WIRED
One faucet for Amazon content: If you sign up for Amazon’s Prime service, you can access all the movies, music, TV, and books included, shop for all the items you can get with free two-day shipping, and browse Amazon’s free photo storage. You can do most of the same things from an Android tablet or iPad, but the Fire OS interface is tailored to Amazon’s offerings, with swipeable pages for every type of media Amazon sells.
Built “well enough”: Physically, Amazon’s Fire tablets are made of cheap plastic, but they’re so carefully designed that the build quality won’t bother you too much. The Kids Editions are also some of the best quality tablets for kids, wrapped in a sturdy cushion and all with a microSD card slot so you can add more storage. (We recommend you to buy 128 GB microSD card for $17.) You can make them even more capable by following our guide Install the Google Play Store on your Fire device. That will give you access to the full range of Android apps. (Note that some apps won’t work, but 99 percent of apps for Android will run fine.)
Cheap: Did we mention the price? They’re all $200 or less, save for the new Max 11. But if you’re into the cheaper models, they’re a great value. You can also get them with Amazon’s lock screen promotion, which will knock $15 off the price.
TIRED
Missing non-Amazon content: The biggest strength of these tablets is also their biggest weakness. If you’re not an Amazon Prime subscriber and don’t plan on getting your videos, audio, or books from Amazon, the Fire tablet line is much less appealing. They have Alexa, so that could be a plus, but again, that’s tied closely to Amazon’s content library. You can download third-party apps like Netflix on Amazon’s Appstore, but the choice is distant more limited than what is available above Apple iPad or the Google Play Store on a standard Android tablet. To help you overcome this limitation, we’ve put together a guide to Install the Google Play Store on your Fire device. Installing the Google Play Store gives you access to the full range of Android apps. You end up with a $60 tablet that can do 95% of what a $330 iPad can do.
Old technology: The technology inside these tablets is old. The processors aren’t the fastest, and you’ll likely notice a little lag and a general lack of power compared to more expensive Android tablets. Since many Fire OS apps are built with less processing power in mind, you won’t notice it as much. The operating system is also outdated (depending on which Fire tablet you buy), which can mask some weaknesses. Amazon’s latest Fire OS is a modified version of Android 11, which came out in 2020. Amazon does update its tablets to some extent, but not nearly as often as it should.
Short term warranty: Only the Fire HD 10 comes with a full one-year warranty. Oddly enough, the smaller devices come with a 90-day warranty.
Special offers: Over time, Amazon’s Special Deals ads have become increasingly obvious and annoying, and we recommend paying the extra $15 to get a Fire tablet without them.
