Amazon Fire 7 vs Fire HD 8 vs Fire HD 10: Which Fire tablet should you buy?
Amazon's Fire tablets continue to offer a popular alternative to the iPad, and with the choices of Android tablets reducing over the past few years, the Fire family has offered affordable tablets that do just about everything you need.
With three different-sized tablets in the offering, there is a decision to be made about which tablet best suits your needs. Is the size worth the increase in price, and exactly what do you get for your money?
Amazon Fire tablet design
- Fire 7: 115 x 192 x 9.6mm, 286g
- Fire HD 8: 214 x 128 x 9.7mm, 363g
- Fire HD 10: 262 x 159 x 9.8mm, 504g
The Fire tablets are designed to be sturdy, offering plastic backs in a range of colours. The sizes and weights step up progressively as you'd expect along with the size of the display on offer.
The build quality is very much the same across all the devices, with flat backs and a bezel around the display that gives you plenty of space to grip the tablet.
The Fire 7 comes in black, sage, plum and blue, the Fire 8 HD is available in black, blue, red and yellow.
The new HD 10 is available black, plum, twilight blue and white. All the tablets have a range of cases and covers available to provide additional protection.
Amazon Fire tablet display
- Fire 7: 7-inch, 1024 x 600 pixels, 171ppi
- Fire HD 8: 8-inch, 1280 x 800 pixels, 189ppi
- Fire HD 10: 10.1-inch, 1920 x 1200 pixels, 224ppi
The Fire 7 has a 1024 x 600 pixel resolution display, which equates to 171ppi across its 7-inches.
The 8-inch model has a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, which comes out at 189ppi. Again, this is a boosted display compared to previous versions of this tablet so has reasonable contrast and clarity, with a slight boost in pixel density over the Fire 7, although there's very little difference other than the size.
The 10-inch model make a bigger step to 1920 x 1200 pixels, which is 224ppi. This is quite a bit sharper than both the smaller tablets as well as giving you 2 inches more on the diagonal. If it's size you crave, then go for the Fire HD 10.
This is also a Full HD display, offering greater potential to show you richer details so the experience is better as a result - especially when watching video.
Amazon Fire tablet hardware
- Fire 7: 1.3GHz quad-core, 1GB RAM, 16/32GB storage + microSD
- Fire HD 8: 1.3GHz quad-core, 1.5GB RAM, 16/32GB storage + microSD
- New Fire HD 10: 2GHz octo-core, 2GB RAM, 32/64GB storage + microSD
- Fire HD 8 and HD 10 offer Dolby Atmos sound
When it comes to the internal specs, there's a difference in the power that you'll get from the Fire tablets.
These tablets get incrementally faster, with the Fire 7 and Fire HD 8 having a 1.3GHz quad-core processor. The new Fire HD 10 upgrades to an octo-core 2.0GHz chip, so it's going to have a little more oomph.
In terms of RAM, the Fire 7 offers 1GB RAM while the Fire HD 8 steps it up to 1.5GB. The Fire HD 10 have 2GHz for a faster overall experience.
All models have microSD support for storage expansion up to 512GB, as well as free unlimited cloud storage for Amazon content. In terms of internal memory however, the Fire 7 and HD 8 are offered at 16GB and 32GB, while the HD 10 comes in 32 or 64GB options. Those 16GB tablets fill very fast, so a microSD card is well worth hunting down.
The battery life on the Fire 7 comes in at 7 hours; the Fire HD 8 claims 10 hours of battery life, while the new HD 10 has 12 hours. The Fire 10 now has USB-C on it, while the others still have Micro-USB.
All the tablets offer dual-band Wi-Fi, there's no 4G LTE offering on any of the models. The Fire 7 has a mono speaker, while the HD 8 and HD 10 both offer "Dolby Audio" stereo speakers, meaning sound quality is better on the two larger models, with much more pronounced stereo separation and better high volume fidelity when watching videos.
In terms of camera performance, the Fire 7 has a front-facing VGA camera and a 2-megapixel rear snapper, capable of 720p video recording. The Fire HD 8 and new HD 10 have a 720p camera on the front.
Amazon Fire software
- Fire OS
- Alexa available on all devices
The Fire tablets all run Amazon's skewed version of Android for a unique experience that's bespoke to Amazon's needs. You're served by the Amazon Appstore, with seamless integration with Amazon's content, Kindle Books, as well as Music and Video. For Prime members, there's a whole world of content that you have access to, and that's before you get to doing your shopping.
These tablets also tap into Alexa's skills. You'll be able to control your home and ask questions of Alexa through your tablet and get the answers served up as cards, or via voice.
All these devices now support Alexa hands-free. With this, you can just speak to the tablet and Alexa will respond. That means you can use it in the kitchen for example, without having to use your hands in the same way you'd use the Amazon Echo.
They also offer Show Mode, compatible with the Show Mode Charging Dock, to give Alexa a visual display like the Echo Show.
Amazon Fire price: Which is the best model?
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The Amazon Fire 7 is one of the most affordable tablets you'll find and it's perfect for those who might break it - like kids - although do also consider the Fire Kids Edition too. The Kids Edition gets a bumper, 2-year warranty and 1-year subscription to Fire for Kids Unlimited.
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The Amazon Fire HD 8 is stunning value for money, giving you more space and a better display than the Fire 7, but still at a really attractive price. It sits in an appealing position, offering portability, excellent battery life as well great sound. The latest update means a better camera and more memory expansion too.
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The new 2019 Fire HD 10 adds to the appeal with a larger display that's shaper, with a faster 2.0GHz processor and 2GB of memory, 32 or 64GB of storage plus a battery life of around 12 hours. Finally, there's faster charging with a welcome upgrade to USB-C for this tablet.
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