Amazon Fire HD 10 (2021) review (2023)

Editor's note: This is the latest version of the Amazon Fire HD 10. Read our original review from June 9, 2021 below.

The 2021 version of Amazon's Fire HD 10 delivers all the performance you need for web browsing, content consumption, and smart home management. Amazon's limited selection of apps prevents it from broadly competing with general-purpose tablets.Apple iPad, but if you don't mind the limits of the Fire, you'll find the new model very satisfying.

This review covers the core feature set and capabilities of Fire HD 10, 2021 Edition. We also have separate reviews of theFire HD 10 childrene Kids Pro, oFire HD 10+, It's inFire HD 10 Productivity Suiteand Plus Productivity Bundle, all of which add features and accessories to the base model. Both may be a better option for you if you need their specialized features, but the $150 Fire HD 10 is our best overall pick of the bunch and our Editors' Choice among tablets under $200.

Deep in the Amazon ecosystem

Fire tablets have always been about consuming Amazon content. They started out as "Kindle Fire", intended for color book reading and video streaming. The search is extensive, but only a little; You can certainly play games and take part in Zoom calls on these tablets, but Amazon will take you over and over again to the videos and books it wants you to buy.

This year's Fire lineup has an impressive array of options, but essentially they're all Fire HD 10. Here's what you get with the different versions:

As with any resource and accessory pack, whether you want everything in it depends on whether it makes sense to buy one of the variant models. Kids and Kids Pro also receive an Editors' Choice endorsement from us; We think these are the best kids' tablets you can buy under $200, with sturdy cases and great parental controls. The Plus is great if you need an Alexa smart display and tablet and are willing to pay for a wireless dock. On the other hand, productivity and extra productivity are unlikely to make someone very productive; Many apps are missing from the app store, for reasons we'll discuss below. And for most applications, the Fire HD 10 Dock has the best combination of price and performance: no frills, no need.

What do you get for $150?

The Fire HD 10 is made of matte plastic and you can get it in black, blue, green or pink. It has two stereo speakers on top, a USB-C port for charging and transferring files, and a microSD memory card slot behind a small door. The battery is not removable. It measures 9.73 by 6.53 by 0.36 inches and weighs 16.4 ounces.

The base model has 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and lock screen ads. There are two mix-and-match ways to upgrade right away: pay $15 to get rid of the ads, and pay $40 for an extra 32GB of storage. Doing both only breaks the $200 barrier, but even on $200 tablets, the Fire HD 10's features are as good as you can get, and for the $150 base price, they're impressive. Just don't expect them to compare to what a fancier tablet or phone can do.

On the back of the matte plastic tablet is a 5MP camera.

Amazon describes the 10.1-inch, 1920 x 1200, 224 ppi display as "bright." This is exaggerated; it doesn't get very bright and the viewing angle is limited. The screen has quite deep colors when you look at it from the front.

Photos taken with the 5MP rear camera are poor, with washed out colors, poor dynamic range, and digital noise. But the 2MP selfie camera isn't bad, especially when compared to cameras on comparable tablets. It offers perfectly acceptable image quality for video conferencing, and it even works a bit in low light. Fire HD 10 automatically syncs your photos with Amazon Photos.

The tablet can handle Zoom very well.

The dual stereo speakers are decently loud, offering a reading of 96.3 dB across the six inches of the tablet. Music also has surround sound due to the physical separation of the two speakers, even though it's actually small; for example, when I listened to The Killers' "All The Things That I've Done", I could barely hear the top hat and organ. Whether you're listening to music, watching videos, or on a long video call, enjoy the standard 3.5mm headphone jack or Bluetooth headset compatibility, both of which deliver clear, pleasing sound.

Android pero no Android

Amazon's Fire OS 7 is based on Android 9, but Google services have largely been superseded by Amazon services. The interface has been radically simplified. Where you used to have a launcher with content types at the top (books, videos, etc.), there are now three main tabs: For You, Home, and Library. Unlike other tablets, you can't add widgets or customize the interface.

Home is the grid of apps you're used to on any Android device. The library is a stack of carousels of different types of content you've downloaded from Amazon: Kindle books, audiobooks, apps, Prime Video, Amazon Music playlists. For You is a bunch of things you've used recently, algorithmically generated, slightly annoying, followed by things Amazon would like you to buy based on what you've used before.

In the lower left corner of the interface there is a small house. Tap it and you'll get a device dashboard with all your Alexa-enabled smart home devices and Alexa routines. Hands-free use of Alexa is supported, and a switch puts the tablet into Show mode, turning it into an Alexa smart display that displays timers, lyrics, and recipes. (Of course, if all you need is a smart monitor, you can save some money by buying one.Echoshow 8.)

One of the strengths of the Fire HD 10 is its support for multiple user profiles and parental controls. You can create different profiles of adults and children. You can only assign specific content to child profiles; limit the hours they use the tablet, how much they use and what type of content they use for how long; and view web history. A subscription service, Amazon Kids+, offers a steady stream of books, comics, and videos for kids ages 3 to 12. I have more details about this in myFire HD 10 Review for Kids.

enhanced strength

Amazon powers the 2021 Fire HD 10 with Mediatek's Helio P60T, the same processor that's in the 2019 Fire HD 10. It offers approximately 50% better web browsing performance than the chip in the 2021 Fire HD 10.Fire HD 8model, according to the Basemark Web benchmark, a significant and noticeable improvement. (I have not made any comparison with thefog 7because it's too slow, it only has 1 GB of RAM and it didn't pass any of our benchmark tests).

In the PCMark Work 3.0 overall benchmark, the HD 10 scored 5,376, much better than the HD 8's 4,290. It also comes with 3GB of RAM, up from the 2GB of the Fire HD 8 and 2019 HD 10. Smoother experience when switching between apps, especially if you use productivity apps like Microsoft Office. This is the first tablet from Amazon where I have never experienced lag or stutters.

See how we test tablets

More RAM enables a new split screen feature. It's relatively easy to have two apps on the screen at the same time, something I found very useful when I got myFire HD 10 Productivityanalyze.

The P60T provides enough power to play videos and audiobooks, display Kindle books, do Alexa stuff, make Zoom calls, and run some basic games. It doesn't have a gaming GPU, but use older, casual, or low-res games and you'll be fine. The old action game Riptide GP2 stuttered on Fire HD 8, but it ran smoothly on this HD 10. Roblox is playable here, but it can be choppy.

Older action games like Riptide GP2 work fine.

Battery life is excellent, lasting for 12 hours and 48 minutes of Amazon Prime video playback over Wi-Fi. The battery charges from zero to 100% in 3.5 hours.

There's dual-band Wi-Fi on the Fire HD 10, but top speeds are limited by the chipset. On a 500 Mbps symmetric link with excellent signal strength, it had no more than 275 Mbps drop. I saw 143 Mbps on an iPad and 134 Mbps on the Fire in a location with average signal, and 44.6 Mbps on the iPad and 12 Mbps on the Fire in a location with very weak signal.

The tablet has a USB-C port and a standard headphone jack.

The application gap

Right now, Amazon's limited app store holds the most for its tablets. Amazon tablets don't have Google Play or other Google apps because Amazon is trying to position itself as a competitor to Google. That means Android developers have to submit their apps separately to the Amazon Store, and many haven't.

The Appstore is not a total zero. It has Discord, Minecraft and Roblox; Microsoft Office and various Office-like applications; and Hulu, Netflix, Paramount+, and Sling TV.

But there are no Google apps, including YouTube. Our two default test games, Alto's Odyssey and Genshin Impact, are missing, as are the benchmarking apps we use for testing. If you want to communicate via Signal or Slack, there's no app for that. If you like to watch Apple TV+, you don't have to here.

It is certainly possible to put other Android apps on this tablet. You can download APK files from APKMirror.com or transfer them from another Android phone. There are dozens of web pages on how to hack Google Play Store on Amazon tablets; they are currently not working due to a new version of Fire OS, but I'm sure they will be updated soon. But all these solutions are complicated and bad, and you shouldn't have to live with them. Especially Google Play versions are not supported and may fail with OS updates.

That's why I think of Amazon's Alexa-like tablets and media consumption devices rather than full-fledged competitors to Apple's Chromebooks or iPads. The device is powerful enough to score with the other tablets, but you have to get ahead of yourself to get apps that should be just a few taps away.

Tablet or Kindle? both are good

A 10-inch tablet is not an ideal eBook reader. If you read basic black and white books, you'll be much better served by the smoothness and lighter weight of an e-ink reader like theAmazon Kindle Paperwhite. However, the Fire 10 HD excels at displaying picture books and comics. As I mentioned in my Fire HD 8 review, an 8-inch tablet is too small for a two-page comic. On a 10-inch 1080p tablet, that spread is easy to read. Magazine pages can also be read at this size.

Amazon's Fire tablets put Audible audiobooks front and center. They also support a feature called immersive reading: while you listen to the audiobook, the text of the book is displayed in sync with the audio and highlighted so you can read it. Think of it like subtitles for an audiobook. This is especially helpful for beginning readers, language learners, and the hearing impaired.

Amazon wants you to get your media through its built-in store, but it also supports Overdrive and Comixology, as well as a number of PDF and CBR readers that work with uploaded or downloaded content. Unfortunately, Marvel Unlimited and DC Universe are among the apps missing from the app store.

An undeniable bargain for Amazon fans

The new Fire HD 10 is Amazon's best tablet thanks to its compact processor and ample RAM. Amazon tablets have a reputation for being slow, but not anymore. This tablet has the same chip as theLenovo Chromebook Duo; It's the best you get for this price.

But this is still an Amazon tablet, not a generic Android or Apple slate. The user interface is great for easy access to Amazon content, and the multiple user profiles and parental controls are great. You just have to deal with Amazon quirks like the limited app store.

The best tablet is still an iPad, if you can afford it. to6th generation iPadIt costs $329. Samsung's Galaxy Tab A7 looks better than the Fire HD 10 in every way, with a high-res 10.4-inch display and full Google Play support, but it costs $220. the $150 range are clumsy and slow. Amazon's 2021 Fire HD 10 Edition gives you by far the most power and features you'll get for under $200 and earns our Editors' Choice award.