Amazon Fire HD 8 (2020) deals Amazon Prime Day deals: See all the best deals here. finished in
Two minute review
It was about time the Amazon Fire HD 8 got an update, given that the company's tablets tend to update roughly every two years, and mid-2020 was the turn of the company's mid-size tablet, which previously had an update. in 2018. This tablet is a prime contender for Amazon Prime Day discounts on June 21 and 22, so keep checking TechRadar for deals that slash the price of the tablet. Released alongside the Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus variant (with wireless charging and more RAM) and a Kids Edition (with a protective cover), the Amazon Fire HD 8 (2020) isn't exactly a great overhaul of the Fire HD 8 (2018). ); in fact, it's not a redesign at all, as the whiteboards look virtually identical. Instead, the new tablet gets a few tweaks to help it keep up with other 2020 tablets.
- Amazon Fire HD 8 (2020) (32GB white) at Amazon for € 89.99
It's clear that Amazon wants its new Fire HD 8 to hit the same "cheap tablet" market it always does, with the low price achieved thanks to relatively slow processing power, unimaginative design, and low cost. Mandatory use of Amazon's Android fork," which locks you into its ecosystem of content. Updates for the 2020 model include USB-C connectivity (resulting in faster charging), more storage, and longer battery life These don't exactly redefine the experience of using the tablet, but they're all welcome improvements.These small tweaks don't solve some of the problems we've encountered with Amazon tablets in the past - screen quality isn't great, for example , which can be a problem if you're looking for portable entertainment, although that's understandable given the price. Also, the cheap build, mainly due to the plastic used for the back, is just a symptom of the price. The biggest issue here is Fire OS, the fork of Android that all of Amazon's tablets use, as it's a pretty limited ecosystem, especially if it's not already rooted in Amazon services like Amazon Prime Video, Kindle, and Amazon Music. There are only a few non-Amazon apps available for download, and you certainly don't get the customization freedom you would with any other tablet running Android "stock" or a forked version. If you're looking for a cheap, portable entertainment system, and don't mind being connected to Amazon apps and a few select games, then perhaps the Amazon Fire HD 8 is for you, but there are other tablets available at this price point. They offer better software.
Amazon Fire HD 8 (2020) price and availability
Amazon Fire HD 8 (Image credit: Futur) The Amazon Fire HD 8 (2020) went on sale, along with the Plus and Kids' Edition tablets, on June 3, 2020. The 32GB storage option costs € 104 / €89 (around AU$160, although Amazon tablets don't usually sell in Australia), which rises to €134 / €119 (around AU$210) for the 64GB model. If you tend to download content while you watch, you may need the higher storage version, but if you use your tablet to stream content directly from the Internet, you should get by with 32GB. To point out that because Amazon keeps their old tablets on. On sale for a while at a discounted price, you want to make sure you're looking at the right model: it's the 8th generation. For context, the Amazon Fire HD 20 Plus is $20/£30 (around AU$XNUMX) more than the non-Plus model for each storage version, and if wireless charging is a big deal for you, then maybe it's worth it.
Integrated
The Amazon Fire HD 8 (2020) doesn't bring anything new to the table in terms of design: it's a big rectangle with a screen. This particular rectangle has dimensions of 202 x 137 x 9,7 mm and a weight of 355 g; that's pretty normal for a tablet of this type, although the device is lighter than many competitors. Unlike most tablets, the front-facing camera here is halfway down the left side when you're holding the slate in portrait orientation, not on top, which actually means it's in a great position for video calls, as you can view on the screen while also appearing to be looking at the camera. In this orientation, the USB-C port, 3,5mm headphone jack, power button, and volume rocker are all on the top edge of the tablet. The inclusion of a 3,5mm port will impress people who love their wired headphones, while the USB-C port ensures fast charging; However, we did have a problem with the volume control.
Amazon Fire HD 8 (Image credit: Futur) When the Amazon Fire HD 8 is in portrait mode, the right half of the volume rocker turns the volume up and the left half turns it down—sounds simple right? Well, when you switch the tablet to landscape mode, these functions are actually reversed. It took us a while to get used to it and it was especially confusing at first before we realized the problem. The back of the tablet is bare except for the Amazon logo and rear camera. The material here is plastic, which is another symptom of the low price, but it does make the board feel a bit cheap.
Monitor
The Amazon Fire HD 8 (2020) has an 8-inch display, dubbed 8 in its name. This is an LCD screen with a resolution of 800 x 1280, which is quite a low resolution considering that most cheap phones, which have screens smaller than 8 inches, have similar resolutions. As a result, the slate isn't perfect for all kinds of media: We found that games looked particularly pixelated, and TV shows and movies didn't look great. However, if you're using the Kindle e-reader or Amazon Music features, you won't mind as much - not everyone needs a high-end display, and if that's you, the Fire HD 8 display won't bother you.
Amazon Fire HD 8 (Image credit: Futur) One of the advantages of LCD screens is that they're easier to see outdoors in direct sunlight, so this is a tablet that should come in handy if you want to use it outdoors .
The Amazon Fire HD 8 (2020) has a MediaTek MT8168 chipset, which is a processor designed for cheap tablets and e-readers, so it feels right at home here. Suffice to say, the tablet isn't exactly fast to use, but with just 2GB of RAM on board, it was never going to be a powerhouse. There's a slight lag when navigating the tablet or opening apps, as you'd expect from a cheap tablet with a weak chipset, but we had the most issues playing games. There are very few demanding games available in the Amazon ecosystem, but PUBG Mobile is one, and we encountered lag and crashing issues while playing the game. Even Hearthstone, a card game, was subject to frequent crashes. If you are only using the Amazon Fire tablet to listen to music or watch movies, you will not suffer the wrath of this weak chipset, and since these are the main functions of this tablet, we can leave aside the processor problems. . We should also point out that we found the tablet had a bit more difficulty connecting to the internet than other devices and that we had to be closer to the router to get a reliable network connection. This only really became an issue when playing games online, though it also meant that TV shows sometimes took a while to buffer.
Amazon Fire HD 8 (Image credit: Futur) Amazon doesn't advertise the battery capacity of its tablets, but there would be a 12-hour battery here, according to the company, compared to the version's estimated 10-hour lifespan. former. It's not known what kind of usage this estimate is based on – watching content, listening to music, gaming, or a mix – but based on our experience with the tablet, we're inclined to suggest that it's mostly acts of viewing content. By this we mean you'll probably be able to watch about 12 hours of content before you need to charge the tablet; If you listen to music or read books, the board will last longer, but if you play games a lot, it won't last as long. Charging isn't really fast, though it's faster here than via the old microUSB port. We estimate that it takes about an hour and a half to fully charge the empty device. There's a 2MP camera on the front and rear of the Fire HD 8 (2020), though it's unlikely you'll use the rear snapper as almost all smartphones have better capabilities. As mentioned, the front-facing camera is on top when you're holding the whiteboard landscape, as it likely will be with video calls, which we appreciated as it made it easier to look at the camera and screen at the same time. .
Amazon Fire HD 8 (Image credit: Futur) When you use the Amazon Fire HD 8 (2020) or any Amazon Fire tablet, you're locked into FireOS, Amazon's fork of Android. While your mileage may vary, we'd say it's not a great operating system. Fire OS doesn't have home screen customization options; instead, its interface feels more like an online store. You can switch between Home, Books, Video, Games & Apps, Store, Music, Audible, and Newsstand, and you probably know from this list that almost all of these content options are what Amazon has got its hands on. If you go to Video, for example, Amazon Prime Video is shown to you, and if you're a Prime subscriber, you'll find shows and movies here that you can watch for free, and more that you have to pay for. access; Non-Prime users will only find a list of things they have to pay to see. It is generally the same with all the options on the aforementioned list. Only "Games & Apps" gives you non-Amazon options, though the collection of apps you can download is much more limited than in the standard Google Play Store. There are social media apps like Facebook and TikTok, some rival Amazon services like Spotify, Netflix, and Disney Plus (so at least you can't blame Amazon for stifling the competition), and some popular games like PUBG Mobile, Crossy Road. , Roblox. , Hearthstone, Clash of Clans and...