In the Pros and Cons installment of the three-post series on Amazon Fire tablets, I noted (*cough* a few times *cough*) that Amazon has not done a great job when it comes to naming their otherwise terrific devices. And it’s not that the names aren’t creative or cute; it’s that they make it really difficult to know which tablet is which.
So this post attempts to help you find the tablet that will work best for you by clarifying what the main differences are between all the current models as well as those from previous generations, most of which are still available to purchase either new or used. The third part of the series provides instructions on how to install apps on the devices that aren’t available through the Amazon app store.
The Basic Differentiators
Amazon Fire tablets can be distinguished by two main features: quality of screen display and physical size.
Quality of Screen Display
The tablet’s screen display quality is determined by two factors: resolution and screen density.
Resolution is the total number of pixels on the tablet’s screen, stated as width x height (or height x width, depending which way you’re holding it…). The higher the resolution, the more information can be displayed on the screen. Screen density is the number of pixels per inch. The higher the screen density, the sharper the image will be.
Now I’m no expert on display technologies and I find the topic a bit confusing myself, but I found this thread on Stack Overflow to be helpful (the Fire operating system is built on Android):
Android: what is the difference between resolution and density?
There are three general categories of display quality for Fire tablets.
The lowest level applies to tablets with a 1024 x 600 resolution and a screen density of 169 or 171dpi. These are signified by having either just the screen size or no additional term in the product name, i.e. they’re simply called Amazon Fire 7 or Amazon Fire (or Kindle Fire for earlier generations). These models include the first generation Fire, one model of the second generation, and one of the current fifth-generation and seventh-generation models (the $49 one).
NOTE: The Kids Edition tablets are the same piece of hardware as the basic tablets but are differentiated by content availability, storage, accessories, and the warranty.
The next quality level applies to tablets with either a 1280 x 800 or 1920 x 1200 resolution and screen densities ranging from 149 to 254dpi depending on the model. These are signified by HD (for High Definition). Every generation since the second one has had 1 or 2 HD models.
The highest quality applies to tablets with either a 1920 x 1200 or 2560 x 1600 resolution and screen densities over 320dpi. These are signified by HDX (for High Definition eXtra…?). There were two HDX models in the third-generation and one in the fourth-generation. The fifth, sixth, and seventh generations have none; I’m assuming Amazon discovered people didn’t want to pay the premium price for the higher specs, but I don’t know if that’s the case or if they’ll bring back more HDX models in the future.
NOTE: As you can see by the above, resolution is not the sole determinant for product names as tablets with a 1920 x 1200 resolution have been designated as both HD and HDX, depending on the screen density.
The only article I’ve found that has explicitly listed the resolutions and densities for all Fire models is on the Amazon developers’ site.
Physical Size
Amazon has released their tablets in a variety of sizes over the years. The smallest was the Fire HD 6 (fourth generation) and the largest was the Fire HD 10 (fifth generation). There have also been HD models at 7″ and 8″. The HDX models were available in 7″ (third-generation) and 8.9″ (third and fourth generation) sizes. The non-HD models, including the current generation, have only been available with a 7″ screen.
Additional Differentiators
In addition to the display quality and physical size of the devices, different models have different tech specs for both performance and features. Generally speaking, HDX models have better specs than HD models, which have better specs than basic models. Also, as would be expected, the specs within each category have generally improved with each generation.
I’m not going to go into all the different ways they’re different, but I will mention a few of the major differentiators to look at when comparing models.
NOTE: All the tablets let you read the same Kindle books, listen to the same Amazon music, and watch the same Amazon videos on them. And if you start reading a book or watching a video on one device (including your PC and Kindle e-readers), you can pick up right where you left off on another one.
Operating System
Prior to the fifth-generation tablets, all Fire models ran on a Fire OS4.x operating system. The fifth-generation ones introduced Fire OS 5 and a couple of months later fourth-generation tablets were upgraded to this system as well. A lot of users would like to see the third-generation tablets upgraded as well, since it includes 2 of the 3 HDX models, but there’s are no reports that this is going to happen any time soon if at all.
Fire OS 5 has a number of performance enhancements, but I haven’t really noticed a difference because my other tablets all performed perfectly fine for me. From my perspective, the two most noticeable differences from Fire OS4 are the interface and the ability to support more Android apps from Google Play.
I actually preferred the old interface, but a lot of that has to do with what I was used to. There’s nothing major about the new interface that I hate or anything; it just doesn’t appeal to me as much.
The additional support for Android apps is a huge benefit of OS 5. For example, I couldn’t use Twitter’s live-video Periscope app at all on my third-generation Fire HDX 7 but I can use it on my fifth-generation basic Fire. Unfortunately it’s still not straightforward to add the Google Play store apps to the devices so I wrote a whole other post about that. 🙂
Processor
Over the years, different models have had different processors, which primarily affect speed. Having said that, the current generation’s Fire 7 and Fire HD 8 both have quad-core, 1.3 GHz processors.
Audio
The current Fire 7 has a mono speaker and the HD 8 has DOLBY ATMOS (whatever that is) dual stereo speakers. They both have built-in microphones.
Camera
Both the current models have a VGA Front-facing camera and a 2 MP rear-facing camera with 720p HD video recording.
Storage
The Fire 7 comes in 8GB and 16GB versions, while the Fire HD 8 has 16GB and 32GB versions (the kids editions of each have the lower-level memory). Both models have a microSD slot that accepts up to 256GB cards. They all also come with unlimited cloud storage for Amazon content (books, videos, apps, photos, etc. bought from Amazon or taken with an Amazon device).
Screen Sharing
All the fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-generation models support Second Screen for casting Amazon videos to an Amazon Fire TV streaming media player (box or stick) console so you can watch them on your TV while continuing to do other things on the tablet.
The Fire HDX models and the fifth-generation HD 8 and HD 10 models also support display mirroring, which lets you duplicate whatever is on your tablet screen to a Fire TV. I was also able to mirror my HDX 7 model to a Roku streaming player, but according to this article on Amazon, the fourth and fifth generation models only work with the Fire TV.
The sixth- and seventh-generation models no longer include a screen mirroring feature. I know they had to remove features when they dropped the price so much, but this loss makes me sad. 🙁
Display Mirroring on Fire Tablet
Battery Life
One of the biggest upgrades to the sixth- and seventh-generation Fire HD 8 tablets is an increase in battery life, which is now up to 12 hours. The Fire 7 has up to 8 hours.
Alexa Support
In November 2016, Amazon added Alexa to the Fire, Fire HD 8, and Fire HD 10 tablets through a software update and both the non-kids versions of the current generation include it as well. Alexa is Amazon’s cloud-based voice assistant that lets you take advantage of a whole slew of capabilities by speaking to it.
Learn more about Amazon Alexa in this T4L post. >>
My Two Cents
In my original post, I said that my favorite Fire tablet was my third-generation HDX 7. Unfortunately, I dropped it and broke the screen so it’s no longer usable. 🙁 There are no new ones available to buy and I’m more than happy enough with my other models to not be bothered looking for a new or refurbished one. If they ever provide an upgrade to Fire OS 5 to this model, I may reconsider for the added Android app support, but my current go-to model is the 7th generation HD 8.
So which model is right for YOU? There’s no way I can answer that because, as you saw above, there are so many variables and it just depends what’s most important to you. Is it display quality? Sound quality? Size? Do you want to use it primarily for reading email and surfing the web or to play videos and music or to keep up with your social media accounts? How much are you willing to pay? The answers to these questions will all determine which model will be the best option for you.
But hopefully the information above will help you narrow down your choices. And to find more information about specific models, click the links below for full specs and customer reviews.
Links to all Fire tablet product pages on Amazon
Note: Product pages for the older models generally only have listings for used and refurbished items.
Visit the main Amazon Fire Tablet page for the most up-to-date product information. >>
Seventh-Generation Fire Tablets
Sixth-Generation Fire Tablets
Fifth-Generation Fire Tablets
Fire HD 10
Fire HD 8
Fire
Fire Kids Edition
Fourth-Generation Fire Tablets
Fire HDX 8.9
Fire HD 7
Fire HD 6
Third-Generation Fire Tablets
Fire HDX 8.9
Fire HDX 7
Fire HD 7
Second-Generation Fire Tablets
And I’m not going to link to the first-generation Fire because it’s not right for anybody!
You may also be interested in:
Amazon Fire Tablets: Pros and Cons
Amazon Fire Tablets: 4 Ways to Install Google Play Store Apps
Comments
I loved your 3 articles! Thank you, I learned a lot! I just ordered the HD10, to test for myself (should arrive within 2 weeks with Prime shipping). My plan was to order 2 of the HD 8 and 1 HD 8 kids version (since the free time unlimited is good for all 3 kids). When the 1yr subscription runs out, if I don’t subscribe another yr, what will my kids version be able to do? I notice they don’t have an Alexa update, so what updates will there be if any? After reading the article, I am inclined to just purchase 3 HD8’s. Have you any experience with this? Thank you in advance! (I cannot find info on the web). I am also concerned about storage, planning to use apps. I picked the fire due to price, but bottom line is their school apps and webpages don’t run well on iPad, even with special compatibility tools downloaded. Which fire or other brand would you suggest?
Hi Anna.
Thanks for the nice comment about the articles. I’ve never purchased a Kids’ Edition version, but the Unlimited Free Time subscription is simply a bundle of content (books, games, videos, etc.) If you don’t renew it after the free year, you can still buy those things individually.
Otherwise, the benefits are the case, two-year warranty, and additional parental controls. I also thought that there were no ads in the kids’ edition, but I don’t see that listed now, so I don’t want to guarantee that. The main downside is the lack of Alexa, which I think is to prevent kids from buying things without their parents’ knowledge.
As for storage, you can add a micro-SD card to get up to an additional 256 GB, which is one of the things I like the best about these tablets, since I also use a lot of apps on them. You can install the apps in the internal space for faster performance and use the SD card for large-sized content like videos, pictures, etc.
I don’t know how old your children are, but I think the kids’ edition versions are great deals even if you don’t resubscribe to Free Time unless you really want them to be able to use Alexa on them.
I hope that helps.
– Elizabeth
Thank you very much. I read the first and second of your three-part series (no interest in more apps, so didn’t read the third). Your practical points and not overly technical presentation are great for me (senior citizen about to buy a Fire, probably HD8, for reading and a little email). Again, THANKS.
I’m glad you found the posts helpful, Don. I hope you enjoy your new tablet! – Elizabeth