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I will confess, despite having some [serious](https://www.wired.com/story/coronavirus-amazon-warehouse-workers-risks-few-options/) [reservations](https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-gating-private-labels-antitrust/) [about the company](https://www.wired.com/story/protests-renew-scrutiny-tech-ties-law-enforcement/) [behind them](https://www.wired.com/story/meet-the-immigrants-who-took-on-amazon/), I am a fan of Amazon's cheap, no-frills Fire tablets.
Sure, they're hamstrung by Amazon's limited App Store offerings, the slow Silk web browser, and they push Amazon content like an aggressive street pimp, but these days Amazon's tablets are both affordable and surprisingly powerful for a sub-$100 device.
The iPad, even the entry-level model, can still run circles around the Fire 8 HD, but you can also buy four Fire 8 HD tablets for the price of one iPad. And after living with the Fire HD for several weeks now, the question I keep asking myself is, do you really need more power in a tablet? For many people—perhaps even most people—I think the answer is no.
### New Power Generation
The Fire HD 8 and HD 8+ have a significantly revamped form factor. If you own an earlier model none of the cases or keyboards you might have will work with the new models. That's disappointing if, like me, you've got several accessories, but I can live with it because the new form factor is much better.
The slightly more square shape of the latest Fire 8 HD makes it easier to hold, and, to my mind, provides a better reading experience, both vertically with the Kindle app, and horizontally when browsing the web. The front camera has moved from the top of the device to the side, making landscape orientation the default for video chatting. The new camera position also makes it much easier to use your Fire 8 HD as if it were an Echo Show.
Under the hood the 2020 Fire HD 8 has an extra half gig of RAM, bringing the total to two-gigabytes. The Plus model adds another gigabyte on top of that, and can charge wirelessly (wireless charging station bundle ups the price to $140). The base storage option has been bumped to 32-gigabytes with a 64-gigabyte model also available. As with previous models there is an SD-card slot to expand your disk storage capacity up to one terabyte.
The final bit of hardware good news is that, like last year's Fire 10 HD update, both models of the Fire 8 HD offer USB-C charging ports.
Amazon claims that battery life is up to 12 hours, that's a full two hours more than the previous model. In real world use, which is to say, browsing the web, reading some books, watching videos, and playing games, I found I could get about nine hours without making any effort. Dimming the screen a little, killing Bluetooth, and cutting back on Mario Kart managed to bring battery life to eleven hours.
That's the good news. What hasn't changed much is the viewing experience. The screen retains the same 1200 x 800 resolution LCD, which looks, well, okay. Pixelation is visible, but not too bad. Still given the emphasis on consuming Prime Video or the new Game Mode, it would be nice to see a slightly higher resolution display. The display's glossy finish, in addition to attracting fingerprints like nothing else I've ever used, makes the Fire 8 HD nearly unusable outdoors. That's no change from previous versions, but worth noting.
###
The Fire tablets' weak point remains the software. FireOS, Amazon's heavily-modified version of the Android operating system is really an OS-based version of Amazon's website. Fire tablets are designed to sell Amazon content, and FireOS is the means of selling that content. And it never stops selling. Never.
There is no Google Play Store here, so if you aren't heavily invested in the Amazon ecosystem, particularly Prime offerings, Fire tablets of any stripe will feel limiting. There are ways around this, more on this below, but as they ship it's all-Amazon, all-the-time.
There are good things in the Amazon ecosystem. Freetime, for example, is one of the better tools for regulating what your kids can access on a tablet. And of course the Prime Video, Amazon Music, and Kindle Unlimited services offer just about all the movies, music, and books you could want.
If they don't, Amazon's App Store has most of the apps you might want, including everything from Netflix and Disney+, to Zoom, Spotify, and other popular Android offerings.
The overall interface of FireOS has not changed much, though there is a nice new feature called Game Mode, which temporarily turns off all notifications and interruptions so you can play in peace. It's on by default, so if you want to play some games, but still get your important messages you'll need to disable Game Mode in the FireOS settings.
One thing that gets remarkably little attention is that however heavily customized FireOS may be, at its core it is still the Android operating system. This has led a community of clever developers to figure out how to hack the FireOS and install things like the Google Play Store or even a whole new OS. The latter is not possible yet on these latest models, but it's pretty easy to at least get the Google Play Store installed. There are only four files to download and install. Be forewarned you're on your own if anything breaks, but I had no issues following [these instructions](https://liliputing.com/2020/06/how-to-install-google-play-on-the-amazon-fire-hd-8-2020.html) (worst case scenario you can always reset your Fire HD 8 to its factory defaults). This is how, for example, I was able to install Mario Kart.
TK kid's stuff here.
###
If you're looking for [a tablet to replace your laptop](https://www.wired.com/gallery/the-best-ipad/), this is not it. If your tablet use is considerably lighter, think browsing the web with your morning coffee, watching Netflix on the couch, and yelling at Alexa from across the room, the Fire HD 8 is one of the best buys on the market. It's not perfect, but it's as close as you're going to get for under $100.
Also keep in mind that, come Prime Day (whenever that happens) these will likely be available for prices in the $50-$60, which is quite frankly, a steal. The real question comes down to, should you spring for the Plus model with it's extra RAM. Most people won't notice it, but you want a more future-proof device, or plan to use it for gaming the extra $20 for a gigabyte more RAM isn't a bad deal.
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