If you already have the Alexa app on your phone, it can automatically get your new tablet connected to Wi-Fi, linked to your Amazon account and more. In other words, it greatly simplifies setup. (Rick Broida/Yahoo)
Looking for a good time? Look to a tablet, which can serve up movies, TV shows, books, games, music and lots more — all on a screen that's larger than your phone's. Amazon's Fire tablets are among the most affordable of these entertainment-slingers, and every few years they get a modest update. So it goes with the Fire HD 8, newly refreshed for 2024. (The Fire HD 8 Plus is no longer part of the lineup; more on that below.) It was already a great model for the money; now it's a bit better, with more RAM, an improved rear camera and some interesting AI features coming soon (but not available at launch). Best of all: no price increase. Here's my Amazon Fire HD 8 review (2024 edition).
VERDICT: The 2024 Fire HD 8 is basically just the 2022 Fire HD 8 Plus with some AI features baked in, but there's no denying the value of this budget tablet — especially if your chief goal is entertainment.
The Fire HD 8 costs $100 with 32GB of storage, 3GB of RAM (a 50% increase over the 2022 model and a boon to overall performance) and a 5-megapixel rear camera. Wait, that sounds familiar: Those specs match the now-discontinued Fire HD 8 Plus save for one thing: No wireless charging via an optional dock.
For another $30, you can buy the tablet with 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM. If you plan to download a lot of movies for offline viewing and/or stuff it with lots of games, it's worth the extra money to get the extra space. That said, you can easily add more storage (up to a whopping 1TB) by popping in an inexpensive microSD card. (Example: Here's a 128GB card for just $14.)
To put that in a little perspective, the similarly sized iPad Mini (64GB) costs $499 — and it's not expandable. But how does the Fire HD 8 compare in terms of features and performance?
As noted above, this tablet is well-suited to entertainment: watching, playing, reading and so on. The size and weight make it comfortable to hold for long periods and easy to toss into a backpack or purse. Indeed, I consider this the "sweet spot" for tablets; anything smaller and you've basically got your phone, anything larger and it gets unwieldy after a while.
The Fire HD 8's screen resolution — 1,280 x 800 pixels — is nowhere near an iPad's, but it's sufficient for these kinds of activities. It's not unlike the difference between 4K and 1080p TV: You notice only if you look closely, and even then it doesn't really detract from the entertainment. A bigger issue is glare; you might want to invest in an anti-glare, anti-fingerprint screen protector. It's only $12 (for a two-pack) and it helps a lot.
The cameras are ... fine. Good for kids to goof around with, decent in a pinch for Zoom meetings, that kind of thing. iPads offer vastly superior cameras but ask yourself if you're really going to take photos with your tablet anyway. I do so once in a blue moon.
The tablet's built-in stereo speakers are, as you might expect, tiny and tinny — fine for listening to podcasts and watching videos, but you'll probably be happier with a paired Bluetooth speaker or headphones. (There's also a traditional headphone jack if you prefer something wired.)
Battery life is up to 13 hours, according to Amazon, and my informal testing bears that out. That's pretty solid for a tablet of this size, and better than the iPad Mini's 10 hours. The Fire HD 8 has a USB-C charging port and comes with an AC adapter.
Like so many Amazon devices these days, this one has the Alexa voice assistant onboard. And you can operate it hands-free. That's great not just for tablet-specific requests (play music, open Netflix, get a weather report) but also for controlling any Alexa-compatible smart devices you might have. So you can, for example, use the Fire HD 8 to turn off a light in another room.
Finally, a forthcoming software update will add a few AI-powered features. There's a writing assistant that promises to "proofread, polish and adjust the tone of emails, notes and more." You'll be able to get natural-language summaries of web pages in Amazon's Silk browser. And you can get AI-generated wallpaper images (a feature I've seen in action on Amazon's Fire TV Stick 4K Max — and it's pretty cool).
I'm eager to try these options and will update the review once I've had the chance to do so.
Like other Fire tablets and Amazon's Kindle e-readers, the Fire HD 8 shows ads on its lock screen. I honestly don't mind this, and in fact barely notice it, as the ad disappears the moment you swipe to unlock. But if you find it objectionable — perhaps preferring to see a family photo on the lockscreen instead — you can pay a one-time $15 charge to banish the ads forever.
The other cost consideration here is Amazon Prime. While a subscription to the service ($139 annually; free 30-day trial available) isn't strictly necessary, it does afford quick and easy access to mountains of movies, music, books and TV shows. But even without Prime, you can install apps to access Netflix, Spotify, TikTok and more, and read any books that are already part of your Kindle library.
Thus, I don't agree with the common refrain that "Fire tablets are good only for Prime subscribers." If you already have a subscription, great; you'll no doubt like all the extras it affords. But will you find this tablet wanting without it? I don't think so.
The bigger caveat is that Amazon limits you to its own app store (which, again, has nothing to do with Prime). Although most popular apps are available for Fire, a few aren't — most notably YouTube. There are ways around this limitation (starting with: open YouTube in the tablet's web browser), but you shouldn't have to jump through hoops to use the world's most popular video app.
Another gripe: Amazon's Fire OS isn't the most intuitive operating system. For example, if you increase the font size for better visibility, many app names get abbreviated because the text no longer fits. I do appreciate that Amazon has streamlined the user interface somewhat, eliminating the duplicative "Library" screen and leaving just "For You" and "Home."
The warranty remains a sticking point too: It's just 90 days. That's kind of a head-scratcher; Amazon's Fire HD 10 is covered for a full year, like most modern electronics. Finally, the Fire HD 8's color choices have shrunk to just three: black, emerald and hibiscus. Can't say I love any of them. This isn't the prettiest tablet.
Let's remember, though, that we're talking about a $100 tablet that's frequently discounted by 30% to 40%. So a few nitpicks are easily forgiven.
Indeed, if you want a ton of entertainment at your fingertips, in a size that strikes the right balance between visibility and portability, it's hard to beat the Amazon Fire HD 8. It's no stretch to say it's the most value-packed tablet you can buy.