Amazon’s Fire HD 8 gets a faster processor, more RAM and USB-C for 2020
Amazon’s tablets may not be the last word in luxury or horsepower, but they do the job for the price and often make great gifts for kids or tablet newbies. It helps that they occasionally improve things with new versions every few years, and the latest Amazon tablet to receive a fresh lick of paint is the Fire HD 8.
The All-New Fire HD 8 is available soon and, for the very first time, there’s also a Fire HD 8 Plus model to contend with this year. If you’re in the market for a new lockdown tablet, read on to find out if the Fire HD 8 or Fire HD 8 Plus is the next tablet for you.
All-New Fire HD 8 Tablet, 8″ HD display, 32 GB, Black with Special Offers, designed for portable entertainment
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All-New Amazon Fire HD 8 (2020): Everything you need to know
All-New Amazon Fire HD 8: Specs and features: What’s new?
On paper, at least, the new Fire HD 8 is an incremental upgrade on the 2018 version of Amazon’s 8in tablet. In fact, it doesn’t look like much has changed at first; it still has an 8in screen with a resolution of 1,280 x 800, still has a quoted battery life of 12 hours and it still has the same tough, matte plastic casing as its predecessor.
Take a peek at the internal specifications and that’s where you’ll find most of the Fire HD 8’s upgrades. The new Fire HD 8 is powered by a faster MediaTek MT8168 processor, which is clocked at 2GHz and provides a 30% performance boost over the previous model, according to Amazon.
That’s not all, though. The available RAM is now 2GB – rather than 1.5GB – so it should be much better at multitasking, and Amazon has doubled the base storage to 32GB. You can also pay a bit extra for 64GB, and both models include microSD expansion up to a further 1TB.
Despite the battery life similarities, there is one notable upgrade in the stamina department. The Fire HD 8 uses one of those modern USB-C ports for charging, rather than the micro-USB offered by its predecessor. This means that, while battery life will largely remain the same, it shouldn’t take as long to charge when the battery fully drains.
Like the rest of Amazon’s Fire family, the Fire HD 8’s software is Android-based with Amazon’s own software launcher placed on top. Fire OS 7 is new for this year, however, and uses a newer version of Google’s operating system, Android 9 Pie.
All-new Amazon Fire HD 8: What about the Fire HD 8 Plus?
As for the Fire HD 8 Plus, the differences are smaller still. The Fire HD 8 Plus includes 3GB of RAM, rather than the 2GB offered by the regular model, and has a faster 9W charger in the box. The Fire HD 8 Plus also comes with three months of Kindle Unlimited for free.
The biggest reason why you might want to pick up the Fire HD 8 Plus, however, is for wireless charging. You can buy one of these tablets alongside Amazon’s new Wireless Charging Dock, which costs an extra £40. Amazon says the Fire HD 8 Plus can charge to 80% in less than two hours with the 10W wireless charger, and can be used as a stand for a hybrid screen-friendly Alexa.
| Amazon Fire HD 8 | Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus | |
| Display | 8in (1,280 x 800) | 8in (1,280 x 800) |
| Battery life | Up to 12 hours | Up to 12 hours |
| Charging time | 5 hours | 4 hours |
| Wireless charging | No | Yes |
| Processor | Quad-core 2GHz MediaTek MT8168 | Quad-core 2GHz MediaTek MT8168 |
| RAM | 2GB | 3GB |
| Storage | 32 or 64GB | 32 or 64GB |
| Camera | 2MP front and back | 2MP front and back |
| Weight | 355g | 355g |
| Dimensions | 202 x 137 x 9.7mm | 202 x 137 x 9.7mm |
All-New Fire HD 8 Plus tablet, 8″ HD display, 32 GB, Slate with Special Offers, Our best 8″ tablet for portable entertainment
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All-New Amazon Fire HD 8 release date: When can you buy one?
The Fire HD 8, Fire HD 8 Plus and Wireless Charging Dock are all available for preorder right now. All three devices launch at the beginning of next month, on 3 June.
All-New Amazon Fire HD 8 price: How much does it cost?
Alongside the different colour choices – Black, Plum, Twilight Blue, White and Slate – and two storage options, Amazon also offers the Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 8 Plus in two variants: “with special offers” and “without special offers”. Special offers are basically Amazon’s way of pushing its adverts through to your lock screen – if you’d rather not have this, you will have to pay an extra £10.
The Fire HD 8 starts at £90, with the option to double your storage to 64GB for £120. The Fire HD 8 Plus costs £110 for the 32GB model and £140 for 64GB of storage. The Wireless Charging Dock can either be purchased separately for £40, or bundled with the Fire HD 8 Plus for £140 or £170.