Amazon's AI-Powered Fire HD 8 Tablets Get A RAM Boost And Prime Day Deals
Amazon has announced a refreshed Fire HD 8 tablet with some key upgrades over its predecessor, and also a massive early discount ahead of the retailer's upcoming Prime Big Deals Days event, a two-day sales affair that runs through October 8-9, 2024 (next week). Looked at from afar, the retooled tablet with its introductory discount looks like one of the best buys in the tablet space.
Let's start with the price—Amazon is selling its new Fire HD 8 tablet for $54.99. That's a $45 savings and 45% discount (whichever metric you prefer) over its MSRP. According to Amazon, that price will remain in effect until October 9 (presumably until the Prime Big Deals Days event ends).
Of course, there are different SKUs at various price points. Here are the options...
- Fire HD 8 (32GB) w/ Locksreen Ads: $54.99 (save $45)
- Fire HD 8 (64GB) w/ Lockscreen Ads: $84.99 (save $45)
- Fire HD 8 (32GB) w/o Lockscreen Ads: $69.99 (save $45)
- Fire HD 8 (64GB) w/o Locksreen Ads: $99.99 (save $45)
There are also variants for kids that come with a rugged case, two years of accidental damage coverage, and a few other perks (just be sure to limit those screen times). Here's a look...
- Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids (32GB) w/ 6 Months Amazon Kids+: $69.99 (save $70)
- Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids (32GB) w/ 1 Month Amazon Kids+: $79.99 (save $70)
- Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids (64GB) w/ 6 Months Amazon Kids+: $99.99 (save $70)
- Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids (64GB) w/ 1 Month Amazon Kids+: $109.99 (save $70)
That's quite the range, with the least expensive option (32GB with Lockscreen ads) costing almost half as much as the priciest SKU (64GB without Lockscreen ads) within the regular (non-Kids) lineup. And yes, for whatever reason, the Kids model with a 6-month Kids+ membership is priced less than the same tablet with just a 1-month subscription. Also note that like its predecessor, the refreshed Fire HD 8 features expandable storage, with a microSD card slot on the bottom (in landscape mode) or lower-left side (portrait mode).
It also features an 8-inch HD touchscreen display (1280x800, 189 ppi). There's no mention of the processor details, but Amazon does point to 3GB of RAM on the 32GB variant of the newest Fire HD 8 tablet, which is 50% more than its predecessor (2GB), and 4GB of RAM on the 64GB model. Neither is very much compared to high-end tablets, but these are budget models that start at a penny shy of $55 (with the introductory discount).
Amazon also upgraded the rear camera to a 5-megapixel shooter, up from 2-megapixel on the previous generation model. Both the RAM and camera specifications match the 2022 Fire HD Plus tablet. And finally, Amazon is claiming users will see up to 13 hours of battery life, though obviously your mileage will vary depending on you use the tablet.
The other announcement is that Amazon is bringing generative AI features to the Fire HD tablet family, which is potentially where the memory upgrade can come in handy. We've embedded a video above that highlights the new capabilities, such as Writing Assist to help with writing and grammar, Webpage Summaries (available on the Silk browser) to "distill the key points in an article" or webpage in seconds, and a Wallpaper Creator tool.
Amazon says the new AI-powered functions will arrive to "all compatible Fire tablets this month." In the meantime, the refreshed Fire HD 8 tablet line is available now.
