality produces mental image deserving printing out or even sharing on social media . They are still pretty thready , and the front camera make my face look moderately anemic — not the most flattering look for TV call .
However , the Fire HD 8 Plus is not a bad wager as a cheap video schmooze tv camera , if you find your phone ’s screen just a bit too small for the Book of Job .
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Should you buy it?
Solid pricing , safe design and a good accounting of the basics like exhibit caliber and listenable utterer intend those who just need a budget pill for the family ca n’t go too far wrong here .
The circumscribed depository library of Amazon ’s Appstore means you may feel there are apps you have on your phone that are n’t uncommitted for this tablet . curb before buy to make indisputable .
Final Thoughts
The Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus is one of the better note value budget tablets . However , the monetary value start over the non - Plus model subject it to direct competition from rivals that have Google Play access . These can utilise a much broad raiment of apps and games .
In return , you get wireless charging and a slightly good rear photographic camera , but still one tough than that of almost any phone of the last few years .
As with any Amazon own - brand equipment , though , it ’s a steal during one of the retailer ’s regular sales periods .
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Full Specs
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We test every lozenge we brush up thoroughly . We use industry - standard tests to compare characteristic properly and we utilise the tablet as our main machine over the revaluation period . We ’ll always separate you what we discover and we never , ever , accept money to go over a product .
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FAQs
There ’s no Google Play app here , just Amazon ’s Appstore .
The tablet has no rainproof rating so use it carefully around water .
The Plus version has 1 GB extra random-access memory , let in a slightly better charger and supports wireless charging .
Test Data
