Amazon Fire HD 8 (2024) Review: 9-Hour Battery, 64GB Storage, and Surprisingly Good Gaming

Amazon's new Fire HD 8 tablet offers improved RAM and storage, but performance remains modest.

### Fire HD 8 (2024): A Detailed Review
* 📱 Amazon's 12th generation Fire HD 8 (2024) is now available, featuring up to **4GB of RAM** and **64GB of storage**, potentially replacing the Fire HD 8 Plus.
* 💲 It's priced competitively at $84.99 or less with trade-in, offering a 3GB RAM/32GB storage option for budget-conscious buyers.  
* 🎨 Available in three colors (black is exclusive to the higher storage model), and expandable storage up to 1TB via microSD card.
*🔋  Advertised battery life is up to 13 hours, but testing revealed approximately 9 hours at maximum brightness; charging takes about 5 hours.
* 📸 The 8-inch, 1280x800 display is decent for its size, but cameras are unimpressive (2MP front, 5MP rear).
* 🎮 Performance is "okay," with occasional sluggishness, but it surprisingly handles PUBG Mobile smoothly.  The device includes Widevine L1 for streaming up to 720p on YouTube.
* 🔊 The dual speakers, located on one side, offer decent sound but are quieter than some competitors.
* 🤔 Overall, a minimal upgrade from the 2022 model;  consider upgrading if you own an older Fire HD 8, but significant improvements are desired.

So Amazon just released their new Fire HD 8, this is their 12th gen 2024 release.

And it now goes up to 4 GB of RAM with 64 GB of storage, which I believe replaces the Fire HD 8 Plus, although this

one doesn't have wireless charging. But it's already on sale for $84.99, or quite a bit less if you trade in an older Fire

HD tablet. Kind of strange, but they still offer 3 GB of RAM with 32 GB of storage

if you want to save a few dollars. And then you still have the option of with ads on the lock screen or without. You've

got three different color options, unless you go with the one that has more RAM and storage; then the only option is

black. It also takes a microSD card up to 1 TB to expand your storage. They're

advertising up to 13 hours of battery life, but we'll test that here later in the video. It takes about 5 hours to charge

back up, which is way too long in my opinion. The 8-inch display is 1280 by

800 resolution, so still not full HD, but it still looks okay, I guess, for its size. The cameras on here are not really that

great; 2 megapixels for the front-facing, 5 megapixels on the back. This one

has the little bumps or texture on the back, pretty much identical to the older Fire HD 8 Plus. I assume it's because this

is the 64 GB version. You can see it is closer to black now, where the Plus version was a lighter gray. You can see

it next to the new iPad Mini; they're almost the same size and shape. You've still got the power and volume buttons,

headphone jack, and charging port all on one side. Along the top, you've got two speakers, and it's curved around the

edges, so it makes it really comfortable to hold with one hand. Your micro SD card slot is there on the bottom; it looks like

pretty much the same startup screen as before, as far as getting the tablet started up. Pretty much the same as the

other Fire HD tablets; it's a pretty easy step-by-step process. Once you log in with your Amazon account, you can also

choose which apps are installed, and then, of course, you have Alexa on here as well. For some reason, they don't turn the

screen brightness all the way up at startup. Once you do that, everything looks quite a bit better, and as you can

see, pretty much the same software as every other Fire HD device. Looks like they're even using the same wallpaper as

well. As far as wallpapers, you've got quite a few options to choose from. Left of the home screen, you've got "4 U," which

is just a lot of stuff to watch, read, games to play, that kind of stuff. Up in the notification shade, it still looks

pretty dated, in my opinion, but you've got most of your typical stuff like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, airplane mode, auto-

rotate, screen mirroring, blue shade, do not disturb, Alexa, low power mode, storage. It also has screen record and font size

as well. Looks like the only option to add is invert colors. Surprisingly, it's only using about 1 GB of the 64 GB of

storage. Unfortunately, you can't get all the apps that you normally would on the Google Play Store, but you can still get

access to quite a few of the more popular apps in the Amazon app store. For some reason, I can't get Geekbench 6 on

here, or Asphalt Legends Unite. Just something I like to point out. Nice thing is, this is Widevine L1,

which is good if you're going to use this for streaming apps like Netflix, and it goes up to 720p resolution for

YouTube videos as long as you turn the screen brightness all the way up. I do feel like the screen quality on here is

probably better than what most people would expect, considering the specs and the price. It's got a MediaTek 8169A

processor. For some reason, you can't get Geekbench 6 on here, but as far as the Geekbench 5 scores, it's kind of what you

would expect, maybe just a slight upgrade from some of the older Fire HD 8. I feel like performance on here is just okay;

it's going to feel sluggish at times, which is to be expected for a tablet at this price. But surprisingly, it does play

PUBG Mobile fairly smoothly on here, and even though you can't play Asphalt Legends Unite, it does have Asphalt 8. So

overall, not too bad as far as gaming goes. I ran my typical battery drain test at 100% screen brightness, and it lasted

about 9 hours, which is not quite the 13 hours that they claim, but I'm sure they

don't test it at max brightness the same way that I do. 9 hours, though, is actually really good battery life on any size

tablet compared to others I've tested. So you can easily get a couple days of mixed usage, especially if you turn the

screen brightness down. Now, having the two speakers on one side really isn't the best setup in my opinion, but

if you face these towards you, it does sound a little bit better. Definitely seems a little more on the quiet side to

me compared to other tablets I've tested, but here's a quick sample just to give you an idea of what it sounds

[Music] like you fade away [Music] as you fade [Music] away. You can't really get much simpler

than this. As far as the camera app goes, you've got a couple settings over here on the side for auto, HDR, and

Night, and yeah, sort of what you would expect on a tablet like this: pretty low resolution, even in my studio light.

If you swipe over, you can get to video and the settings for video recording. You can go up to 1080p for the rear-facing

camera; 720p for the front. The front-facing camera is on the long edge, but again, the quality is not going to be

the best out there. Here are a few samples of photos and video just to give you an idea of what to expect on the new Fire

HD 8. So, as you can see, not the best for photo and video quality. You'll definitely get better results using

almost any cell phone nowadays. A pretty minimal update to the older Fire HD 8. I feel like if you have anything older

than the 2022 Fire HD 8, this could be a decent upgrade, but pretty minimal overall. I would definitely like to see a

little better specs on the 8-inch versions, maybe at least the same specs as the Fire HD 10, or maybe even the Fire Max 11.

But again, some of it's going to be personal preference. It definitely needs to be a little better in performance, in

my opinion. But hopefully, this video gave you a little closer look at the new Fire HD 8 2024. If you like tablets, phones, and

other tech, I've got a lot more stuff that I'm working on, so keep an eye out for those upcoming videos.

[Music] So, if you've made it this far into the video, you may want to say thanks by

subscribing, and don't forget to give a thumbs up if this video was helpful. This is Brian from Fishby Productions. Thanks

for watching, and I'll see you on the next one. [Music] [Music] 

NEW Fire HD 8 (2024) Unboxing & First Review!

FishBee Productions

Amazon released the 12th generation Fire HD 8 (2024).

Available with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, potentially replacing the Fire HD 8 Plus.

On sale for $84.99 or less with trade-in; also available with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage.

Offers ad-supported and ad-free options, with three color choices (black for higher specs).

Supports microSD card up to 1TB; advertised 13-hour battery life (5-hour charging time).

Features an 8-inch 1280x800 display, 2MP front and 5MP rear cameras.

Similar design to the Fire HD 8 Plus, with textured back (darker black in 64GB version).

Comparable size and shape to the iPad Mini.

Power/volume buttons, headphone jack, and charging port on one side; speakers on top.

MicroSD card slot on the bottom; easy setup process similar to other Fire HD tablets.

Includes Alexa integration and app selection during setup.

Similar software and wallpaper to other Fire HD devices; screen brightness needs manual adjustment.

"4 U" section for content; dated notification shade with standard features.

Includes screen recording and font size options; only 1GB of 64GB storage used initially.

Limited app selection compared to Google Play Store; incompatibility with some apps (Geekbench 6, Asphalt Legends Unite).

Widevine L1 certification for streaming; supports up to 720p YouTube videos (at max brightness).

Better screen quality than expected; uses a MediaTek 8169A processor.

Geekbench 5 scores are as expected; performance is okay but can be sluggish at times.

Plays PUBG Mobile smoothly; Asphalt 8 available instead of Asphalt Legends Unite.

Battery test showed 9 hours at max brightness (less than advertised 13 hours).

Good battery life for mixed usage; two speakers on one side, quieter sound than some other tablets.

Camera app with auto, HDR, and night modes; low resolution, even with studio lighting.

Video recording up to 1080p (rear) and 720p (front); front camera on long edge.

Overall poor photo and video quality compared to modern smartphones.

Minimal upgrade from the 2022 Fire HD 8; decent upgrade for older models.

Suggests better specs for 8-inch models, similar to Fire HD 10 or Fire Max 11.

Performance needs improvement; overall a closer look at the new Fire HD 8 (2024).