Amazon has just announced four all-new Fire HD 8 tablets – Fire HD 8, Fire HD 8 Plus, Fire HD 8 Kids, and Fire HD 8 Kids Pro – are now available. Designed for entertainment and getting more done, Fire HD 8 tablets are thinner, lighter, and faster than ever before – with premium features such as an all-day battery life with USB-C charging, 30% faster 6-core processor, vibrant 8″ HD display, upgraded accessibility features, and more. The new Fire HD 8 starts at $99.99, Fire HD 8 Plus starts at $119.99, and Fire HD 8 Kids and Kids Pro start at $149.99.
New Fire HD 8 Highlights:
- Thinner, lighter, and faster than before, the all-new Fire HD 8 tablets deliver a premier entertainment experience with a vibrant 8″ HD display, 30% faster performance and up to 13 hours of battery life with USB-C charging, and plenty of storage at 32 GB.
- Fire HD 8 Kids includes a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids+, with thousands of ad-free books, games, videos and apps. Fire HD 8 Kids is the perfect companion device for kids at home and on the go, bundled with a kid-proof case and a two-year hassle-free warranty. For the first time, customers can select a Disney Design bundle including Fire HD 8 Kids and a Mickey Mouse or Disney Princess case for $159.99.
- The all-new Fire HD 8 Kids Pro, designed for school-aged kids, 6-12, includes Fire HD 8 Kids features but also comes with access to a digital store where kids can discover and ask their parents to purchase eBooks and apps, or add their favorite games like Roblox and Minecraft.
- Fire HD 8 tablets feature accessibility upgrades including the display size feature that can either magnify all on-screen elements for customers with low or impaired vision, or reduce the elements’ size to provide extra space to do more on the display. For customers who want to interact with Alexa through touch instead of voice, the Tap to Alexa feature is now available (in Settings > Accessibility > Tap to Alexa) and compatible with Switch Access controllers.
The All-New Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 8 Plus Include:
- Enhanced performance—With a 30% faster hexa-core processor, customers can do more, from web browsing to watching videos—or both at the same time. Enjoy picture-in-picture videos with apps like Prime Video and utilize the split-screen feature to send an email while joining a Zoom call, or look up a recipe while watching your favorite show.
- Sleek and durable display—Featuring an 8-inch, vibrant HD display made with strengthened aluminosilicate glass, Fire HD 8 is thinner, lighter, and even stronger than before, testing twice as durable as the iPad mini in tumble tests.
- Battery that lasts all day—Up to 13 hours of battery life for watching content, browsing the web, listening to music, and more. Fire HD 8 fully charges in five hours with the included USB-C cable and 5W power adapter.
- Engaging entertainment—Movies, games, and web content look and sound amazing in vivid HD with Dolby Atmos. With screen mirroring, customers can project video, browsers, apps, photos, and more on larger screens compatible with Miracast technology, including select FireTV, Samsung, Sony, LG, and Phillips TVs.
- Better with Prime—Fire HD 8 powers unlimited hours of entertainment for Prime members, including thousands of popular movies and TV shows with Prime Video, exclusive Amazon Originals, and millions of songs and podcasts with Amazon Music. Plus, with Amazon Photos, Prime members get free, unlimited, full-resolution photo storage and 5GB video storage.
- Plenty of storage—With 32GB and 64GB options, and support for up to 1TB of expandable storage via microSD, customers can download and enjoy a variety of books, videos, and games.
- Wide selection of content—Enjoy millions of movies, TV episodes, songs, books, graphic novels, apps, and games. Stream or watch downloaded videos with Prime Video, Disney+, Netflix, Hulu, or HBO Max subscriptions.
- Always-ready, hands-free Alexa—Ask Alexa to make a video call to keep in touch with family and friends, play a song, start an Audible book, launch a game, find your favorite movies, show your calendar, and more—using only your voice.
- Climate Pledge Friendly—Designed with sustainability in mind, Fire HD 8 tablets are part of the growing list of Amazon devices reducing their carbon footprint year after year. Fire HD 8’s device packaging is 100% recyclable in the U.S. and is also made of 99% wood fiber-based materials from responsibly managed forests or recycled sources.
- Personalized Display Sizes—The new display size feature can either magnify all on-screen elements for customers with low or impaired vision, or reduce the elements’ size to provide extra space to do more on the display.
- Accessibility—With features like VoiceView screen reader, screen magnifier, closed captioning, font size, high-contrast text, color inversion, color correction, and convert stereo to mono audio, Fire HD 8 was built with accessibility in mind. For customers who want to interact with Alexa through touch instead of voice, the Tap to Alexa feature is now available and compatible with Switch Access controllers. Fire HD 8 also features Text to Speech, so customers can type out phrases and have them spoken out loud.
For only $20 more, the new Fire HD 8 Plus adds:
- Multi-tasking—With 3GB RAM, you can switch seamlessly between apps on Fire HD 8 Plus, whether you’re checking off your to-do list, reading a book, or watching your favorite show.
- Faster USB–C charging—Fire HD 8 Plus fully charges in approximately three hours with the included 9W power adapter.
- Hassle-free wireless charging—Fire HD 8 Plus is also compatible with Qi-certified wireless chargers, and when paired with the wireless charging dock (sold separately), you can seamlessly transition Fire HD 8 Plus from a portable tablet experience to a countertop smart display with hands-free Alexa access in Show Mode.
- Sharper images—Featuring a 5MP rear-facing camera, customers can capture vivid video and images.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
