See also: 13 best budget tablets
Kindle Fire vs HD 6 vs HD 8 vs HD 10: Price
The smaller 6in HD 6 costs £30 more which sounds wrong, but it has a better screen, processor and comes in a range of colours. Moving to the brand new 8-inch Fire HD 8, it costs £129.99. Finally, the big 10.1in Fire HD 10 costs £169.99.
Kindle Fire vs HD 6 vs HD 8 vs HD 10: Design and features
There is, however, no easy way to get Google apps such as YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps and others. You can access Gmail using the built-in Mail app, and watch YouTube videos through a third-party app or via the built-in Silk web browser, though. In terms of software features, it’s the same across all four tablets. The interface changes slightly because of the different screen sizes, but you don’t get extra features on the more expensive tablets. The 24/7 Mayday support service is available on all of them. If you’re thinking of buying a Fire for your child, then the Fire For Kids app is a great way to limit what they can and can’t see (such as no internet access) and you can set different time limits for reading and using apps / games. It’s a good system that we like for younger kids. If you want to you can buy the 7in model as a Kids Edition which has a better warranty and a year’s subscription for the Fire For Kids service that lets them access range of books, apps, games and videos for free. Apart from the older Fire HD 6, all the new range have microSD card slots so you’re not stuck with a limited amount of storage as you were in the past. This is a real advantage, especially on the £49 Fire which has around 5.5GB of usable storage out of the box. All four tablets have front and rear-facing cameras. None are exceptional, and the two cheapest models are sub-standard. It’s best to use the cameras only for video chats and not buy them hoping to take good photos or videos. All four have acceptable performance and good screens. However, they’re built to a price and don’t rival more expensive tablets. For example, the £49 Fire has a low resolution of 1024×600 pixels. But the fact that the screen has good colours and viewing angles offsets this and means most people will be perfectly happy with it. And you’ll struggle to find another tablet at this price with as good a screen. Oddly, the 10.1in version has the same 1280×800 resolution as the 6- and 8in models, so the pixel density gets lower the more you spend. In fact, aside from the larger screen size and the option of 16- or 32GB of storage, you get very little extra with the Fire HD 10 – and it’s available in only black or white. The HD 8 is £40 cheaper with essentially the same specification and a choice of black, blue, tangerine and magenta colours. They share the same 1.5GHz processor, same cameras, same 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and the same 8-hour battery life. It’s easier to see how the four models compare in the table below. Jim has been testing and reviewing products for over 20 years. His main beats include VPN services and antivirus. He also covers smart home tech, mesh Wi-Fi and electric bikes.
