wired
One tap for Amazon content: If you subscribe to Amazon’s Prime service, you can consume all the included movies, music, TV, and books, shop all the items you can get with its free two-day shipping, and browse your free Amazon photo storage. You can do most of the same things from an Android tablet or iPad, but the Fire OS interface is tailored specifically for delivering Amazon stuff, with swipeable pages for every type of media Amazon sells.
Made “good enough”: Physically, Amazon’s Fire tablets are made of cheap plastic, but they’re designed with such care that the build quality won’t bother you too much. WiFi reception is excellent, and front facing cameras have improved significantly over the last few releases. The Kids Editions are also the best quality tablets for kids, encased in sturdy bumpers, and all have microSD slots so you can add additional storage. (We recommend this 128-GB microSD card for $15.) It used to be that you could make things better by hacking Amazon’s tablets and installing the Google Play Store on your Fire device. Unfortunately the Play Store is becoming increasingly difficult to install and is something I no longer recommend to most people. It’s not worth the hassle when there are other reasonably cheap Android tablets available.
Cheap: Did we mention the price? They all cost $200 or less, save the new Max 11. If you stick to the cheaper models, they’re great value. You can also get them with Amazon lock-screen ads, which will reduce your price by $15.
tired
Non-Amazon content is lacking: The biggest strength of these pills is also their biggest weakness. If you’re not an Amazon Prime subscriber and don’t plan on getting your video, audio, or books from Amazon, the Fire tablet line is much less attractive. They have Alexa, so that might be a plus, but still, it’s deeply tied into Amazon’s content library. You can download third-party apps like Netflix on Amazon’s Appstore, but the selection is away What’s available on Apple’s iPad or standard Android tablets in the Google Play Store is much more limited. Rumor has it that this will change next year as Amazon improves Fire OS, but so far it’s just a rumor.
Old Technology: The technology inside these tablets is old. The processors aren’t the fastest, and you’ll notice small fits of lag and a general lack of power compared to more expensive Android tablets. Touchscreens aren’t as responsive or sensitive as more expensive tablets. Since many of the Fire OS apps are built with weak processing power in mind, you don’t pay much attention to it. The operating system is also dated (depending on which Fire tablet you buy), which may hide some vulnerabilities. Amazon’s latest Fire OS is a modified version of Android 11, which came out in 2020. Amazon continues to update its tablets to a certain extent, but not as often as it should.
Short Warranty: Only the Fire HD 10 comes with a full one-year warranty. Strangely, the little device comes with a 90-day warranty.
special offers: Amazon’s special offer ads have become more obvious and annoying over time. We recommend that you pay the extra $15 to buy a Fire tablet without them.