Amazon’s Fire Tablets, Tested, So You Don’t Have To (2025)

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A faucet for Amazon content: If you subscribe to Amazon’s Prime service, you tin devour each the included movies, music, TV, and books, store for each the items you tin get with its escaped two-day shipping, and browse your escaped Amazon photograph storage. You tin bash astir of the aforesaid things from an Android tablet oregon iPad, but the Fire OS interface is crafted specifically to present Amazon goods, with swipeable pages for each benignant of media Amazon sells.

Built “good enough”: Physically, Amazon’s Fire tablets are made of cheap-ish plastic, but they’re designed with capable attraction that the physique prime won’t fuss you excessively much. Wifi reception is excellent, and the beforehand facing cameras person improved considerably successful the past mates releases. The Kids Editions are besides immoderate of the best-quality tablets for kids, encased successful a rugged bumper, and each person microSD slots truthful you tin adhd other storage. (We urge this 128-GB microSD paper for $15.) It utilized to beryllium that you could amended things by hacking Amazon's tablets to installing the Google Play Store connected your Fire device. Unfortunately installing the Play Store has go progressively hard and is thing I nary longer urge for astir people. It's not worthy the hassle erstwhile determination are different tenable inexpensive Android tablets available.

Cheap: Did we notation the price? They each outgo $200 oregon less, prevention the caller Max 11. If you instrumentality to the cheaper models though, they're a large value. You tin besides get them with Amazon lock-screen ads, which volition little your terms by $15.

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Non-Amazon contented is lacking: The top spot of these tablets is besides their top weakness. If you aren’t an Amazon Prime subscriber and don't program to get your video, audio, oregon books from Amazon, the Fire tablet enactment is acold little compelling. They bash person Alexa, truthful that could beryllium a plus, but again, that’s tied profoundly into Amazon’s contented library. You tin download third-party apps similar Netflix connected Amazon’s Appstore, but the enactment is far much constricted than what's disposable connected Apple's iPad oregon the Google Play Store connected modular Android tablets. Rumor has it this volition beryllium changing adjacent twelvemonth arsenic Amazon improves Fire OS, but truthful acold that's conscionable a rumor.

Old tech: The tech wrong these tablets is old. The processors aren't the fastest, and you'll apt announcement tiny fits of lag and a wide deficiency of powerfulness compared to much costly Android tablets. The touchscreens aren't a responsive oregon delicate arsenic much costly tablets. Since galore of the apps for Fire OS are built with anemic processing powerfulness successful mind, you don’t announcement it excessively much. The operating strategy is besides dated (depending connected which Fire tablet you're buying), which could fell immoderate of the weaknesses. Amazon’s latest Fire OS is simply a modified mentation of Android 11, which came retired successful 2020. Amazon keeps updating its tablets to immoderate degree, but not astir arsenic often arsenic it should.

Short warranties: Only the Fire HD 10 comes with a afloat one-year warranty. Oddly, the smaller devices travel with 90-day warranties.

Special offers: Over clip Amazon's Special Offers ads person gotten much overt and annoying. We urge you wage the other $15 to bargain a Fire tablet without them.