The Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus (2022) is a budget tablet with significant shortcomings that undermine its value.
Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus MSRP $120.00 Score Details “The Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus is an affordable tablet for people who love Amazon services, but it comes with some serious caveats.” Pros Cons An expensive tablet is something of a questionable purchase these days, particularly if you’re living on a tight budget, or already own a large smartphone. That’s why a super-affordable tablet like the Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus is so appealing.
Amazon claims that the Fire HD 8 Plus has a reduced carbon footprint due to its packaging. The packaging is fully recyclable, which is great, though the benefits of that packaging are somewhat vague. The packaging is made from wood fiber-based materials from responsibly managed forests or recycled sources, but such claims of responsible forestry are often of questionable merit, and I’d be much more impressed if the packaging was made fully from recycled materials.
In general, the performance of the HD 8 Plus is fine. When browsing the home screen, using a web browser, or streaming media, it’s snappy and responsive. The new, faster processor enables an advertised 30% boost in processing speed over its predecessor, enabling picture-in-picture video and split-screen capability. Gaming is possible on the HD 8 Plus, and I was able to enjoy My Friend Pedro: Ripe for Revenge. However, I did run into frame rate drops despite it not being graphically demanding.
Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus software The HD 8 Plus runs a heavily modified version of Android called Fire OS. It’s been a while since I used a Fire OS device, but the experience hasn’t improved since I last picked up an Amazon device. It’s ugly and locks you into Amazon’s ecosystem, as it doesn’t offer access to the Google Play Store. This means that you’re restricted to apps acquired through Amazon’s own app store, and a lot of popular apps are missing or put behind a confusing paywall.
Basically, once you venture outside of Amazon’s own apps and a handful of aggressively monetized mobile games, it’s a pretty miserable experience. The first-party Amazon apps are great, and you can use the device purely with voice commands via Alexa like a smart speaker. If you look at the Fire HD 8 Plus as a portal into Amazon’s ecosystem, it makes a lot more sense than as a traditional tablet.
At first, this didn’t bother me too much, but over time I really grew to loathe the constant ad bombardment. People I’ve known who’ve used these devices have given them up because they couldn’t put up with ads anymore. However, you can buy the Fire HD 8 Plus without lock screen ads for an extra $15, which I would highly recommend if you’re planning to buy this device.
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