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Early Prime Day deal shaves 45% off Amazon's Fire HD 8 tablet this week
Snag Amazon's Fire HD 8 tablet at its best price before Prime Day even arrives
With Prime Day just a week away, it's the perfect time to start shopping for early deals on some of Amazon's latest smart devices. As with every year, Amazon is dropping early deals to get shoppers excited about the big event, and this week a pretty sweet offer on the Fire HD 8 arrives for those looking for a cheap tablet. Usually going for $100, Amazon's taking 45% off this budget-friendly device and dropping it down to just $55 — essentially its Prime Day pricing, only a full week ahead of schedule.
Getting a new tablet involves quite some research because there are so many great options. If you've settled on one of many excellent Amazon Fire tablets, then you're in luck as quite a few of them are available with impressive discounts right now. These are budget tablets to begin with, so you know they're not going to cost an arm and a leg. They also won't have the same performance as an iPad, for instance, but you're also never going to find a brand-new iPad under $100, right?
Grab a Kindle Paperwhite for $100 in this Prime Early Access deal
Nearly all of the Kindle lineup is up to 30% off now at Amazon
Hot on the heels of the high-end Kindle Scribe's release, several of the most popular Kindle models are enjoying some big price cuts on Amazon. Probably the most noteworthy deal right now is on the Kindle Paperwhite, which fared extremely well in our roundup of the best Amazon Kindles. As we gear up for the Amazon Prime Early Access Sale, taking place on October 11 and 12 next week, you can already save $40 on the Paperwhite.
Want a tablet? Like, right now? Amazon has been a standby to turn to. It's not ashamed to fan out its Fire tablets, some of the best tablets you can come by, with variants in all sizes. They're also an easy choice if you're looking to placate your kids. It's been a couple years since the company last updated its Fire HD 8 series, so it's ripe for some change. Well, that change has indeed come.
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.
Take advantage of Amazon's record low prices on the Echo, Kindle, and Fire HD 8 right now
Think of it as a birthday gift from Alexa
Amazon is dishing out some of the best deals we've seen on its branded devices in honor of Alexa's 7th birthday. That means Echo devices, Fire TV devices, and even an Alexa-powered Mickey Mouse wall clock at low, low prices.
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.
Woot is offering brand-new Amazon Fire HD tablets for less than $50
And they come in yellow, the best color
Google may have given up on tablets, but Amazon is still holding on for dear life. The company's Fire tablets have always been about providing value to customers for low price points, and right now Woot is offering some of the lowest prices around on older generation Fire tablets — including the 2018 Fire HD 8 for just $49.99.
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's latest refresh of the Fire HD 8 is on sale for the first time in both its regular and kids editions. To top that off, the platform is also discounting a few other Fire tablets from the days of yore.The newest iteration of the Fire HD 8 came out about 6 weeks ago. There was a bit of fanfare over the fact that it came with a USB-C port and a Fire OS update to version 7 (based on Android 9 Pie). The HD 8 Plus also includes 50% more RAM and wireless charging, too. We put out a full review last week, go and check it out.
Amazon Fire HD 8 (2020) review: The good, cheap Android tablet Google won't build
The first new Fire HD 8 tablet in two years isn't bad at all
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I think it's fair to say that Amazon's lineup of Fire tablets don't have the best reputation, particularly in the tech community. Fire tablets have historically paired bottom-of-the-barrel hardware with outdated versions of Android, and Amazon's extensive changes to the operating system aren't widely loved. The tablets also don't ship with the Google Play Store, though that at least is a quick fix.Amazon has been selling the same Fire HD 8 since 2018, but the company finally released a new model last month. It brings most of the improvements from last year's Fire HD 10 to the 8-inch lineup, including USB Type-C and faster performance, and I think it's a pretty great buy for $90. There's also the Fire HD 8 Plus, which we reviewed separately.
The Fire HD 8 is one of Amazon's most popular hardware products, but it has been overdue for a hardware refresh. Now the company has finally released a new version of the Fire HD 8, and there are even some features you don't normally see in a tablet — like Qi wireless charging.This time around, Amazon is releasing two devices in the Fire HD 8 lineup. There's an entry-level Fire HD 8, with 2GB RAM and 32GB of storage, and a Plus model with slightly better specifications and the addition of Qi wireless charging.
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's Fire tablets are incredibly cheap for the hardware you get, and the current-generation Fire HD 8 isn't actually a bad device — as long as you stick to media consumption and gaming. The Fire HD 8 has been discounted to just $49.99 in a one-day sale, $30 below the usual price.The current Fire HD 8 tablet was released in 2017, and the specific model on sale has an 8-inch 1280x800 IPS screen, a MediaTek MT8163V/B processor, 1.5GB RAM, and 16GB of internal storage (with a microSD card slot). On the software side of things, you get Fire OS 6, based on Android 7.1 Nougat. The model on sale is also the 'Special Offers' variant, so you get ads on the lockscreen.
With Halloween in the rearview mirror and November speeding like a freight train toward Thanksgiving, the official holiday shopping season will be here before you know it. To help you get a jumpstart on your wishlist, we have a sneak peek at some of the Amazon device deals leading into Black Friday.As it does every year, Amazon will be hosting a huge multi-day sale on many of its popular products, including Kindle, Ring, and Blink. You'll have to wait for the specific day to snag the products you want, but you'll be rewarded with big savings.
Amazon is basically the only reputable company that sells super-cheap Android tablets, and one of their volume sellers just got even cheaper. The Fire HD 8 is currently discounted to .98 with the Show Mode charging stand bundled in, a discount of $30 compared to its regular going price and $40 compared to MSRP.Make no mistake — the Fire HD 8 is not a performance powerhouse. You're probably better off buying something used if you need to do intensive tasks. But it is a great tablet for basic things like reading and consuming media. Plus, the included Show Mode charging stand, regularly , lets the tablet act as a detachable Amazon smart display of sorts. It's not a bad combo for $80.
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.
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.
Android tablets aren't dead, but they have faded into the background as consumers instead buy larger and larger phones. The only Android tablets that sell in any appreciable volume are Amazon's mega-cheap Fire devices, and one of them is even more mega-cheap today. The Fire HD 8 is down $30 to a mere $50.The HD 8 won't blow you away with its sheer speed or slick looks—it's a very okay tablet for reading, browsing the web, and running basic apps. Although, you won't have access to Google apps on the device without some hackery. Amazon's Fire OS is Android under the hood, but it's tied into all things Amazon instead of Google.
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.