At 355 grams, the new Fire HD 8 weighs a touch less than its 363g predecessor.Ī few years back, the HD 8 seemed sluggish, but its performance has steadily improved and now it's pretty zippy (Amazon says the new HD 8s are 30% faster than the 2018 HD 8 thanks to the new processor and software optimization). It's fine for watching videos but it's not nearly as sharp as the screen you get with, say, an iPad, which is why you're paying a lot less for this. The screen is technically HD but it's basically 720p and not 1080p.

David Carnoy/CNETīoth new Fire HD 8 models have the same 1,280x800-pixel resolution display as the previous HD 8. The Fire HD 8 now features USB-C charging. The USB-C charging does help reduce charging times by about an hour from the previous HD 8, with the HD 8 Plus charging even faster. The standard HD 8 has 2GB of RAM - that's up from 1.5GB - and the HD 8 Plus has 3GB of RAM, which is where you get the performance boost. Both models are improved over the previous 2018 Fire HD 8 version with a faster processor, USB-C charging, better Wi-Fi performance and a bump from 16GB to 32GB of storage in the base model. But apart from the white version, they all have a black bezel around the display. The HD 8 Plus is only available in a slate color while the standard HD 8 is available in black, white, plum, twilight blue and slate. The two models look identical on the outside. HD 8 Plus offers nice step-ups for just a bit more moneyĭisplay is HD but not 1080p (could be sharper)Īmazon Appstore is limited compared with Google Play and Apple App Store

Fire 8 hd