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Impulse buy a 2019 Fire 7 tablet for $30 in this killer early Prime Day deal
Skip takeout tonight and get a tablet or two instead
There are plenty of low-cost Android tablets out there, but they don't come much cheaper than Amazon's Fire tablets. The previous-gen Fire 7, released in 2019, is a very basic tablet, with a sub-HD display and microUSB charging. But it's plenty capable of light tasks like reading or simple games, and today, you can pick one up at a crazy low price: just 30 bucks.
Amazon Fire 7 (2022) vs. Amazon Fire HD 8: Which should you buy?
Between the two budget Amazon tablets, it comes down to one factor
Whenever you’re looking for an affordable tablet, Amazon’s range of Fire slates is bound to come up. That’s because even the two cheapest Fire tablets—the Fire 7 and the Fire HD 8—offer a package that many Android tablets find hard to match, especially at their prices. But when deciding between the two, plenty of differences help separate their purposes and intended niches. These contrasting approaches will help you determine if it’s worth saving some cash with the shiny, new Fire 7 or going for the larger Fire HD 8 for its extra perks.
Amazon's new Fire tablet will finally run a slightly more modern version of Android
Fire OS 8 is based on Android 11, while Fire OS 7 was built with Android 9
How much do you about which version of Android your devices are running? If you consider yourself a smartphone enthusiast, you're probably aware of the software that's on your phone right now, but what about all the other devices in your life? Have you checked which version of Android TV powers your living room set? Keeping track gets even more complicated when we're talking about Android forks, like Amazon's heavily tweaked Fire OS. Now with the upcoming release of the new 2022 Fire 7 tablet, Amazon is delivering a big update, introducing the Android 11-based Fire OS 8.
Prime Day is a great time to pick up some of those items that have been wasting away on your wish list. It's also when you'll find unbeatable deals on all of Amazon's own gadgets. This year, you can find major deals on all of Amazon's Fire tablets and Kindles, along with an unbeatable deal on the latest 10" model: just .Amazon refreshed the Fire HD 10 just two months ago, but if you've been waiting for a sale, your patience has paid off. The 10" model usually goes for $150, but it's just under half off for Prime Day. At $80, this tablet is a total steal. With long battery life and 1080p display, it's the perfect device for watching Netflix or checking Twitter around the house. Plus, it's super easy to get the Play Store up and running, so you aren't limited from using all of your favorite Google apps.
Amazon's Fire tablets rarely receive major OS updates, mostly because they are sold as simple media consumption devices, and Netflix or TikTok doesn't need Android 10 to function. However, the company has now surpassed everyone's low expectations by delivering Android 9 Pie to two of its older tablets.Amazon has now released Fire OS 7 for two of its older tablets, the Fire HD 8 2018 (8th Gen) and Fire 7 2019 (9th Gen). That's the same operating system that ships on the company's newest Fire HD 8 and 10, which uses Android 9 Pie as a base instead of Android 7.1 Nougat. That means you get Picture-in-Picture support for video, notification channels, more specific app permissions, improved battery life, and more.Most importantly, this doesn't appear to be a simple visual upgrade, like the Fire OS 6 update for the company's 2017 tablets was. Amazon didn't respond to our request for information on the updates, but we've installed the update on a Fire HD 8, and it is definitely based on Android 9 Pie.
Amazon updates its 2017 7th generation Fire tablet lineup to FireOS 6 (Update: Not Nougat)
Amazon rarely delivers major OS updates to its Fire tablets
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- According to reports in our comments and on XDA Forums, the system upgrade seems to be FireOS 6 in name only. While a few of the system applications have been updated, the tablets still seem to be running Android 5.1 Lollipop under the hood.
Amazon's Fire tablets are media consumption devices first and foremost, and given their extremely low prices, it's perhaps not surprising that they rarely receive major OS updates. The last Fire tablet to receive a system upgrade beyond minor features was the 2014 Fire HD 6, which was updated from FireOS 4.x to 5.x. However, it seems like Amazon's entire line of 7th-generation Fire tablets is now receiving an update to Nougat.Amazon's support site says FireOS 6 is now available for the 7th-Gen Fire HD 10, Fire HD 8, and Fire 7, all of which were released in 2017. Before now, only FireOS 5.3 was available for the models, based on Android 5.1 Lollipop. By comparison, FireOS 6 is a modified build of Android 7.1 Nougat, the same software that the newer 8th-gen Fire HD 8 and 9th-gen Fire 7 launched with. The update notification hasn't yet appeared on my 7th-gen Fire HD 8, so the rollout could be in the early stages.I'm hesitant to give Amazon credit for updating its tablets to a four-year-old operating system, but it's certainly better than leaving them on Lollipop. The 2019 Fire HD 10 remains the company's only tablet running Android 9 Pie — here's hoping Amazon's 2018 models are next in line for an upgrade.
🔥Amazon fires off a Fire tablet fire sale with up to $30 off the Fire 7, Fire HD 8, and Fire HD 10🔥
Amazon's Fire family of tablets, all of which are currently discounted by as much as $30 for a limited time.
Android tablets seem to exist in a state of permanent limbo, as an ever-smaller number of manufacturers seem interested in bringing them to market. The writing has been on the wall for some time, but after Google announced that it was no longer working to develop new Android-based tablets last year, the fate of Android tablets seems bleaker than ever. The one outlier in this product category is Amazon's Fire family of tablets, all of which are currently discounted by as much as $30 for a limited time.
Kids like their tablets, mainly because they can use them to play games, learn, and watch content. Unfortunately, they also tend to be clumsy with these devices, which is why Amazon built a special offering for children: The Fire Kids Edition. The seven-inch tablet usually sells for $100, but it's now dropped to just $60.
Amazon's Fire tablets aren't anything special, but they are good enough for watching movies and playing games. The latest version of the Fire 7 has now dropped to $30 for Prime members, a reduction of $20 from the usual price.The hardware in the 9th-gen Fire 7 is undeniably low end, but is still capable of most tasks you can throw at it. You get a 1024 x 600 IPS screen, 1GB of RAM, a MediaTek MT8163V processor, Bluetooth 4.1, and 802.11 a/b/g/n dual-band Wi-Fi. The model on sale has 16GB of internal storage, but there's a microSD card slot for additional storage.
The Fire 7 and Fire 7 Kids Edition are Amazon's most accessible tablets and they remain a decent, trusted option against other products at their respective price levels. Now, 2 years since they were last made over, the company is pushing out another refresh. While not much has changed on paper, some of the tweaks do bring more bang for the same number of bucks.
Amazon's Fire tablets are probably the most popular Android tablets ever created — mostly because they're cheap. The 'Special Offers' versions of the Fire 7, Fire HD 8, and Fire HD 10 are now 30-33% off, if you're an Amazon Prime member.The least expensive of the bunch is the Fire 7, which is now $34.99 ($15 off). It has a 1024x600 IPS screen, 8GB of storage (with microSD card support), a Mediatek MT8127 processor, and 1GB of RAM. Not the best hardware in the world, but enough for streaming video and light gaming.Next is the Fire HD 8, priced at $49.99 ($30 off). As the name implies, it has a larger 8-inch screen, with a slightly-better resolution of 800x1280. Other specifications include a Mediatek MT8163 processor, 16GB of storage (with microSD support), and 1.5GB of RAM.
If you're looking for a kid-friendly tablet for your youngsters, Amazon's Kindle Fire Kids Edition devices are amongst the best offering on the market. Their rugged-case, kid-specific content, easy-to-use parental controls, and guarantee against damages make them perfectly suitable for children. The company has just marked their prices down to the lowest they've ever been, with $40 off the 7" and 8" models, and a $50 rebate on the 10" version.All three tablets come with 2-year Worry-Free guarantee, which lets you trade your broken device for a new one at no extra charge. The included "kid proof" case should, however, limit the amount of damage the Fire will sustain in case it gets dropped.
Just a few days after Google's "Dump your valentine" discount, Amazon has come up with its own deals, in time for February 14. These offers are more relevant, though, and are worth considering if you're short of gift ideas. Most of the giant's connected home devices are on sale, including Echo speakers and smart displays, Fire TVs, cameras, and even Kindles.Amazon's speakers have been marked down several times in the last few weeks, including deals on the Echo Plus and Echo Input, but the retailer is going stronger now to rival Google's bundles. Among the most appealing deals, there's a $15 discount on the Echo Input so you can bring Alexa to any regular speaker or audio system for just $20. If you'd rather buy a smart product from the get-go, Amazon is taking some dollars off most of its Echo line-up.
At Android Police, we keep an eye out for great deals on tech goodies so we can let you know when the time to buy is right. But there are a lot of deals out there; too many to highlight each in its own story. With that in mind, here are some bargains you may have missed over the past few days.
Could you or someone you know use a knockin'-around tablet? Considering the holidays are kind of right around the corner (December's five short weeks away!), I'm guessing the answer is yes. Amazon's running a killer deal on its eight-inch Fire tablet, which is currently going for as low as 60 bucks.If you're looking for something to read comics, futz around on social media, or watch videos on, this is a hard deal to beat. All models of the Fire HD 8 are currently $20 off; that means the 16-gigabyte model with ads is just $59.99. Ad-free versions and ones with higher storage capacity are discounted, too — depending on what you want, prices go up to $104.99 — but that base model is at a really tempting price point.
Amazon's Fire 7 tablet is usually quite inexpensive at $50, but now it's almost impossibly cheap for Prime members. If you act fast, you can get the entry-level tablet (with special offers) for a mere $35. This deal has been live for a few days, so it could go away at any time. Don't wait too long to decide.The Fire 7 is not impressively specced, but it doesn't have to be for $35 (or even $50). Amazon is probably losing money on the hardware in order to get a content delivery system into more hands. The Fire 7, as the name implies, has a 7-inch 1024 x 600 LCD with 8GB of storage, 1 GB of RAM, and a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek SoC.This tablet runs Amazon's Fire OS Android fork. So, you can sideload most Android apps and even get Google Play services installed if you want to get your hands dirty. It's a good device to give to kids or just to keep by the bed for reading. I mean, hell, for $35 you can use it as a fancy doorstop.Source: Amazon
Amazon's Fire tablets aren't exactly exciting, but they're probably the most successful Android-powered slates. The Kids Edition tablets have been particularly popular, but they only came in 8 and 7-inch variants. Now, there's a 10-inch version. Amazon is also pushing out an update to regular Fire tablets so they can double as an Echo Show. You can even get a charging dock to complete the transformation.Let's start with that new Kids Edition tablet, which sports a 10-inch 1920x1200 display and 32GB of storage. Like the smaller versions, the new HD 10 has a big rubber bumper around the edge and simplified software. It comes with a 1-year FreeTime subscription for access to apps, games, books, and videos. After that, it's $2.99 per month.The no-questions-asked 2-year warranty means even if your kid smashes the Fire HD 10 Kids Edition, Amazon will replace it at no charge. You can order it right now for $199.99 for shipping on July 11th.Show Mode isn't included on Kids Edition tablets, but it will arrive on all current-gen Fire tablets starting on July 2nd. Show Mode is essentially a hands-free Alexa experience with on-screen information like you'd get with the $160 Echo Show. You can ask Alexa to show camera feeds, weather, trending news, and more. When you exit Show Mode, it's a regular tablet again.
Amazon will offer Show Mode docks for the 8-inch and 7-inch Fire HD tablets. They keep the tablets charged and propped up so you can see the display from across the room. The Show Mode Charging Dock for Fire HD 8 is $34.99 (regularly $39.99), and the 10-inch version is $49.99 (regularly $54.99). They will ship on July 12th.
To celebrate having been voted number 1 in Harris Poll's annual corporate reputation survey for its third year straight, Amazon is discounting several Alexa-enabled devices and bundles by 20% or more off their original price. The number of items that are on discount is pretty significant, so we've copied them all below.
Facebook has released its new Messenger Kids app to the Amazon App Store, making the service available to owners of its Fire line of tablets. So I grabbed one of the Fire 7 tablets we have for our kids and installed the app to see what it was all about, and just how well it works on Amazon's lowest-end hardware.Because here's the thing: These tablets are slow. Really, really slow. Frequently on sale for $30, one would expect nothing else. They work as intended for the most part, and my kids are delighted we have them. But apps can take ages to launch, animations are jerky, and scrolling through anything is a great way to drive yourself insane.But I can report that the Messenger Kids app runs acceptably on a Fire 7.Facebook expects a parent to be a little suspicious of this app, so right from the get-go it lets you know that the app will not create a Facebook account for your kid. The service runs under the auspices of the parent's account, but the child never has access to do anything with that account.
Thanksgiving is coming up this month in the United States, which means retailers are prepping for Black Friday. Just about every major store will have steep discounts on items, but whether they are worth fighting crowds for is another question. Target's ad for Black Friday was recently released, and there are a few noteworthy deals for Google, Amazon, and Samsung products.