Amazon’s Fire tablets are some of the cheapest tablets worth buying thanks to a combination of decent screens, acceptable performance (for some tasks) and really low starting prices. Normally you can pick up an Amazon Fire tablet for between $60 and $230. From time to time, they go on sale at deep discounts. On Amazon Prime Day, 2023, for example, prices range from $40 for an entry-level Fire 7 tablet to $150 for the Fire Max 11.
But figuring out which tablet to buy isn’t always that easy. Amazon provides a basic comparison table on its product pages, but you have to dig a bit deeper to find many key specs.
So I dug them up and put them all in one place. Here’s a more detailed Amazon Fire tablet comparison table.
| Amazon Fire 7 (2022) | Amazon Fire HD 8 (2024) | Amazon Fire HD 10 (2023) | Amazon Fire Max 11 | |
| Display | 7 inch, 1024 x 600 | 8 inch, 1280 x 800 | 10 inch, 1920 x 1200 | 11 inch, 2000 x 1200 pixels |
| Storage | 16GB or 32GB + microSD (up to 1TB) | 32GB or 64GB + microSD (up to 1TB) | 32GB or 64GB + microSD (up to 1TB) | 64GB or 128GB + microSD card reader (up to 1TB) |
| RAM | 2GB | 3GB (32GB) or 4GB (64GB) | 3GB | 4GB |
| CPU | MediaTek MT8168V 4 x ARM Cortex-A53 @ 2 GHz | MediaTek MT8169A 6 x ARM Cortex-A55 @ 2 GHz | MediaTek MT8186A 2 x Cortex-A76 @ 2.05 GHz 6 x ARM Cortex-A55 @ 2 GHz | MediaTek MT8188J 2 x ARM Cortex-A78 @ 2.2 GHz 6 x Cortex-A55 @ 2 GHz |
| GPU | Mali-G52 3EE MC1 | Mali-G52 2EE MC2 | Mali-G52 2EE MC2 @ 1 GHz | Mali-G57 MC2 @ 950 MHz |
| Battery | Up to 10 hours | Up to 13 hours | Up to 13 hours | Up to 14 hours |
| Ports | USB 2.0 Type-C | USB 2.0 Type-C | USB 2.0 Type-C | USB 2.0 Type-C |
| Charging time | 4 hours (5W wired) |
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| Audio | Mono speaker 3.5mm headphone jack | Stereo speakers 3.5mm headphone jack | Stereo speakers 3.5mm headphone jack | Stereo speakers |
| WiFi | WiFi 5 | WiFi 5 | WiFi 5 | WiFi 6 |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 5.3 |
| Cameras | 2MP rear (720p) 2MP front(720p) | 5MP rear (1080p) 2MP front (720p) | 5MP rear (1080p) 5MP front (1080p) | 8MP front 8MP rear |
| Latest OS version | Fire OS 8 | Fire OS 8 | Fire OS 8 | Fire OS 8 |
| Optional accessories |
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| Dimensions | 180.7 x 117.6 x 9.7mm | 202 x 137 x 9.6mm | 246 x 165 x 8.6mm | 259.1 x 163.7 x 7.50mm |
| Weight | 282 grams | 337 grams | 434 grams | 490 grams |
| Starting price (MSRP) | $60 | $100 | $140 | $230 |
While I haven’t had a chance to test every current-gen Fire tablet, I do have a 2020 Fire HD 8 (2GB RAM model) and a 2019 Fire HD 10, and the higher-performance CPU and graphics really do make the 10 inch tablet feel more responsive. The difference is also clear in benchmarks including GeekBench, PCMark, and 3DMark:
Amazon’s new Fire Max 11 should deliver significantly better performance: Amazon says its MediaTek MT8188J processor is up to 50% faster than MT8183 used in the 2019 and 2021 Fire HD 10 tablets.
Amazon also offers Kids-edition versions of each tablet. These models cost a little more, but include a sturdy bumper case, a 1-year subscription to Amazon’s Kids+ service, and a 2-year “worry-free guarantee” that means Amazon will replace damaged tablets with no questions asked.
Amazon also recently introduced new Kids Pro versions of its tablets with a slimmer case, the same 2-year worry-free guarantee, and Kids+ subscription, but a more grown-up looking user interface and a few extra bells and whistles including access to a curated app store experience.
One thing to keep in mind about Amazon’s Fire tablets is that they all ship with Fire OS, which is a fork of Google Android. There’s a custom home screen and app launcher designed to emphasize Amazon’s apps and services, and instead of the Google Play Store, Amazon’s tablets ship with the Amazon Appstore.
You can install Google Play on an Amazon Fire tablet or make other changes, but there’s no guarantee that every Android app you want to run will work.
Overall I think Amazon’s tablets make excellent media consumption devices. They’re also some of the cheapest gadgets you can use to connect to Zoom video conferencing calls using the Zoom app for Fire tablets (although they generally have pretty lousy cameras).
But if you’re looking for a high-performance tablet for gaming or getting work done, you’re probably better off with an iPad or Samsung tablet.
This article was originally published July 20, 2020 and last updated October 2, 2024.
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