Amazon has updated its Fire HD 10 tablet with better specs, a Full HD screen, 10 hours of battery life, and hands-free Alexa experience. But it went even further and cut the original flagship tablet's $230 price tag: the all-new and improved Fire HD 10 tablet costs only $150, a whopping $80 price difference with that of the previous device.
New Amazon Fire HD 10: Features, Specs, And More
The new tablet runs on better hardware than the previous iteration. A quad-core processor powers the device, though Amazon failed to specify the exact type of SoC. Amazon dramatically bumped the battery life to 10 hours, as mentioned. The tablet has dual speakers that support Dolby Atmos, a 2-megapixel rear shooter, and a VGA selfie camera. Right off the bat, users get 32 GB of storage for the standard version, up from previous generation's 16.
For those who crave for more storage, there's a 64 GB model available. Both models also have microSD card slots for up to 256 GB of expandable storage.
New Amazon Fire HD 10: Software, Hands-Free Alexa
Similar to the Fire HD tablets of yesteryear, the new iteration runs on a custom version of Android with very Amazon-specific extras.
There's something called "For You," an app launcher that lets users swipe right to reveal their most recent app, as The Verge notes.
Users can scroll down to see "Try this next," a recommendations hub where Amazon suggests books, films, and other items they might want to purchase.
The new Fire HD 10 is the first tablet to offer hands-free Alexa experiences. Some of the company's previous tablets needed to be pressed to activate Amazon's digital voice assistant. When enabled, hands-free Alexa practically turns the tablet into an Amazon Echo device: it can toggle smart home devices on or off, play music or films, perform Alexa Skills, and much more.
New Amazon Fire HD 10: Pricing And Availability
Frankly, the new Fire HD 10 is a steal. It costs a fraction of a comparable iPad Pro model, but it does pretty much everything a dedicated media consumption device offers. It doesn't have the fancy bells and whistles of its Apple rival, such as True Tone or ProMotion, but it gets the job done.
The Amazon Fire HD 10 will launch in black, blue, and red. Users can shell out an extra $40 for to get a cover. The base model comes with ads, but they can be permanently removed for $15. It'll ship early October.
