Amazon’s Fire HD tablets are still valid options if you just want a competent media consumption device for the least amount of money possible, and in this range the Fire HD 10 offers the best value for money for the most part. That’s especially the case when the device is discounted, and as of now, the 10.1-inch slate is on sale again for $75 at Amazon and Best Buy, among other retailers.
While that’s not the absolute lowest price we’ve seen — the tablet was briefly available for $55 at Target earlier this year — it matches the price we’ve seen during the year’s Black Friday sales. Amazon’s latest and latest Prime Day events. The 32GB model here technically has an MSRP of $150, though a handful of smaller discounts have pushed its average selling price closer to $130 in recent months.
It’s a good price for what was already one of the best values on the tablet market. Like Amazon’s other Fire tablets, the Fire HD 10 is a no-frills device: it’s largely matte plastic, the speakers and cameras are mediocre, and very little of its performance or design is as good. premium than you’d get even an entry-level iPad. But for money, it’s all good enough if you’re just looking for casual web browsing, ebook reading, video streaming, and Alexa stuff. Its eight-core MediaTek Helio P60T processor and 3GB of RAM won’t blow anyone away – don’t expect much gaming – but it can handle the basics without constant slowdowns, and it’s generally smoother than the cheaper one. models of the Fire range.
Likewise, the 10.1-inch panel isn’t the brightest or most vibrant you’ll see, but it’s fine for $75. Again, its 1920 x 1200 resolution is a big improvement over the lower resolution Fire 7 or Fire HD 8, and just having more space makes it nicer for video streams and Zoom calls. fast. The tablet has a good 12 hours of battery life per charge and charges via USB-C. While the discounted model here only has 32GB of built-in storage, you can expand it with a microSD card. (A version with 64GB of storage is also on sale for $95.)
The caveat with any Amazon tablet is, as always, the software. Amazon’s Fire OS is still a forked version of Android that doesn’t have access to the Google Play Store – and therefore Google’s native apps like Gmail or YouTube – and frequently pushes you to its own apps, services and online store of the company. There are still ads on the lock screen, and it still costs $15 to get rid of them. It’s still easy enough to sideload the Play Store and its larger library of apps, but it’s clearly not the most user-friendly or security-friendly solution. Instead, a Fire tablet will perform best if you stick to Amazon apps like Kindle and Prime Video, popular apps like Netflix, or basic web browsing. That said, the OS is still pretty robust when it comes to parental controls and support for multiple user profiles, and there’s still a handy “display mode” that can essentially turn the tablet into a an Echo Show-like smart screen when you’re not ready.
The deal here is part of a wider sale on Amazon tablets. The Kids and Kids Pro versions of the Fire HD 10, for example, are both back to their all-time lows of $120. These come with large protective bumper cases (the Pro is a little thinner), two-year warranties, and one year of Amazon’s Kids+ child-focused content service, though their hardware is otherwise identical, and it’s worth noting that you can set up a child-friendly profile on the base Fire HD 10 as well.
The Fire HD 10 Plus, meanwhile, is on sale for $105, which is the lowest price we’ve tracked. This one adds another gigabyte of RAM and wireless charging support, which are nice upgrades – especially if you want to use that smart display feature – but nothing we’d call essential for most people in the market for a good affordable tablet. We’ll also note that the Fire 7 has dropped to a new low of $42, but we’d recommend waiting until the recently updated Fire HD 8 and its utterly superior hardware goes on sale if you’re just looking for the cheaper. usable slate.
Buy Fire HD 10 Plus on Amazon – $105 Buy Fire HD 10 Kids on Amazon – $120 Buy Fire HD 10 Kids Pro on Amazon – $120 Buy Fire 7 on Amazon – $42
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