The Fire TV isn’t the only Amazon device being refreshed today. Amazon has also updated nearly all of their Fire tablets today. They’ve released the $50 tablet they were rumored to release, which surprisingly has a 7 inch screen instead of the rumored 6 inch screen, as well as a kids version of the same tablet with a no questions asked replacement policy. There’s also the new Fire HD 8 which is their thinnest tablet ever and the Fire HD 10 which is their largest tablet ever. Read on for a full rundown of each model and its important specs.
The simply name Fire Tablet is most affordable tablet Amazon has ever released at just $49.99. It features a 7″ 1024×600 display and a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor. It has 8GB of internal storage which is expandable through its microSD card slot. Incredibly, Amazon managed to include both a VGA front and 2 MP rear camera capable of capturing 720p video. The tablet is also available in Germany and the UK.
The Fire Kids Edition tablet is identical to the above Fire Tablet in specs. For an extra $50 you get a 2-year worry-free guarantee which means Amazon will replace the tablet for free for up to 2 years regardless of what happens to it. No questions asked. It comes with a thick foam case to protect it from drops and is also available in Germany and the UK.
The new Fire HD 8 tablet is Amazon’s thinnest and most well rounded tablet. It has an 8 inch screen similar to the iPad Mini, but less than half the price at $149.99. The tablet has a screen resolution of 1280 x 800 and is powered by a 1.5 GHz quad-core CPU. You’ll also find a 720p front facing camera as well as a 5 MP rear camera capable of 1080p video. This tablet comes in 8 or 16 GB models which is expandable via the built in microSD card slot. Other perks include dual-band 802.11ac wireless and dual Dolby stereo speakers. Like the rest of the tablets, this too is also available in Germany and the UK.
Last but most certainly not least is the Fire HD 10. Starting at $229.99, this is Amazon largest tablet measuring in with a 1280 x 800 10 inch screen. Inside is the same 1.5GHz quad-core CPU powering, the same 720p front facing camera, and the same 5 MP rear camera capable of 1080p video that you’ll find in the the new Fire HD 8. The similarities continue with dual-band ac wifi and Dolby stereo speakers. WHere the 10 differs from the 8 is internal storage. THe Fire HD 10 comes with 16GB of internal storage with an option to bump that up to 32GB. Of course, a microSD slot is also present for expanding needs. For those of you overseas, you can also pick up this tablet in Germany and the UK.
In addition to a hardware refresh, all of these tablets also come with a brand new operating system by the name of Fire OS 5. Amazon has thankfully scrapped the old carousel interface for a more familiar homescreen grid of icons.
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Do these new tablets with lower specs support Mira-Cast to Fire TV?
Since they invested the money to create Amazon Fling (just to have their own in-house Google-Cast/AirPlay protocol), why could I totally see Amazon simply creating their own in-house software display mirroring protocol, between their Kindle Fire’s and Fire TV’s? It would probably be cheaper for them in the long run, since they wouldn’t have to use specific hardware (Wifi-Direct) and then have to get it Mira-Cast certified. They would leave Mira-Cast in the Fire TV itself, but not use it in their Kindles.
The new UI looks very nice, clean (Nexus-like); glad they got rid of the carousel. All these tablets look nice.
Me too! Much better more stock-like Android experience. And from the looks of things? Personal wallpaper/background support. FINALLY! Just black was driving me nuts!
Note that the $50 7″ Fire only has a 90-day warranty in the US & Japan. A 1-year warranty will cost you an extra $10.
Funny they’re also offering a 6-pack of the $50 tablets (thought it was a joke at first); pay for 5, get 6th free.
Has the Google Play Store been brought back from exile in these new tablets?
I won’t be getting any of these tablets. I like the new interface but I am disappointed in the ppi. My 2012 kindle fire hd (7 inch) has a 216 ppi…. The new 2015 version 8 inch has a 189 ppi. Even the new 10 inch model for $230 has a 149 ppi.
Will the HDX 8.9 be upgraded to use the new OS 5 ?
Gizmodo said this “Oh, and in case you’re wondering, there’s no update to Amazon’s higher-end Fire HDX tablet—though it and all of Amazon’s other 2014 tablets will get updated to Fire OS 5 in October. Also, Amazon’s not talking about the failed Fire Phone. Like, at all.”
I’m not entirely sure why they ended support for the high-end market? Were higher spec’ed Kindle Fire’s simply not selling well enough to justify another year of them? All the new ones max out at quad-core 1.5Ghz w/ 1GB of RAM and low-rez screens. It’s kinda like, they just “gave up”, decided to sell budget tablets only and discontinued all the previous models. There’s no cellular connectivity in any of the new ones either, which also reinforces the notion that they gave up selling Kindle’s for work/business, focusing now on soccer mom’s/kids gaming. It’s interesting? Did they have to go cheap this year to make-up the $170 million write-down for the Fire Phone? The good thing about Amazon doing this is? That they’re selling cheaper “impulse-buy” tablets to people, so demand for apps will be higher and that will help the FireOS/App Store dev community grow.
Had read some stories about the HDX tablets not selling well. But very disappointing to see such underpowered tablets, and Amazon doing a 180 on its “most powerful tablet” shtick and going for “here’s a cheap screen, now buy our stuff to stream!” I was waiting a few months to buy a new Fire tablet, didn’t think it possible that I’d instead be looking at anything but.
Did anyone else notice that at least the $50 tablet doesn’t tell how much ram it has?
It’s in the technical details on the product page. It has 1GB of RAM.
I am an Amazon guy, I but I will not be buying any of these new tablets. The only one I might even consider is the $50 just because it is only $50.
I am happy they finally added a micro sd slot, but only having 1GB of ram is totally unacceptable.
Yeah, if they wanted to chinch on processor speed? I can see that. But to chinch on RAM? BAD idea! Especially on Android. They definitely went “bare minimum” with em, this year. But they’re still selling the HDX 8.9 “2014”, so that’s good. I’m hoping the 2013 HDX’s are going to get the Bellini 5.0. Hardware wouldn’t be a problem for Lollipop.
Question: Does anyone knownif the new fire tablet will be running the google play store ( google apps store)???