Amazon Fire HD 8-Inch Kids (2022) Review

The Amazon Fire HD 8-Inch tablet combines thoughtful design, versatile features, and comprehensive parental controls to deliver an excellent kid's tablet experience. Great for everyday use, the tablet can be set up to prioritize education, entertainment, or a combination of both. There's not much to fault this mighty tablet besides an average charge time. Available in a handful of colors and designs, this model is sure to please just about any kiddo.

Performance Comparison

Preloaded Content

When it comes to preloaded content, the Fire HD 8-Inch tablet excels in providing a diverse range of options for entertainment and education. The tablet includes a one-year subscription to Kids+, which gives access to over 20,000 books, music, shows, games, and educational content.

The content caters to a wide age range, from two to 13+, and can be customized using a slider bar to adjust the content visibility for your child. In addition to the wide selection of books, the tablet offers reading assistance features. If a child comes across an unfamiliar word, they can press down on the word, where a popup will define the word and help with pronunciation. Some books even allow zooming in on pictures and words. With all the content available, none of it is pre-downloaded. So, you'll need to individually download applications and shows. Once downloaded, most of this content will be available offline. There is quite a bit available on this tablet, which can feel overwhelming until you get used to it. Sections for downloads, favorites, and the recent feature make finding apps much easier. However, children who can't yet read will struggle to know if the app is a game, book, or show without clicking on it.

Durability

To test the durability of the Amazon Fire HD 8-Inch, we inspected and measured the case and dropped it on the ground several times. The tablet's impressive durability is thanks to its thick foam case, with a corner thickness measuring 1.2 inches. With this level of protection, we have no concerns about accidental damage caused by drops or rough handling. Amazon offers a generous 2-year warranty, ensuring that if the device does break, it can be replaced.

The tablet's case features a convenient handle that also doubles as a stand. This allows for easy portability and adjustable viewing angles. The textured design of the case enhances grip, reducing the chances of accidental slips from small hands. Additionally, the tablet is available in four different colors, including themed versions such as Disney Princesses and Mickey Mouse. These themed versions come with corresponding wallpapers and pinned Disney content, adding an extra touch of personalization and engagement. Solid blue and purple options are also available.

Battery

To evaluate the battery life of the HD 8-Inch tablet, we streamed an 11-hour YouTube video continuously. We monitored the exact time at which the device shut off and then measured the time it took to turn it back on when plugged in. We also noted the charging time required to reach full battery capacity. While these might seem like minor details, they can be important to the eyes of an impatient toddler.

Amazon claims a battery life of 13 hours for the Fire HD 8, but our testing revealed a runtime of 9.5 hours before the device depleted its battery. Although it falls slightly short of the claimed duration, 9.5 hours should be more than sufficient for most travel and household use. When the tablet is turned back on after being completely drained, it powers up immediately with a 1% battery. Charging the tablet to full capacity takes approximately three hours and 57 minutes, while we hit the 50% mark in about two hours.

Parental Controls

The Amazon Fire HD 8-Inch is set up with Amazon's comprehensive parental controls. Accessible through an intuitive menu with the use of a secret PIN, these controls offer a range of options for managing your child's content consumption. You can set time limits, usage allotments, and content specifications, tailoring the tablet's usage to your preferences.

Among the available options, you can set designated "lock" periods, restricting tablet use to specific times. For example, you can allow usage only from 12 pm to 5 pm, with a maximum of two hours of tablet time permitted. The tablet also enables you to create schedules for weekdays and weekends, providing further flexibility. Blocking specific content until educational goals are met is another valuable feature. For instance, you can require your child to complete 30 minutes of educational content before accessing other apps. Additionally, the tablet offers browser settings, allowing you to block certain websites or follow age-appropriate recommendations. During our testing, the parental controls effectively prevented access to gambling sites.

Within the parental control settings, you can review your child's browsing history, ensuring they are engaged in appropriate online activities. When the time limit is reached, a message pops up on the screen, stating, "All done for today!". However, additional time can be granted through the secret PIN.

Display

The Amazon Fire HD 8 boasts an impressive display that meets the expectations of a modern tablet. With a 1280 x 800 HD IPS resolution, the screen delivers vibrant colors, crisp images, and excellent contrast. The 8-inch screen provides a balance between ample screen size and portability. This tablet can be easily packed up in your flight carry-on bag.

The tablet's responsiveness is attributed to its hexacore processor, ensuring smooth navigation and fluid interactions with apps and games. The combination of a high-quality display and powerful processing capabilities enhances the overall user experience, making the tablet a simple-to-use option.

Camera

To evaluate the camera capabilities of the Amazon Fire HD tablet, we conducted a series of tests capturing various photos. We snapped a picture of a bowl of fruit backlit by a window to assess the camera's performance in challenging lighting conditions. Additionally, we took a low-lit photo in one of our darker testing rooms. We also tested the camera's general usability by taking a series of photos in the daylight.

The Fire HD 8 features a 2MP front and back camera, which generally performs well in the context of a children's tablet. The resulting photos were slightly blurry, but the image quality is more than satisfactory, considering the tablet's intended audience. The camera excelled in capturing details in low-light environments, allowing us to discern objects and elements within the room. The camera interface is easy to navigate and use. However, it can be disabled through the parental control settings for added control.

Should You Buy The Amazon Fire HD 8-Inch Kids Tablet?

This is a high-quality tablet and a wallet-friendly choice. It has Amazon's impressive parental controls and a 2-year warranty. It's also packed with kid-friendly content. You can't go wrong with this tablet unless you are looking for something larger or for an older kid.

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