Amazon Fire HD 8 (2015) Tablet Review
For the original German review, see here.
The mail order company Amazon has refreshed its affordable tablet lineup, and aims at the most important device categories with its HD 6 and HD 10. Now, a new mid-range tablet is added to the 8-inch category with Amazon's Fire HD 8, which is available for a starting price of 160 Euros (~$175) depending on the configuration. Our review sample features 16 GB of storage and no annoying adware in standby mode, is priced at 195 Euros (~$214). Adware-models come with a price discount of 15 Euros (~$16). Subscribing and unsubscribing is also possible after purchase.
Thus, it competes with the comparison devices such as Acer Iconia One 8, Medion Lifetab S8311 and Lenovo Tab S8. Anyone opting for an Amazon tablet will have to accept considerable software restrictions compared with other Android devices.
Case
Compared with the twice as expensive Amazon Fire HDX 8.9 Tablet, visible cutbacks in the casing are of course inevitable. The back is now only polished plastic. This does not give a particularly high-quality impression, and is extremely susceptible to fingerprints and scratches. Our standard benchmark suite of tests was enough to leave unsightly scratches on the back - and the tablet never left our table. Thus, a protective sleeve is essential if the device is to remain reasonably presentable.
Considering the compact dimensions of the Fire HD 8 compared with the other rivals, we can confirm Amazon's pithy assertion on the product website stating that it is slim and light. However, we cannot agree with the statement that it is more durable than the latest Apple iPad Air 2. Strong pressure on the Fire HD 8 also causes wave formations on the screen. Furthermore, a quiet creaking noise and evident warping are observed under high force. The feel is acceptable and the gaps are also within a tolerable range.
Amazon offers the Fire HD 8 in four colors. In addition to our black review sample, the tablet is available in blue, magenta and tangerine.
Connectivity
The Fire HD 8 is available with 8 or 16 GB of internal storage. The storage capacities of both versions can be expanded by up to 128 GB via a micro-SD. In addition, unlimited Cloud storage is available for Amazon content free of charge. Dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 are on-board, but NFC and GPS are missing.
The Fire HD 8 is powered by the MediaTek MT8135 quad-core SoC with a clock rate reduced to 1.5 GHz and integrated PowerVR G6200 graphics unit familiar from Amazon's Fire HD 6 and one gigabyte of working memory. Amazon has installed a 5 MP camera without LED flash on the rear of the Fire HD 8. The front camera now has a resolution of 0.9 megapixels. Apart from Acer's Iconia One 8, all rivals have higher resolutions.
Software
The installed operating system is the new Fire OS 5 Bellini, which is based on Android 5.1 Lollipop. Unlike many other manufacturers, Amazon makes more profound modifications in the stock Android OS. Diverse apps are preloaded ex-factory, such as Amazon's app shop, video, Kindle and music. They are also comprehensively integrated into the system; swiping left on the home screen brings the user to the dedicated screens that present media from each personal library as well as recommendations. The software is clearly focused on Amazon's micro-cosmos; Prime users will feel at home right away. It looks good, but sometimes the clarity of arrangement suffers on the subscreens. The step from the old Fire OS 4 seems huge, but overall, the software can be handled quite well, especially when Amazon is not new to the user. Nevertheless - Android 5.1 or iOS 9.1 make a more intuitive impression and also look better.
Another restriction for Android fans: Only Amazon's app store can be used ex-factory, which does not offer the wide variety of Google's Play Store. According to Amazon, all Android apps are to run on Fire OS 5 Bellini with no or only minor modifications. On the other hand, Amazon Underground is an app store where everything, including in-app items, is free - even applications that must be purchased in the normal app shop.
USB OTG is supported, and a Razer USB mouse and a 32 GB Corsair Flash Survivor USB 3.0 flash drive were both identified. APP2SD functions, but not with all apps. The GFXBench benchmark test and Dropbox were just as unmovable as the pre-loaded Amazon apps.
The Amazon-leash can be loosened somewhat when desired: Via sideloading using an app like ES File Manager, i.e. installing the desired apps as APK files after moving them from the download folder on the tablet. Alternatively, the user follows the Work-Around from our "Netzwelt" colleagues. This enables installing Google's Play Store and every desired Android app. However, there are exceptions: However, some apps that are installed on the device without Amazon's app shop might refuse to run.
Communication & GPS
The dual-band Wi-Fi module in Amazon's Fire HD 8 supports the standards 802.1 a/b/g/n/ac for wireless communication. During the test the reception strength of half the signal was just enough for browsing on the Internet at a distance of 10 meters (~33 ft) from the router and through three walls. Pages opened slightly slower. The review sample does not have a GPS module.
Cameras & Multimedia
The front camera in Amazon's Fire HD 8 disappoints with its scanty VGA resolution (0.9 megapixels, 1280x720 pixels), but at least it is still satisfactory for video chats. The 5.3 MP camera (3072x1728 px) on the rear offers HDR and records videos in a resolution of 720p. The lens cannot fall back on an LED flash, but a panorama and best shot feature are available. Relatively satisfactory photos are possible in sunny environments, and the sharpness is still reasonably accurate in the center. The photos basically suffer under lack of sharpness and a light bluish tint. On the other hand, the automatic exposure responds very quickly to tapping in the image area of the touchscreen. The low-light performance does not score very well with heavy noise and low sharpness. Amazon's Fire HD 8 records videos in 720p. The below-average quality does not really inspire extensive recordings.
Color Accuracy & Sharpness
We also tested the camera in Amazon Fire HD 8 under controlled light conditions with the X-Rite ColorChecker Passport that we photographed in automatic mode. We compare the photos directly, without editing or modifying the white balance afterwards. The result shows that the Fire HD 8 displays all colors too dark and somewhat too strongly. The automatic white balance is too warm, which is particularly evident in the grayscale levels.
We perform the sharpness test under defined artificial light with an edge-to-edge photo of our test chart. The 100% sized picture section from the center of the test chart reveals the camera's low sharpness in details. Outlines visibly blur; the picture looks very muddy and unfocused particularly at the chart's edge.
Accessories
Amazon ships the Fire HD 8 with a USB 2.0 cable, a 5-watt charger and a quick start guide. Some product-specific accessories such as screen protectors (matte or transparent) are also available for approximately 13 Euros ($14). The high-quality case for the sensitive back cover that can also be used as a stand is recommended. They are available in various colors at 35 Euros (~$38) each. The leather version costs approximately 45 Euros (~$49).
Warranty
A 12-month warranty is included. The usual implied warranty of a further 12 months takes effect after that.
Input Devices & Handling
The capacitive multi-touchscreen responds quite quickly to inputs, and has good gliding qualities. However, we had to tap more than once in some cases before the tablet detected them in the test. The minor delay is still acceptable. The virtual keyboard itself functions decently, and features automatic enabling for swipe inputs in addition to a divided keyboard for small hands. The physical buttons are also satisfactory; however, we would have liked the volume rocker's pressure point to have been more defined.
Display
The resolution of 1280x800 pixels leads to a pixel density of 189 PPI on the 8-inch screen. The resolution of the IPS panel is thus sufficient, but rivals in the comparison, such as Medion's Lifetab S8311 or Lenovo Tab S8 with 1920x1200 pixels, have much more to offer. On the other hand, Amazon's Fire HD 8 places itself unmatched at the top with its maximum brightness of 555 cd/m². Extremely bright 523.3 cd/m² are still reached on average. The illumination of 88% is very homogeneous although Medion's Lifetab S8311 distributes the brightness somewhat more evenly. The most significant measurements are, however, those performed at consistent APL (average picture level). Here, an equal distribution of bright and dark areas is selected (APL 50). Our measurements remain stable; the brightness in the screen's center is 551 cd/m².
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 88 %
Center on Battery: 550 cd/m²
Contrast: 1038:1 (Black: 0.53 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 7.77 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.91
ΔE Greyscale 7.48 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
Gamma: 1.8
| Amazon Fire HD 8 inch 2015 PowerVR G6200, MT8135, 16 GB eMMC Flash | Acer Iconia One 8 HD Graphics (Bay Trail), Z3735G, 16 GB eMMC Flash | Medion Lifetab S8311 Mali-450 MP4, MT6592, 16 GB iNAND Flash | Lenovo Tab S8 HD Graphics (Bay Trail), Z3745, 16 GB eMMC Flash | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | 10% | -3% | 26% | |
| Brightness middle | 550 | 367 -33% | 323 -41% | 418 -24% |
| Brightness | 523 | 338 -35% | 328 -37% | 401 -23% |
| Brightness Distribution | 88 | 83 -6% | 92 5% | 85 -3% |
| Black Level * | 0.53 | 0.31 42% | 0.53 -0% | 0.22 58% |
| Contrast | 1038 | 1184 14% | 609 -41% | 1900 83% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 7.77 | 4.1 47% | 4.93 37% | 4.19 46% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 7.48 | 4.38 41% | 3.1 59% | 4.26 43% |
| Gamma | 1.8 122% | 2.33 94% | 2.69 82% | 2.41 91% |
| CCT | 6633 98% | 6394 102% | 6654 98% | 6246 104% |
* ... smaller is better
The given black level of 0.53 cd/m² - also in the APL 50 assessment - and the contrast of 1038:1 are decent rates that Acer's Iconia One 8 and Lenovo's Tab S8 clearly outperform. Nevertheless, black looks quite saturated and the color reproduction is appealingly crisp.
The more detailed analysis via an X-Rite spectrophotometer and CalMAN software reveal only minor deviations from the ideal in the comparison sections. We did not discover the bluish tint often found in this price range. Only a slight green-yellowish tint is seen in the medium grayscale levels. Overall, colors are rendered very natural and rich. The color temperature is also very close to the ideal, but the gamma is slightly low (ideal rate: 2.2). Given the low price, this is a very good performance that even some more expensive devices do not achieve.
Time to shine is the motto in this test. Thanks to the extremely high average brightness of 523.5 cd/m², content can still be recognized fairly well even in direct sunlight. However, the screen's reflective surface slightly impairs outdoor use. Amazon's Fire HD 8 cannot serve with a brightness sensor.
The viewing angle stability of the underlying IPS technology is good. Even acute viewing angles do not lead to color distortions; only the brightness decreases slightly. Users who want to watch a video with several viewers on the go should thus set the brightness to maximum.
Performance
Like all Fire HD tablets, Amazon's Fire HD 8 is powered by a MediaTek MT8135 quad-core SoC clocked at 1.5 GHz known from the Kindle Fire HD 6. The working memory has a capacity of 1 GB.
Consequently, the performance is comparable to that of Amazon's Kindle Fire HD 6. The review sample can outrun Acer's Iconia One 8 and Medion's Lifetab S8311 in most benchmarks. Only Lenovo's Tab S8 usually presents a higher performance.
However, the offered performance is not quite convincing in practice. Everyday tasks, such as lightweight multitasking and opening apps or keyboard, recurrently suffer under slight delays. Nevertheless, this is much faster than was the case in Amazon's Kindle Fire HD 6 thanks to the new Fire OS 5 Bellini. Playing music or 1080p videos was also agreeably smooth and problem-free during the test.
| 3DMark | |
| 1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Physics (sort by value) | |
| Amazon Fire HD 8 inch 2015 | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Medion Lifetab S8311 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6 | |
| Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6 Kids Edition | |
| 1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics Score (sort by value) | |
| Amazon Fire HD 8 inch 2015 | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Medion Lifetab S8311 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6 | |
| Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6 Kids Edition | |
| 1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Score (sort by value) | |
| Amazon Fire HD 8 inch 2015 | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Medion Lifetab S8311 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6 | |
| Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6 Kids Edition | |
| GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7 | |
| T-Rex Onscreen (sort by value) | |
| Amazon Fire HD 8 inch 2015 | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Medion Lifetab S8311 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6 Kids Edition | |
| 1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen (sort by value) | |
| Amazon Fire HD 8 inch 2015 | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Medion Lifetab S8311 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6 Kids Edition | |
| GFXBench 3.0 | |
| 1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (sort by value) | |
| Amazon Fire HD 8 inch 2015 | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value) | |
| Amazon Fire HD 8 inch 2015 | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6 | |
| Smartbench 2012 | |
| Gaming Index (sort by value) | |
| Amazon Fire HD 8 inch 2015 | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6 | |
| Productivity Index (sort by value) | |
| Amazon Fire HD 8 inch 2015 | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6 | |
| AnTuTu v5 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Amazon Fire HD 8 inch 2015 | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Medion Lifetab S8311 | |
| Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6 | |
| Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6 Kids Edition | |
| PCMark for Android - Work performance score (sort by value) | |
| Amazon Fire HD 8 inch 2015 | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
The performance of Amazon's Fire HD 8 in the browser-based benchmark test using the Silk browser (version 45) is throughout worse than that of all rivals in almost all cases. However, they use the considerably faster Google Chrome browser. Subjectively, browsing with the Fire HD 8 is fun. Pages were opened at a decent speed.
| Sunspider - 1.0 Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Amazon Fire HD 8 inch 2015 | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Medion Lifetab S8311 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6 Kids Edition | |
| Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6 | |
| Octane V2 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Amazon Fire HD 8 inch 2015 | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Medion Lifetab S8311 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total (sort by value) | |
| Amazon Fire HD 8 inch 2015 | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Medion Lifetab S8311 | |
| Lenovo Tab S8 | |
| Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6 Kids Edition | |
| Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6 | |
| Google V8 Ver. 7 - Google V8 Ver. 7 Score (sort by value) | |
| Amazon Fire HD 8 inch 2015 | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6 | |
| WebXPRT 2015 - Overall (sort by value) | |
| Amazon Fire HD 8 inch 2015 | |
| Acer Iconia One 8 | |
| Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6 Kids Edition | |
* ... smaller is better
A 16 GB storage device is installed in Amazon's Fire HD 8 (11.6 GB gross). It can be expanded by up to 128 GB. App2SD does not work with all apps, but OTG flash drives or hard drives can be connected via USB.
The integrated flash memory is not exactly the fastest of its kind. Transferring large blocks - especially in write - is very slow. The review sample only leaves its rivals behind when writing small blocks. These drawbacks are not noticed in everyday use.
The micro-SD slot supports cards with up to 128 GB. We tested its speed with our Toshiba Exceria SD-CX32UHS1 (max. 95 MBit/s read, 60 MBit/s write). The poor performance of Amazon's Fire HD 8 also becomes apparent here. A maximum read speed of 30.76 MBit/s is reached, which is approximately only one third of the card's performance potential. The write rates are also disappointing with a poor 14.58 MBit/s.
Games
The PowerVR G6200 graphics solution integrated in the SoC is no longer the fastest of its kind, but its power is still enough for most games. Even the somewhat more demanding "Real Racing 3" always ran smoothly in the test. The available games in Amazon's store are continuously growing, and include some well-known games, such as the implementations of "Ducktales" or "Mickey Mouse: Castle of Illusion".
Emissions
Temperature
The surface temperatures of our review sample always stay within a pleasant range. An average of only 28.7 to 29.3 °C (~84 to ~85 °F) is reached during low load. The tablet's underside also only heats up to a maximum of 36.9 °C (~98 °F) under permanent load. The times of the excessively high temperatures of the Kindle Fire HD 6 are past. Thanks to the larger casing and the same SoC, it does not get as warm as Amazon's Kindle Fire HD 6 Kids Edition.
The review sample passes the stress test using the battery test of the GFXBench app, where the T-Rex test runs thirty times in succession, with flying colors. Temperature-related throttling does not occur.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 36.2 °C / 97 F, compared to the average of 33.7 °C / 93 F, ranging from 20.7 to 53.2 °C for the class Tablet.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 36.9 °C / 98 F, compared to the average of 33.2 °C / 92 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 29.3 °C / 85 F, compared to the device average of 30 °C / 86 F.
Speakers
Unlike the Kindle Fire HD 6, Amazon's Fire HD 8 is equipped with stereo speakers that are situated in the rounded lower edge in landscape mode. A hint of bass is perceptible when the tablet is placed on a table, as it expands the resounding surface. The sound is generally balanced, but the maximum volume could be higher. Nevertheless, we would recommend connecting an external one via the 3.5 mm jack for enjoying various Amazon media files. The maximum volume is also decent here, and the base noise is low.
Energy Management
Power Consumption
The power consumption in view of the relatively weak SoC is disappointingly high. Too much power is consumed even when turned off and in standby. The maximum consumption increases to 5.9 watts under load; the rivals consume more power here. A comparison with the rivals is only conditionally appropriate since we now use a new, considerably more precise multimeter, the Gossen Metrahit Energy, for the measurements.
| Off / Standby |   0.14 / 0.28 Watt |
| Idle |  1.18 / 3.34 / 3.48 Watt |
| Load |
5.83 / 5.9 Watt |
    
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Key:
min: ,
med: ,
max: Gossen Metrahit Energy | |
Battery Runtime
The battery life of Amazon's Fire HD 8 is only average; all rivals last longer. The battery lasts for almost 14 hours while idling using minimum brightness, and only 2:24 hours are reached under full load with maximum brightness. We stopped 6:28 hours in our Wi-Fi test using a brightness adapted to 150 cd/m². Acer's Iconia One 8 achieves almost twice the runtime here. Full HD video fans will have to recharge the tablet after approximately nine hours when using an adapted brightness. Approximately 8 hours are realistic in mixed use with enabled Wi-Fi and adapted brightness. However, the charging time of almost five hours in standby mode is rather too long.
A word of advice: The right-hand screenshot with the setting for the adapted brightness of 150 cd/m² is not always transferable for production-related reasons.
| Amazon Fire HD 8 inch 2015 PowerVR G6200, MT8135, 16 GB eMMC Flash | Acer Iconia One 8 HD Graphics (Bay Trail), Z3735G, 16 GB eMMC Flash | Medion Lifetab S8311 Mali-450 MP4, MT6592, 16 GB iNAND Flash | Lenovo Tab S8 HD Graphics (Bay Trail), Z3745, 16 GB eMMC Flash | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | 54% | 112% | 95% | |
| Reader / Idle | 832 | 1257 51% | 1425 71% | |
| H.264 | 541 | 795 47% | ||
| WiFi v1.3 | 388 | 742 91% | ||
| Load | 144 | 185 28% | 305 112% | 315 119% |
| WiFi | 535 | 610 |
Pros
Cons
Verdict
Amazon's Fire HD 8 still achieves "Good" in our rating. The positive aspects are its color accuracy, the IPS screen, fast dual-band Wi-Fi and decent stereo speakers. The buyer will not find an ambient light sensor or NFC. The system performance could also be higher, the same is true of the screen resolution. However, the weightiest drawback is the strong bondage to use Amazon's services and store. The mail order giant obviously wants to fuel its own media business. We deduct a point in the rating for this strong bondage by Amazon's operating system.
However, when being completely open to the Amazon Universe, the tablet is mainly used for media and the named drawbacks can be accepted, the buyer will get a device without major shortcomings. However, many interesting alternatives without the operating system restrictions exist for the purchase price of 195 Euros (~$214; without adware).
Users who are frequently on the go and do not want to dispense with a strong battery, GPS, UMTS/LTE, good cameras as well as a certain degree of flexibility should look closer at the competition.
Amazon Fire HD 8 inch 2015
- 12/10/2015 v4 (old)
Michael Moser
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