Images are a little grainy, and the camera app itself can be slow, but it does work. You won’t be able to take the kind of stunning shots that you would want to keep in the family album, but you can hold video calls and take snaps for some future reference. You can’t expect high-quality shots from this device, but it still has a front-facing and rear-facing sensor, each with a 2-megapixel resolution. It won’t suit you if you’re a keen gamer, but if you plan to use this tablet to binge video streaming apps and check your emails, then this one can do that.Īgain, the camera’s performance needs to be prefaced with a proviso about the price. There’s nothing here to blow your socks off, but the power on offer is perfectly adequate for powering many popular tasks. You can check out the benchmarking performance scores in the table below: When booting up the system and flicking between apps, some animations are not particularly smooth but I didn’t experience any serious shuddering slowdown or crashes, and it seemed eminently capable of running the apps available on its Amazon App Store. It does work without a Prime subscription, but the experience is somewhat limited. The software is closely tied to Amazon Prime, funnelling content from its various categories onto the device.

Instead, there’s Amazon’s app store alternative which has big titles (Netflix, Disney Plus, Facebook etc) but not quite the breadth of Google’s alternative. You also can’t, by default, access the typical Android Google Play Store you’d find on one of the best Android phones. It’s up to you whether that’s worth the trade-off in costs, but it is rather annoying. The software is based on Android, though if you choose to buy a reduced-price version of the tablet then you will find it bombarded with adverts. It won’t double up as a laptop, and it won’t be able to run high-performance gaming titles, but I found that it is still perfectly capable of running my favourite everyday apps, video streaming services, and some basic games. There’s not a powerful processor inside the Fire HD 8, but again, you can’t expect that to be the case at this price point. The colours are washed out, the blacks are more like grey and the brightness levels aren’t strong enough to combat the sun if you’re planning on using this on a train. Watching films and TV shows on this, I’d say that the quality is acceptable but it’s nothing to shout about. The screen measures 8 inches, which is not particularly large for a tablet, and although it is HD (as indicated by the name), the 1280 x 800 resolution is not brilliantly sharp by modern standards. Then there’s a USB-C connector for charging, and a MicroSD card slot if you want to expand the onboard 32GB or 64GB storage allowance. If you’re looking to connect your headphones, then a 3.5mm headphone jack is available as well at Bluetooth 5.2 for wireless headphones.

There are some decent connectivity options for this tablet. However, it’s not really expected on a device at this price. The design isn’t going to win many points for style, as it doesn’t look expensive or feature many premium materials in its construction. Scuffs are possible, though it has held up fairly well during my experience when, I confess, I haven’t been particularly gentle with it or kept it in a case. It doesn’t pick up any greasy fingerprint smears, and it still feels fairly robust to the touch. The rear is made of plastic, available in shades of Black, Rose or Denim, and has a matte finish. The Amazon Fire HD 8 has a basic yet practical design. It’s very tied into Amazon’s Prime ecosystem, serving up movies, books and more – even if you don’t want them – and there are some ommissions in terms of apps, lacking support for Google Play.īut, as long as you’re happy with Amazon’s Fire tablet software, the Fire HD 8 remains a very tempting option for those on the hunt for a bargain tablet.

However, Fire OS is a somewhat double-edged sword. Plus, it has the same Amazon Fire OS as previous entries in the Fire range, making it easy to get on with if you’re upgrading from an older Fire device. 2-megapixel cameras There are two 2-megapixel cameras, one on the front and one on the backĪmazon is no stranger to the budget tablet market, but the latest Fire HD 8 could offer the best combination of features and price of the entire collection.Īs the name might suggest, the Fire HD 8 has an 8-inch HD screen that has the benefit of being extremely portable while still offering a decently large-screen experience.13 hour battery life Amazon claims that this tablet will deliver thirteen hours of “reading, browsing the web, watching videos and listening to music”.

8-inch HD touchscreen display The screen on this tablet measures 8 inches, and it has a 1280x800p resolution.

Kindle fire tablet 8 inch