Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus Gray 2022

The Fire HD 8 Plus is a cheap Amazon tablet with a weak screen and limited RAM. It's fine for basic media and Alexa use, but not much else. At $108, it's a budget buy with budget compromises.

The hexa-core chip is 30% faster than the previous gen, which puts it right around the middle of the pack in our database. Apps open fine, video streams without much stutter, and casual browsing is okay. But 3GB of RAM is a weak spot, landing near the bottom of our rankings. Multitasking gets tight fast. The screen is the real letdown though. 1280x800 on an 8-inch panel is one of the lowest resolution displays we've seen in this category. Text looks soft and video lacks punch. Battery life is also mediocre at best, despite Amazon's 13-hour claim.

Stacked against the Apple iPad Air 5th Generation or Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE, this thing gets embarrassed. Those tablets have better screens, more RAM, and proper app stores. The Lenovo Idea Tab Plus and Xiaomi Pad 7 also run circles around it in performance. But they all cost significantly more. The Fire HD 8 Plus competes on price alone, and for a very specific use case: Amazon ecosystem users who want a cheap second screen. If you need real productivity or a good display, look elsewhere.

At $108, it's cheap. But cheap doesn't always mean good value. You're getting a tablet with a low-res screen, limited RAM, and an app store that's missing a lot of what people actually want. The wireless charging and Alexa integration are nice, but they don't make up for the core weaknesses. If you just need a basic media device for Amazon content, it's fine. For anything else, save your money.

The Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus is the tablet you buy when you want something cheap that does the basics without making a fuss. It's got a hexa-core processor, 3GB of RAM, and wireless charging, which sounds fancier than it is. For $108, you're getting a media pad and Alexa screen, not a productivity machine.

And that's fine, because this thing knows what it is. The 8-inch 1280x800 display is nothing to write home about, and the Amazon Appstore means no Google Play. But if you live in Amazon's world, it's a solid little couch companion.

Skip this if you need a real tablet for work, school, or serious media consumption. The low-res screen, 3GB of RAM, and missing Google Play make it a poor choice for productivity. If you want a good display or plan to multitask, spend more on an iPad or a Samsung Galaxy Tab.

This is a tablet for Amazon loyalists and people who want a cheap Alexa screen or kid-friendly device. It's not for anyone who needs a real tablet experience. The screen is rough, the RAM is tight, and the app situation is limiting. But if you just want to watch Prime Video, read Kindle books, and occasionally browse the web, it gets the job done without breaking the bank.