The Fire HD 8 2022 is the replacement for the Fire HD 8 2020 tablet, coming in with an improved CPU and a longer battery life. But with two tablets we have to ask which one really comes out on top, and which is worth your money. It’s important to note that we have not yet reviewed the Fire HD 8 2022 model, so we won’t be making any definitive claims about its performance during this article, but we will be sure to update this once our thoughts go live. Without further ado, read on to find out which tablet you should invest in.
Pricing
32GB: £89.99/$89.9964GB: £199.99/$199.99
The breakdown of each model is listed below.
32GB with ads: £99.99/$99.9932GB without ads: £109.99/$114.9964GB with ads: £129.99/$129.9964GB without ads: £139.99/$144.99
Design
The Fire HD 8 2020 comes in four colours: Black, Plum, Twilight Blue and White. In our review, we noted that while the tablet is affordable it doesn’t appear immediately dated. We didn’t find it thick or heavy and thought that it could easily be thrown into a bag or given to younger children without breaking. The back of the tablet is textured and does not pick up fingerprints as easily as a glossy finish, and we liked that it came in four colourways. It packs a 2-megapixel HD camera on the rear as well as on the front, ideal for video calling. At the bottom of the tablet, there is a 3.5mm audio jack, power and volume buttons as well as a USB-C charging port and a MicroSD slot. Moving onto the newer Fire HD 8 tablet, it comes in only three colours, including Black, Rose and Denim. It features the same button inputs alongside the USB-C charging port and audio jack, just in a slightly different order, with a MicroSD slot on the side. Since we have not reviewed this model we cannot say how the tablet feels to use, but it looks like the back features the same slight texture, and we would expect it to feel as durable and sturdy as its predecessor.
Display
The Fire HD 8 2020 comes with an 8-inch touchscreen with a 1280×800 resolution at 189ppi. We thought that the screen was one of the weaker aspects of this tablet, with the screen being very reflective and making the black colours on screen appear quite grey. We also felt like the resolution was too low and did not look sharp, even on the small 8-inch canvas. We noted that the brightness levels on the tablet are not strong enough to tackle bright environments and direct sunlight, making it less than ideal for reading outside on a sunny holiday. While we would not recommend the Fire HD 8 2020 tablet for religious binge-watching or reading outside, we thought that it was overall serviceable, especially when you consider the price. If the screen on the 2022 model is the same as its predecessor, it may perform in a similar manner, suggesting that it also won’t be ideal for watching video content or reading outside.
Battery Life
During our testing, we found that the Fire HD 8 2020 tablet could last for around 12 hours while reading, browsing the web and watching video content. At 50% brightness, we found that the tablet’s battery was depleted by 7%, which was more than serviceable.
Performance
For the price of this tablet, we were not too off-put by the middling performance, but it’s something that you will notice during use. It’s worth noting that you can pay an extra £20 for the Fire HD 8 Plus model, which offers 3GB of RAM. While we have not tested this model, we do recommend a bump up in RAM, as it should help alleviate some of the performance issues. It comes with the same 2GB RAM and 32GB and 64GB storage options, with the latest Plus model also sporting 3GB RAM. Both models can also go up to 1TB of storage thanks to the MicroSD slot if you think that you will need more storage over time.
Early Verdict
Since we have not reviewed the Fire HD 8 2022 tablet yet, we can’t make any concrete claims on which device is better. However, thanks to the improved CPU and the option to remove ads from the tablet completely, the Fire HD 8 2022 may come out on top.
