Fire Hd 8 Tablet 8 Hd Display 16gb 2018 8th Generation Review
TechRadar Verdict
The Amazon Fire Hard disk drive 8 (2018) bets big on its Alexa skills and depression price, and generally succeeds in making a positive first impression. But with laggy performance, poor software and a mediocre screen, it isn't an like shooting fish in a barrel recommendation even when this inexpensive.
Pros
- +
Very cheap
- +
Sturdy build
- +
Decent speakers
Cons
- -
Weak screen
- -
Average battery life
- -
Amazon ecosystem is poor
Update: the Amazon Fire HD 8 (2018) is no longer the most recent device in its line, as a newer version is now available. To check it out, head over to our Amazon Fire Hard disk 8 (2020) review .
Making a great tablet is no easy task. Moving on from their initial sales blast post-2010, slates have begun to coalesce into a number of discrete segments – with the 'tablet' in its purest sense disappearing at a rapid pace.
For the power users who desire a tablet which doubles every bit a reckoner, there's the Microsoft Surface Pro Ten and other Surface slates. Those who are invested in the Apple ecosystem will go a lot of mileage from the likes of the iPad Pro 11, and Google is even so trying to figure out how to make Android click with the form gene.
In the midst of this, Amazon has carved its ain niche by manufacturing and selling bucketloads of lower-specification, bargain-priced slates to the masses.
The base model runs at $79.99/£79.99 and offers 1.5GB of RAM, an 800 ten 1280 screen, 16GB of storage and an unspecified quad-cadre 1.3GHz chipset.
It comes with lock screen adverts by default (costing $15/£10 to remove) and Amazon's own custom version of Android – which may be a good or a bad thing depending both on your outlook and purchasing habits.
Then there's the new 'Evidence' dock, which allows your new tablet to serve equally a relatively cutting-price Alexa device, should you wish to introduce a smart speaker to your dwelling house.
With this in listen, is the value promised in this budget package worth the hype? Or were besides many corners cutting in the production?
Amazon Fire HD 8 (2018) cost and availability
- Out now in the United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland and US
- Base of operations model (16GB) costs £79.99 / $79.99
The Amazon Fire Hard disk 8 (2018) is available now directly from Amazon in the United states of america and UK for $79.99 / £59.99 (effectually AU$110). Amazon still sells the previous generation of tablets, so be sure to cheque you're buying the 8th generation that was released in 2018.
That price above is for a 16GB model, only you tin also get a 32GB 1 for $109.99 / £99.99 (roughly AU$155) or add a 'Show' charging dock to either version for more than money notwithstanding. You also have to pay an extra $15/£10 if yous want a version without lock screen adverts. Withal, whatever version y'all choose this is a cheap tablet.
Key features
- 8-inch 800 x 1280 screen
- 16/32GB of storage
- Wide variety of color options
- 'Prove' dock
What marks the 8th generation of the Burn down tablets above all those which take come earlier is the optional inclusion of the 'Evidence' dock.
Past adding this dock to the slate, which also has Amazon'south Alexa assistant included, what has been created is a serious rival to Amazon's own defended Echo Testify. At that place is other competition in this space besides though, such equally the Lenovo Smart Display and Google Habitation Hub for example.
Everything else that this tablet features must exist taken within the context of the toll charged, with Amazon nigh giving these away in the hopes of locking consumers into its shopping and content ecosystems.
The screen is an 800 ten 1280 pixel matter which beats out every other tablet in this toll range for resolution and usability, with the only real competitor existence Amazon'southward cheaper Fire 7 (2017), which boasts a screen directly from the cutting edge of 2011.
2 flavors of the Fire HD viii (2018) are available, 16GB and 32GB, with the option to add a microSD card upward to 400GB in size (a purchase which in itself would price more than the tablet). This ways that those who like to take a portable slate with them on public transport to watch video on the become will be well served.
The Amazon Burn HD 8 (2018) also boasts some other small but thoughtful addition which volition no incertitude please buyers - a multifariousness of different color options likewise every bit a 'kids' version. Yellow, Bluish, Red and Black can all exist had, with the reviewed Canary Yellowish version looking quite dapper and holding attention despite the plastic build.
The mentioned 'kids' version comes with a special (functionally indestructible) thick safe example and special software functions to help helicopter parents.
Not touted quite as loudly equally other features is the supposed ruggedness of this tablet, with Amazon challenge information technology to exist a least twice as durable every bit the glass and metal iPad lineup.
Certainly, seeing an $eighty/£80 device crash towards a hardwood floor in slow motility is a unlike experience to seeing a cherished investment exercise the aforementioned - but the added durability is appreciated regardless.
Blueprint
- Slightly creaky, but reassuringly weighty
- Yellow selection stands out
Tablets at the budget end of the spectrum incur a different gear up of criteria to exist judged by when compared to smartphones. A smartphone is something the user takes in their hand throughout the solar day, in front of a great many people - in brusk it is a prime case of conspicuous consumption. Retrieve of it as a swish suit, a luxury object.
From this, a cheap tablet is the equivalent of a pair of comfy slippers. It is something which people come up domicile to, which is used during downtime. It lives in the space between the cushions of the sofa, or at the bottom of a satchel. The Amazon Burn down Hd 8 (2018) fits right in to this lifestyle.
With a sturdy plastic build and the advertised immovability, users can feel comfortable tossing one around the home (though never too enthusiastically) mostly without consequence. This is a device for families, for those who value cash above flash.
Proverb this, nosotros did encounter an odd flex in sure portions of the rear of the device, however this may simply be a quirk of the review unit of measurement.
The back of the Fire HD 8 (2018) houses an Amazon logo and the rear-facing camera. Each side is almost completely flush, apart from the top, which contains the book buttons, a 3.5mm headphone jack (hooray), the power button and a micro USB port (boo).
The left side houses 2 small cutouts for the twin speakers, while the right side holds a microSD bill of fare slot.
On the forepart of the device can exist found the viii-inch 800 x 1280 screen forth with the 2MP selfie camera.
In all, this is an unassuming device, which at 363g is no dainty presence in the hand, simply one which exudes a certain kind of design confidence that comes from precisely knowing one's niche.
Screen
- Gets reasonably bright
- Not very accurate colors
Given that the primary use of many tablets is the consumption of media, the screen is make or intermission in almost every instance. Unfortunately, there are a great many budget tablets, specially those which cost less than $100/£100, which take truly poor screens.
Equally such, it is somewhat lucky that, while the Amazon Fire Hard disk 8 (2018) will not win any awards for its screen, nor will it compare to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4, it is certainly practiced enough for watching Netflix on the become, or reading a book.
Brightness is perhaps its strongest accommodate. Although not quite suited to very sunny days, it can certainly compete well with well-nigh indoor lite sources and has an even backlight, with no 'bleed' bug as far as nosotros could see.
As for resolution, this is realistically the minimum that Amazon could get abroad with for the price. With 189 pixels per inch it is well below what nosotros might consider to be 'retina' territory, that is where the human eye ceases to notice individual pixels.
Text can appear a little jaggy when reading, a trouble which we particularly encountered with the web browser. For the price, it is forgivable, merely simply just.
Color reproduction is another weakness. This screen is washed out and defective the vibrancy which draws the user in to their content. Once more though, nothing more could realistically have been expected, and for vegetating on the sofa it is more than than adequate overall.
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Source: https://www.techradar.com/reviews/amazon-fire-hd-8-2018