The All-New Fire HD 8 Tablet Engineered By Amazon
Amazon didn’t get the title of the world’s second trillion-dollar company just by selling products at high profits. The company’s own-brand devices such as the Kindle, Echo, and Fire tablets are the reason behind the success of Amazon. The year 2018 has seen the era of bezel-less design smartphones and tablets that have grabbed the attention of many users. But, here Amazon has the same plan for its budget media tablet. Amazon’s All-New Fire HD 8 Tablet has nothing new but the same award-winning formula design that made it popular.
Amazon’s All-New Fire HD 8 Tablet In Short
The 2018 Fire HD 8 Tablet is the third generation of the Amazon’s 8-inch Fire tablet segment. The first generation that was launched in 2016 also had the same design. Moreover, the looks, feel, and the operations are the same as that of the 2017 version tablet. Now, what’s new in this 2018 version tablet is that it has an improved camera with the latest Fire Operating System.
Coming to the looks, the Fire HD 8 Tablet has a hard-wearing plastic body with rounded corners. Additionally, it has a robust build along with stereo speakers. All these features are perfect for the job.
Amazon’s Fire HD 8 Tablet comes in with at 363g feather-light weight and is 6g lighter than its older one. Moreover, with the 720p screen, the tablet is exclusively designed for watching videos.
Amazon’s Fire HD 8 Tablet Features and Specifications In Details
In this section, let’s take about the Fire HD 8 Tablet features in details. This section of the article will help to give the A-to-Z of the new 2018 Amazon tablet efficiently.
General Specifications
Screen- The All-New Fire HD 8 Tablet has an 8-inch LCD 720p display. Also having a resolution of 1280×800 and 189 ppi. With this display, you can watch videos and video call on-the-go. Moreover, it is best suited for streaming HD videos.
Processor & RAM- Like the previous generation tablets, Amazon’s All-New Fire HD 8 Tablet is powered by the same 1.3GHz quad-core processor. Additionally, it also consists of 1.5GB of RAM which is capable of doing multitasking on-the-go.
Storage- The tablet from Amazon comes in with 16GB internal storage. Unlike iPhones, the Fire HD 8 Tablet has a dedicated microSD slot so that users can store an unlimited amount of data. The tablets allow up to 400GB of card storage.
Operating System- Now, moving on to the Operating System, the Fire HD 8 Tablet has Fire OS 6.3 which is based on Android 5 Lollipop.
Other Specification
Camera- For better photos and video quality, Amazon has improved the camera providing a 2MP rear camera. Moreover, with 2MP front-facing camera, users can have a better video calling experience. The front-facing camera is an improvement than the previous generation VGA front-facing camera.
Connectivity- Putting some light on the network part, Fire HD 8 Tablet has a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. Whereas, it does not have a cellular version.
Dimensions- Fire HD 8 Tablet, like its last generations has the frame body size of 215 x 128 x 9.7mm.
Weight- As discussed earlier, Fire HD 8 Tablet has a 363g of weight, which is not that heavy. Users can take photos and record videos with a single hand.
Fire OS 6.3
The 2018 Fire HD 8 Tablet comes in with Fire OS 6.3 version. The Fire OS 6.3 behaves just like the previous Fire OS 6 versions, which are currently available on all amazon’s range of Fire TV and Tablet devices. This Fire OS version comes in with annoying ads on the lock screen which are called Special Offers. These Special Offers can be removed by paying a small fee.
The New Show Mode Charging Dock
Along with the All-New Fire HD 8 Tablet, Amazon now sells an optional Show Mode, Charging Dock. The Show Mode Charging Dock consists of a plastic frame along with a stand for the tablet to get fit-in. Magnets at the back make sure the tablets are in proper position and charges correctly.
Amazon And Alexa Comes Hand-in-hand
The Fire HD 8 Tablet ticks off all the features that a tablet has. Like other Amazon devices, its entire interface is pivoted around Amazon based content. The tablet offers books, music, videos and many other apps. The Amazon’s own App Store provides all the latest apps like Candy Crush, Facebook, Netflix, etc.
Additionally, Amazon’s Fire HD 8 Tablet supports hands-free Alexa for the best virtual assistant experience. Thanks to Amazon’s Alexa, users can talk with it from across the room. Moreover, if the tablet is put into Show Mode, it will turn into an Echo Show-type device. In the end, it works out be a cheaper and flexible option rather than buying a smart display.
A Little Sluggish At Times
As mentioned earlier, Amazon Fire HD 8 Tablet has the same 1.3GHz Quad-core processor and the 1.5GB of RAM like that of its previous generations. The Fire HD 8 Tablet also has the same internal storage, but now it supports larger microSD cards.
Surprisingly it performs the same as the 2016 and 2017 version models. Therefore, it won’t be winning any speed awards and can feel a little sluggish at times. Hence, it is disappointing to see no performance improvement on the 2018 Fire HD 8 Tablet. But, those who want to stream only videos won’t be having an issue.
Lastly, the battery backup also remains the same, which lasts as long to watch three movies at a stretch. The tablet takes almost six hours to get fully charged.
Observations
- Improved cameras from the last year, but they are terrible when compared to modern tablets and smartphones.
- Without a basic Amazon account, the tablet cannot be operated, but a Prime subscription is essential for the best use of it.
- Fire HD 8 Tablet’s Wi-Fi supports the older 802.11n and not the new 802.11ac. As a result, it will affect the range and speed of the connection.
Pros
Cheap 8-inch tablet from Amazon. It does not burn a hole in the user’s pocket.- Improved 720p HD screen for improved video streaming experience.
- Dedicated microSD slot which supports up t0 400GB of storage.
- Good battery backup.
- Good stereo speakers for an enhanced sound experience.
- Alexa virtual assistant included.
- Show Mode for the best video watching experience.
Cons
- Poor cameras as compared to the latest tablets in the markets.
- Charging rate is slow. It takes six hours to attain a 100% charge.
- There is no USB-C port for charging.
- Becomes sluggish at times.
Amazon’s Fire HD 8 Tablet is thus the most popular and budget-friendly Android device in the market. It would be better if Amazon upgrades some basic features to get the best out of it. That’s was all about the Amazon’s Fire HD 8 Tablet.
