New Amazon Fire HD 8 and 8 Plus tablets launched as affordable iPad alternatives
As well as a new Fire Kids Edition
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If you’re in the market for a new budget tablet then you’re in luck, asAmazonhas just announced a new and improved version of the Fire HD 8, alongside an Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus, which is a totally new device from the company.
With a starting price of $89.99 / £89.99, the new Amazon Fire HD 8 has an 8-inch 1280 x 800 screen with 189 pixels per inch, a 2GHz quad-core chipset, 2GB of RAM, 32GB or 64GB of storage, a microSD card slot, 2MP cameras on both the front and back, and offers up to 12 hours of battery life.
Those are basic specs to be sure, but then this is substantially cheaper than even the most affordableiPad 10.2. The new Fire HD 8 also apparently offers up to 30% faster performance than theAmazon Fire HD 8 (2018), as well as coming with twice as much storage, and a USB-C port rather than the outdated micro USB.
The Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus meanwhile ups the RAM to 3GB, supports wireless charging, ships with a faster 9W charger in the box, and comes with three months ofKindleUnlimited. This will set you back $109.99 / £109.99. You can alternatively order the Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus bundled with a new wireless charging dock for $139.99 / £139.98.
And that’s not all, as Amazon has also launched a new Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Edition. This is the priciest of the bunch at $139.99 / £139.99, and comes with the same core specs as the standard Amazon Fire HD 8, but with a tougher kid-proof case complete with an adjustable stand.
It also includes built-in parental controls and a one-year subscription to Fire for Kids, which provides near endless kid-friendly content.
All three models are available topre-order now from Amazonin a range of colors, and they begin shipping on June 3.
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James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.
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