I already own multiple iPads and higher end Android tablets. Why did I end up buying the Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus and give it a 5 star rating?
This tablet simply exceeded my expectations.
I was in the market for a smaller lighter tablet to read books and manga. As good as my other tablets are, they are not easy to hold for multiple hours of reading. Holding a metal and glass tablet with a 10.6 inch screen gets tiring over a few hours.
The screen on this Amazon tablet is more than adequate for reading books from the Kindle app. This is near perfect for manga since the screen size is similar to paper manga. Images and text appear nice and clear.
Installing the Google Play store was easy. I need apps like Google Home, Keep, Drive, and GBoard. YouTube works just fine.
My use case is rather easy to handle. I let my kids test this tablet. If it can keep up with my kids, then it can handle what I need a tablet for.
When I handed this off to my kids, they just went overboard on games. They couldn't find all of the games they play in the Amazon shop store, so I'll be referencing some games from the Google Play store.
Roblox is a popular app for my kids. The overall performance was good. It really depends on which game they are playing from Roblox. Piggy ran well. Broken Bones was very jittery but playable. Yeet-a-friend plays well if you disable some of the extra options for the game itself. Cookie Swirl C World is playable, but was not the smoothest. Spray Paint played well. Spider also played well. Random OBEEs splayed well.
Here is the pattern I noticed with Roblox. If the game supports a large lobby, then there is a greater chance that the game runs a bit slower. I noticed that the large lobby games are running a bit slow, but my kids didn't care. They were still happily playing and winning without issues.
Granny Chapter 1 and 2 play well.
Gacha Life and Gacha Club ran well.
Among Us ran well.
They were playing more games, but I couldn't keep up with their long list.
Overall, this tablet can run games well enough. It won't be as smooth as a higher end tablet, but I didn't notice any random crashes. My kids would have definitely complained about it. If you are considering this tablet for your kids to play games, you need to consider which games they are playing.
Surprisingly TikTok worked well. When swiping through videos, it may take a second to load before it plays. I don't notice that issue on my other tablets. After the initial pause, the videos play well.
Since reading and productivity were my main concern, it's a 5 star tablet for the price. Games are just the icing on the cake. Since I don't play them often it would not have been a concern for me. Now I have another device to hand off to my kids in those just in case situations.
Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus tablet, 8” HD Display, 64 GB, 30% faster processor, 3GB RAM, wireless charging, (2022 release), Gray
4.5 | 4,230 ratings
Price: 94.99
Last update: 09-03-2024
About this item
Fire HD 8 Plus offers everything you get with a Fire HD 8 and more - wireless charging, 9W power adapter, 3 GB RAM, 2 MP front-facing and 5 MP rear-facing cameras. New design is thinner and lighter than previous gen and has a screen made with strengthened aluminosilicate glass. As measured in tumble tests, Fire HD 8 Plus is twice as durable as Apple iPad mini (2021).
Fast and responsive - Enhanced hexa-core processor for more responsive performance (up to 30% faster than previous gen Fire HD 8 Plus) so you can get more done. Check email, tackle your to-do lists, browse the web, and more.
Great for on-the-go - Up to 13 hours of reading, browsing the web, watching videos, and listening to music. Hassle-free wireless charging dock (dock not included) offers easy charging anywhere. Choose from 32GB or 64GB (up to 1TB of expandable storage via microSD card).
Relax and unwind with your favorite content from Netflix, Facebook, Hulu, Instagram, TikTok, and more through Amazon’s Appstore (Google Play not supported. Subscription for some apps required).
Stay connected with friends and family - Ask Alexa to make video calls or download apps like Zoom.
Great for the whole family - Amazon Kids offers easy-to-use parental controls on Fire tablets. Subscribe to Amazon Kids+ for access to thousands of books, popular apps and games, videos, songs, Audible books, and more.
Fast and responsive - Enhanced hexa-core processor for more responsive performance (up to 30% faster than previous gen Fire HD 8 Plus) so you can get more done. Check email, tackle your to-do lists, browse the web, and more.
Great for on-the-go - Up to 13 hours of reading, browsing the web, watching videos, and listening to music. Hassle-free wireless charging dock (dock not included) offers easy charging anywhere. Choose from 32GB or 64GB (up to 1TB of expandable storage via microSD card).
Relax and unwind with your favorite content from Netflix, Facebook, Hulu, Instagram, TikTok, and more through Amazon’s Appstore (Google Play not supported. Subscription for some apps required).
Stay connected with friends and family - Ask Alexa to make video calls or download apps like Zoom.
Great for the whole family - Amazon Kids offers easy-to-use parental controls on Fire tablets. Subscribe to Amazon Kids+ for access to thousands of books, popular apps and games, videos, songs, Audible books, and more.
Top reviews from the United States
Dennis Nguyen
One of the best tablets for the price
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2023StoryDtechtive
Definitely runs smoother than the regular version!
Reviewed in the United States on February 29, 2024John W. Robitscher
Better Than Anticipated
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2024Mike J
Finally a Fire Tablet that really is usable
Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2024