Amazon may launch its next Fire HD 8 tablet anytime now, as the tablet just surfaced on the GFXBench database.
The company is yet to officially announce the 2016 Amazon Fire HD 8, which is a follow-up to last year's 8-inch model. Listed as model "KFGIWI" at GFXBench, the device is speculated to be the latest version of Fire HD 8, since last year's model was listed as "KFMEWI."
The existing Amazon Fire HD 8 was considered one of the best budget tablets around, and its successor should follow a similar recipe.
Notable highlights of the upcoming 2016 Amazon Fire HD 8 include an 8-inch touchscreen display with a pixel resolution of 1,280 x 800, 1.5 GB RAM, 8 GB internal storage expandable through the tablet's microSD card slot, fast quad-core MediaTek MT8163 processor clocked at 1.3 GHz, ARM Mali-T720 GPU and a 2-megapixel rear camera, which is a downgrade from last year's 5-megapixel offer.
As for a front camera, GFXBench says it's not supported. However, the data also shows a green check next to the words "camera (face)," which could mean that the upcoming tablet from Amazon would still have a selfie camera similar to its older sibling.
Users can also expect to find a number of sensors in the upcoming 2016 Amazon Fire HD 8, such as an accelerometer, gyroscope, light sensor and some connectivity features that include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Based on the data at GFXBench, the 2016 Amazon Fire HD 8 offers both upgraded and downgraded features compared to the previous model. It has a bumped up RAM by half a gig (last year's model has 1 GB RAM), a more recent Android 5.1 OS, a downgraded rear camera, and a CPU clocked at a lower maximum capacity compared to last year's 1.5 GHz CPU.
Amazon's lineup of Kindle tablets and e-readers make the perfect choice for users who are looking for a cheaper tablet alternative. Starting prices are set at $49.99 (7-inch Fire), $69.99 (6-inch Fire HD 6), $229.99 (10.1-inch Fire HD 10), and $149.99 (8-inch Fire HD 8).
If the specs of the new 2016 Amazon Fire HD 8 don't seem like an impressive upgrade (or an acceptable downgrade), hopefully the pricing will do the trick once it's announced. Until then, Amazon may just be able to dominate the low-end market by launching tablets that are designed with budget-friendly specs and features.
