At a glance
Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Attractive, slim design
- Decent display
- Good child-friendly features
- Affordable price
Cons
- Poor performance
- Not the easiest tablet to use
Our Verdict
Amazon is getting more serious about its kid-friendly tablets, and the Fire HD 8 Kids Pro is a great all-rounder for younger kids – but older users will likely want something with more power. It’s very affordable, though, and has a robust set of parental controls that make it ideal for monitoring activity and ensuring your child stays on-task with educational projects.
Price When Reviewed
This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined
Best Pricing Today
Price When Reviewed
From $149.99
Best Prices Today: Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Pro
$84.99
As with many parents, my wife and I picked up an Amazon Fire tablet some time ago for our little one ahead of a big road trip. Those six hours in the car flew by as he watched shows, played games, and more, but it always felt like a tablet struggling under the weight of relatively menial tasks.
While it was never going to benchmark against the likes of an iPad or Samsung Galaxy Tab, it often felt sluggish, with a dull display that sacrificed just about everything to hit a low price. It was, in many ways, a toy, so when I got the opportunity to put the latest Fire HD 8 Kids Pro through its paces, I was intrigued.
Right from the unboxing, it’s clear that this is a more serious device for tech-curious little ones. And while it’s hard to recommend to anyone over the age of 12, it’s a much more usable device than Amazon’s prior small tablets, despite some caveats.
Design & Build
- Slim yet durable design
- Fun design options
- No water or dust resistance rating
One of the most noticeable changes when you take the Fire HD 8 Kids Pro out of the box is just how slim it is compared to its non-Pro predecessors.
Lloyd Coombes / Foundry
On the outside, you’ll find some easy-to-press volume and sleep/wake buttons, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack and USB-C charging port.
Amazon is continuing its two-year warranty that lets you swap a busted device for a fresh one with little to no friction, so I didn’t feel as cautious as I might have been otherwise handing a £150/$150 tablet to my child.
However, it’s worth noting that there’s no IP rating for water or dust resistance, so you’ll have to be careful in the bathroom or at the beach.
There’s no IP rating for water or dust resistance, so you’ll have to be careful in the bathroom or at the beach
My review unit includes the ‘Hello Teal’ case, but there’s also a pink alternative with a Jungle Cat rear print and a Marvel’s Avengers offering that my son has taken a shine to. You can pick up a whole host of third-party options, too, and each of the built-in options has a solid kickstand that’s ideal for playing games at a table.
Whichever case you go for, the Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Pro doesn’t creak like some of its predecessors, and feels comfortable to hold in both landscape and portrait orientations.
Screen & Speakers
- 8-inch IPS display
- 1280 x 800 resolution
- Single speaker
As you might expect from the name, the front of the Fire HD 8 Kids Pro features an 8-inch screen. However, it feels much bigger than 8 inches because of the sizeable bezel around the display, plus the additional edges of the included case.
Coming from the Fire 7 Kids, I’m pleased to see a sharper, brighter screen here, but only just – the resolution of 1280 x 800 is the same as a Steam Deck, but pales in comparison to the 10-inch screen found on the Fire HD 10 Kids Pro, which hits 1920 x 1200.
Lloyd Coombes / Foundry
Essentially, you’ll be able to watch videos in 720p HD, but not Full HD or anything higher. It is an IPS panel, though, so colours are fairly accurate. However, the display attracts a fair amount of glare, so visibility in bright outdoor environments can be a struggle.
But overall it’s a pretty solid display that is ideal for just about any TV show your little one wants to watch.
It’s a pretty solid display that is ideal for just about any TV show your little one wants to watch
I’m also impressed by how punchy the speakers can get, too. When watching a movie, the Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Pro can hit some impressive volume without becoming noticeably distorted.
It’s not the same as you’d get from a more premium tablet, but enough that you’ll need to reach for those volume buttons when you’ve had quite enough of Peppa Pig for the umpteenth time.
Specs & Performance
- Unnamed 2GHz Hexa-core processor
- 3GB RAM
- 32GB of storage, expandable via Micro-SD
Despite the ‘Pro’ affixed to the name, there’s no real performance jump compared to the base Fire HD 8. The Fire HD 8 Kids Pro still uses the same Hexa-core 2GHz processor (Amazon doesn’t specify the model), pairing it with 3GB of RAM.
These are modest specs, but they represent a big upgrade compared to the Fire 7 Kids. That device would routinely stutter when switching between apps, downloading new ones, and even flicking between home screens.
Lloyd Coombes / Foundry
While the Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Pro doesn’t offer anything rivalling flagship performance, many of those wrinkles have been ironed out, leading to a more responsive tablet that handles the variety of apps available on the Amazon Appstore or Kids Plus membership without issue.
On a device like this, benchmark figures don’t really matter. If you’re considering getting this for a child, it’s probably fast enough. I’ve tested Sonic Dash on the tablet, sprinting across maps with no discernible slowdown, even in a multiplayer setting, while the likes of Disney Coloring World are nice and responsive.
If you’re considering getting this for a child, it’s probably fast enough
Things only really tend to get sluggish when you open a handful of apps at once, but so long as your kid isn’t trying to write an email or something, everything works nicely.
The only model available offers 32GB of storage, of which around 25GB is available to the user. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but the Fire HD 8 Kids Pro supports expansion via Micro-SD card all the way up to 1TB.
Cameras
- 5Mp rear camera
- 2Mp front-facing camera
- Both support Full HD (1080p) video recording
You’re probably not buying the Fire HD 8 Kids Pro for its photographic abilities. If you are, I wouldn’t bother.
You’re probably not buying the Fire HD 8 Kids Pro for its photographic abilities. If you are, I wouldn’t bother
The device puts almost all of its eggs in the single rear-facing 5Mp sensor, and it’s not great.
<
