The Best Amazon Fire Tablets

Amazon's just updated its tablets with 2019 versions, and deciding which Fire should light up your life is just as difficult as ever. Yes, the Fire 7's insanely low price of $49 is alluring, but how much more do you get for your money with the $79 Fire HD 8? Is the $150 Fire HD 10's screen really worth paying three times the price of the Fire 7?

When buying a tablet for a child, the choice is even harder, as the Fire 7 Kids Edition (which Amazon just updated, alongside the Fire 7) and Fire HD 8 Kids Edition include the same two-year, no-questions-asked warranty, along with a kid-proof case and a year of FreeTime Unlimited apps, games and other content. Keep in mind that you can also get Google Play on your Fire Tablet as well. 

Here's our advice on the best Fire Tablet for you.

What to expect from Black Friday 2019

Yes, the biggest shopping days are about to arrive. Heck, we've already learned key tidbits about when the big Black Friday deals will debut. 

And surprise, surprise the biggest e-retailer of them all has just announced some of its sale pricing. 

On Nov. 22, expect the brand-new Fire HD 10 — which has USB-C charging — to drop to $99 (savings of $50). The Fire HD 8 Kids Edition will also go on sale, down to $79 (again, $50 off!). Of course, the most affordable Fire tablet, the Fire 7, will also get sale pricing, down to $29, (that's $20 off).

USB-C charging — and long battery life — make the 10.1-inch Fire HD 10 the top tablet in Amazon's lineup. Yes, not only is this the only Full HD slate Amazon sells,  with a 1920 x 1200-pixel panel that's sharper than the rest, but its 403-nit display produces 106% of the sRGB spectrum. Its biggest drawback, though, is that it's three times the price of the Fire 7 and $70 more than the HD 8 (which lasts longer on a single charge).

The Fire 7 is Amazon's most-affordable tablet, at $50, a price tag that's hard to argue with, and the lowest for any tablet (the 8-inch Walmart Onn is a slightly pricier $64). This tablet's pretty good for its price, with a bright screen and durable-feeling chassis. And now it's got the full-fledged version of the Alexa digital assistant, so you can simply speak commands, rather than have to walk over to tap its home button (which you used to have to do). So, while the Fire 7 isn't the fastest or longest-lasting Amazon slate (that'd be the HD 8), it's still a solid tablet considering its super-cheap price. 

It may cost a little more than the Fire 7, but the Fire HD 8 packs enough extras to justify that additional $30. Not only does it last 4 hours longer on a charge than the Fire 7 (that's 58 percent more time to surf and read and play), but it's also better for watching video, as its 8-inch, 1280 x 800-pixel display is sharper and brighter than the Fire 7's 1024 x 600-pixel panel. Lastly, the Fire 8's stereo speakers make it better for Amazon Prime Music, as the Fire 7 is rocking a single mono speaker. We just wish that this tablet had a better camera and that Amazon didn't charge users an extra $15 to remove the "special offers" advertisements that display on the lock screen. Still, the Fire HD 8's display and battery life combine to make it the best tablet under $100. 

The last thing you want when you hand your kid a tablet is for them to come back a short time later and say, "It's dead! Charge it!" Fortunately, the Fire HD 8 For Kids lasted a very long 10 hours and 12 minutes on our web-surfing battery test. Not only is that higher than the average for all tablets, but it also beats the Fire 7 Kids Edition's 6:53 time by more than 3 hours. It's also faster than the 7-inch kids' tablet. The included foam bumper means this slate can survive any drops and knocks your child can throw at it, and a two-year, no-questions-asked warranty means a free replacement if Junior actually breaks the device. The tablet also comes with a year of Amazon's FreeTime Unlimited service, a digital treasure trove that features more than 15,000 age-appropriate games, movies and TV shows, including most of the popular programs from Disney, Nickelodeon and PBS. Detailed parental controls let you decide everything from what hours your child can use the device to what apps, content and websites he or she can visit. You can even set educational goals so your kid has to read for a certain amount of time in order to get playtime. 

Editor's Note: The new Fire 7 Kids tablet features a new adjustable stand for hands-free viewing, double the storage and lower battery life. Amazon's $99 tablet for kids is an amazing deal when you consider everything you get. Not only does it come in a durable foam case that makes it easier for smaller hands to grip, but also, the best-in-class parental controls mean that moms and dads can make sure their progeny are staying safe online. On top of all that, you get a free year of Amazon's FreeTime Unlimited content — a buffet of kid-friendly apps, books, TV shows and movies — which normally costs $3 per month. You and your kids may be disappointed by the slate's audio quality, as this tablet's mono speaker is tinnier than the HD 8's stereo sound. But parents looking for a kid-proof tablet won't find a more affordable option out there.