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Amazon has been manufacturing affordable tablets for years. While some trade-offs are inevitable to keep this value low, Fire’s diversity has slowly advanced with each new iteration and continues to be the right cost for money, especially for Prime subscribers.
This year, Amazon brought a new option in the form of Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus. This is an advanced edition of the Fire HD 8 that benefits from a little more RAM and wireless charging support. The pill comes with an optional wireless charging station that allows it to run twice as an Echo Show smart display.
I have been Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus for a few weeks and it is one of the most productive tablets Amazon has ever produced. While it has some limitations, it’s a forged circle of relative devices, and the show-related wireless charging station adds a lot of value.
The Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus would probably not win any good-looking contests. This is a utility design and the only difference compared to the Amazon Fire HD 8 is color. The Fire HD 8 is available in a choice of 4 colors, while the HD 8 Plus has an opaque slate grey finish.
The frame is molded plastic and there is a thick bezel around the 8-inch screen. Keeping it horizontal, there are two speakers on the most sensitive edge and a MicroSD card slot at the bottom. The right edge, or the most sensible in portrait, features volume controls, power button, USB-C charging port and 3.5mm headphone port.
We’re pleased to see Amazon even though everything changes from micro USB ports to USB-C ports to charge. This not only allows for faster charging, but also means that the cable is in the right direction. However, adding wireless charging help to the HD 8 Plus means you’ll never want to plug it in.
Although it looks and feels cheap, the Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus is undeniably conveniently convenient. I suspect the pill can give a few drops and bumps, and it looks pretty thick and strong in the hand. It weighs 355 grams (12.5 ounces), which is heavy enough for a pill of this size; Heavier than the iPad Mini with 310 grams, for example, but I find it comfortable to hold it for long periods.
The fire HD 8 Plus screen is the same as the Fire HD 8 and remains unchanged since the last release. This means you’re looking for an 8-inch LCD screen with a low 1280 x 800 pixel solution. It’s crisp enough to surf the Internet and is ideal for streaming videos or playing casual games, as long as you don’t expect the maximum definition.
The Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus is also suitable for comics, however I would recommend switching to a Kindle or eBook reader. The screen glass is reflective and the brightness is limited, which makes it poor clarity in bright environments, making it more productive to use this pill indoors.
Dimensions: x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
View: 8-inch LCD (1280 x 800 pixels)
Processor: quad-core at 2.0 GHz
Memory: 3GB
Storage: 32GB or 64GB (MicroSD card location up to 1TB)
Camera: 2MP and rear
Speakers: two speakers
Battery: up to 12 hours.
The installation procedure is very simple. Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus runs Amazon’s Fire operating system, which is a carousel interface that divides your content into sections such as books, videos, games and apps, music, etc. If you’re a Prime subscriber, have simple access to all of your Prime Benefits by adding Prime Video, Kindle Loan Library, and Prime Music.
Although Fire OS is very accessible, it makes Fire HD 8 Plus another of a popular Android tablet. You can’t customize the home screen, there’s a “For You” tab that recommends content based on your activity. Most importantly, there is no access to the Google Play Store or other services.
The Amazon Appstore offers a smart variety of apps and games, adding giant apps like Netflix and YouTube, however, there are many fewer than you’ll find in the Play Store and much of what’s up is updated less frequently. It is technically conceivable to overload Google’s services, however, other people may not have to play with the software.
Worth $109.99, the Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus also comes with “special offers,” which are necessarily ads ranked on the lock screen, unless you pay $15 more upfront to remove them.
Perhaps what happens with the Amazon interface is the inclusion of Show mode. This allows Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus to act as an Echo Show device, so you can use it in hands-free mode and
Ask Alexa to play your favorite show, search for things, and more.
Amazon’s Line of Fire Pills has been weak in the functionality department, so it’s a relief to see that the newer Fire pills have a little more grunt under the hood than the 2018 model. The normal HD 8 and HD 8 Plus have quad-core chips with a clock speed of 2 GHz. They have also been reinforced in the RAM department, in 2GB for HD 8 and 3GB for HD 8 Plus.
I wish I could tell you that Amazon’s new hardware offers a perfect experience, but it depends a lot on what you’re used to. The Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus is a little slow to respond when you press and swipe. It takes a while to load an app or transfer from a game to the home screen. Compared directly to THE HD 8 2018, the new pill is faster, but if you transfer it from a recent phone or iPad, it will look lethargic.
It may not be the fastest pill on the market, but it works. You can play a variety of games on it; I had an explosion of Clash of Clans and Minecraft. This works well for video streaming; Either speaker is necessarily a little thin, but there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack. I’m not a big fan of Amazon’s Silk browser, however, the Fire HD 8 Plus is wonderful for reading morning news because it’s a smart length to sunbathe in bed.
You can set up other profiles for other members of the family circle and dictate age-appropriate content with built-in parental controls, making Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus an ideal tablet for the family circle. I also like the fact that it automatically downloads some of Prime Video’s latest movies and TV shows, depending on your preferences, with the “On the Bridge” feature, so you can watch them offline.
There are front and rear cameras of 2 megapixels in this pill. The front camera is suitable for video calls and can be useful when the pill is anchored in View mode. There are a few reasons to use the rear camera as your phone almost has a larger camera.
Amazon suggests up to 12 hours of combined use for Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus before you want to plug it in or plug it in, and that’s fair. This is a two-hour jump from the previous model.
The pill can be completely sucked in 4 hours with the charger provided, however, if you use wireless chargers, it can be recharged every time you connect it. I use it this way and it rarely falls below 50% and only after a long game session.
The presence of Show mode in Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus is welcome, and you can drag the notification tint down and activate it to turn the pill into an Echo Show you want. The pill also automatically switches to View mode when you place it on a wireless charger. If you already use Alexa with skill and smart devices set up, this will be very appealing.
You can ask Alexa to play videos or music, search the Internet, or even post recipes. It is a useful hands-free mode that works well in the kitchen or bedside table. The fact that you can use the Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus as an Echo Show and then remove it from the base when needed, reinforces its prospective utility.
For anyone who has already adopted wireless charging, the HD 8 Plus will be a more engaging prospect. I like the wireless charging station specially designed through Amazon. It is a black plastic stand with a special slot that perfectly holds the Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus in place. The grey fabric lining raises the look a little, so it doesn’t stand out too much when the pickup is rarely very connected, it’s big enough. The great merit is stability, however, you don’t really have to buy the Amazon dock if you don’t need it. I tried it with some other Qi wireless chargers that I use for phones, and it works perfectly, switching to Show mode as soon as it is connected.
The Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus will serve you well as a circle of family pills and as an Echo Show once anchored. This is by no means exceptional, but it has a lot to offer for value and is ideal for a place of transmission, playback and gameplay, with the Alexa hands-free bonus on board.
Yes, if you subscribe to Prime and you’re already Alexa, or need a flexible and inexpensive family device, the Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus is excellent value for money.
At $124.99, the Fire HD 8 Plus without special offers is a bit expensive, however, the Amazon offers I propose to keep an eye on it. If you can help with ads, you can reduce it through $15, and if you don’t mind wireless charging, you can save another $20 by opting for the popular Fire HD 8, which costs $89.99 with special offers.
The option is the ad-free Fire HD 8 Plus, but with the wireless charging station, which lately costs $154.99.
Amazon’s cheapest tablet, at $49.99, is the Fire 7, but it’s malnourished and has a low-resolution display, so we don’t present it.
If cash is rarely a problem, Apple’s iPad Mini is the most productive pill you can get, however, it starts at $399.00. For something bigger, the iPad is hard to see beyond $329.00.
If you are on an Android tablet, maybe the Samsung Tab S6 Lite, which has an initial price of approximately $349.99; or, if it is too expensive, maybe the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 from $229.99.
Benefits: Affordable, Best for Prime, Alexa & Show Subscribers, Wireless Charging, Maximum Battery Life, USB-C Port
Cons: Slow and boring visualization, locked in the Amazon ecosystem, limited apps and games