7-inch tablets have appeared so much much less helpful since smartphones have edged in the direction of that dimension territory anyway. 8 inches is the place it’s at for a Goldilocks in-between machine — simply ask the iPad Mini or Amazon’s Fireplace HD 8, which simply acquired a refresh for its sixth technology (or eleventh, should you’re counting all the varied Fireplace fashions). The brand new model is thinner, lighter, extra highly effective, a tad bit dearer, and up for pre-order at present. It ships in October.
The usual Fireplace HD 8 is getting a brand new six-core processor that Amazon claims is 30 % quicker than the 2020 mannequin. Hopefully, will probably be sufficient to make up for the moderately pokey RAM, which stays simply 2GB. Storage is available in 32GB and 64GB flavors plus no matter you’ll be able to match within the MicroSD card slot, a disappearing function on Android {hardware} lately. The 8-inch HD display can keep on for as much as 13 hours. The machine fees utilizing a regular USB-C cable. The bottom mannequin begins at $100, a $10 premium over older designs. Colours embody black, denim, and rose.
As with different members of the road, the pill will likely be obtainable in an upgraded HD 8 Plus mannequin, which comes with an additional gigabyte of RAM, quicker charging at as much as 9 watts, Qi wi-fi charging with appropriate chargers, and a “vivid” 5MP rear digicam. (Severely? Yup, I’m it proper right here: Amazon says 5 measly megapixels counts as “sharper.”) The upgraded mannequin begins at $120 in a dimpled gray end.
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The bottom mannequin of the HD 8 is designated Children editions, as common. The common Fireplace HD 8 Children is designed for youthful kids, with an impact-resistant case, two years of injury safety (together with that all-important damaged display substitute), and one yr of Amazon Children+ with entry to ad-free books, video games, movies, and apps. The Fireplace 8 HD Children Professional is identical {hardware} (NOT the upgraded Fireplace 8 HD Plus), designed with revised software program for youths 6-12, with entry to a restricted model of the Amazon Appstore with curated choices like Roblox and Minecraft. Parental permission remains to be required.
Each the common Children and Children Professional tablets price $150 for the 32GB mannequin in varied colours. Should you’re a fan of mega-corp crossovers, you will get the Fireplace HD 8 Children in a “Disney Design” variant with both Mickey or Disney Princess circumstances for an additional $10.