Amazon Fire HD 8 (2016)

Good value ; Decent performance ; Expandable storage ; Bright screen ; Good battery life

Screen lacks sharpness and contrast ; You’ll need to be a Prime member to get the most out of it ; Poor cameras

Needs an Amazon Prime subscription for the full experience, but even without Prime, you’ll struggle to find a better performing tablet at this price

Very low price ; Decent gaming performance ; Lots of storage

Dreadful cameras ; Screen lacks sharpness ; Poor speakers

The Fire HD 8 is evidence cheap tablets aren’ t progressing as fast as cheap phones. It is basic. However, it is also very affordable and can handle games and apps very well given the price. Not perfect, but the best you can get at the price.

Good value. Loud speakers. Dual-band Wi-Fi. Very easy to use.

Highly focused on Amazon services. No native Google apps or services. Poor cameras.

Comparisons and Conclusions Amazon's competitors in the low-end tablet market are primarily Acer, Asus, and a number of no-name gray-market Chinese manufacturers. We haven't tested it yet, but Acer's Iconia One 8 is a very similar tablet for $99.99,...

Bright screen ; Clean, crisp video ; Lightweight design ; Adequate performance

Music could be better organised ; No Google Play

If you don’t mind the Amazon hard sell, this is a good budget tablet that balances its compromises cleverly

Affordable ; Respectable performance ; Family features ; Great for Prime members

Basic design ; Flat colours

If you’re after a simple and affordable family tablet boasting fast access to all of your Amazon Prime content, then the All-New Fire HD 8 tablet is a worthy purchase. The hardware is basic but backed up by lots of great software features, and the...

The latest Fire HD 8 delivers faster performance, a bigger battery and more base storage than the previous version for almost half the price. Its 8-inch screen is bright, the speakers are loud and it offers expandable microSD storage and ample parental...

Display isn't as sharp as that of current iPad Mini models; to truly take advantage of what the tablet has to offer, you need an Amazon Prime membership; slow charging (takes 6 hours to fully cap battery).

Despite some small drawbacks, you just won't find a tablet with these features and performance at this price.