This story is part of Holiday Gift Guide 2020, CNET’s gift picks with expert advice, reviews and recommendations for the latest tech gifts for you and your family.
Black Friday may still be two weeks away according to the calendar, but the price tags on Amazon’s Fire tablets say Black Friday is coming early. Both Amazon and Best Buy dropped their prices on Fire tablets back to their Prime Day lows from last month, and while those deals have now expired, it pays to keep an eye out, because they can be back at any time. The best deals were as follows:
- The Fire HD 10 (10-inch tablet) was down to $80 ($70 off, back to lowest price we’ve seen)
- The Fire HD 8 (8-inch tablet) was $55 ($35 off)
- The Fire HD 8 Plus was $75 ($35 off)
- The Fire HD 8 Kids Edition was $80 ($60 off)
- Fire 7 Kids Edition was $60 ($40 off)
Note that the Fire Kids Editions include a case and a year of Amazon’s Kids Plus subscription service, a $36 value.
David Carnoy/CNET
The Fire HD 8 Plus adds wireless charging and more RAM (3GB instead of 2GB), with performance that improves on the standard Fire HD 8. It’s $20 more but is arguably the better deal at $75.
The tablet should charge just fine on most wireless charging pads.
Read our Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus review.
David Carnoy/CNET
Amazon has come a long way from the first Kindle Fire tablet. The Amazon Fire HD 10 is Amazon’s biggest tablet with a 10-inch screen size and powerful speakers (and it now charges via USB-C). Just like its smaller 8-inch sibling, the Fire HD 8, the tablet is packed with benefits for Prime subscribers, making it easy for members to stream and download movies, TV shows and games. The Fire tablets don’t use a pure version of Android, but instead Amazon’s Android-based Fire operating system, and pull apps from the Amazon App Store. You can still get apps from Google Play, but you’ll have to install the store yourself — meaning gaming enthusiasts have access to all of their favorite mobile games for an excellent gaming tablet experience.
Read more.
The Fire HD 8 was updated earlier this year with a faster processor, USB-C charging, better Wi-Fi performance, 2GB of RAM (up from 1.5GB) and a bump from 16GB to 32GB of storage in the base model. Its HD screen is sharper than the entry-level Fire 7, but it’s not nearly as sharp as iPad displays. Even so, it’s a decent deal at $90 and a great deal at $55.
The HD 8 Plus adds wireless charging and slightly better performance, thanks to 3GB of RAM. It’s on sale for $75, or $20 more.
Read our Amazon Fire HD 8 (2020) review.
Amazon
This child-friendly version of the Fire HD 8 tablet adds a padded case, parental controls, a two-year warranty and a one-year subscription to Kids Plus (formerly known as FreeTime Unlimited), which normally costs $3 a month and gives you access to a bunch of kid-friendly content. It’s not really suitable for remote learning, but it’s a much more affordable option than giving a young child a full-on iPad.
Amazon
This has all of the same extras as the HD 8 above, but it’s the childproof version of the smaller, more affordable Amazon Fire 7. You’re getting a 7-inch screen instead of 8, and a less robust processor.