Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids (2024)

The $139.99 Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids tablet repackages the company's Fire HD 8 ($99.99) into a version suitable for children ages 3 to 7. It includes a large, protective case, a six-month subscription to Amazon Kids+, robust parental controls, and a two-year, worry-free warranty. The tablet isn’t powerful enough to run today's top games or apps, but it's a reasonable starting place for young children. Amazon Kids+ content is the heart of the tablet's experience, and while the service has lots of great stuff for kids, we wish it wasn’t an ongoing expense after the short trial ends. Ultimately, the $189.99 Fire HD 10 Kids is bigger, has a better screen, and can run more robust apps and games, making it the best Amazon tablet for most kids.

Design: It's All About the Kid-Friendly Case

Amazon makes numerous tablets for kids. The Fire Kids tablets are made for children ages 3 to 7. They come with a thick case, a no-questions-asked warranty, and a six-month trial subscription to the Amazon Kids+ service, which offers content curated for this young age group. You can pay $10 more to bump the trial to a year, and we suggest you do. After that, it costs $5.99 a month or $48 a year if you're a Prime member. For non-Prime members, it's $7.99 a month or $79 a year.

The Fire Kids tablets are available in three sizes. The Fire 7 Kids starts at $99.99 for 16GB, the Fire HD 8 Kids starts at $139.99 for 32GB, and the Fire HD 10 Kids starts at $189.99 for 32GB and a year of Amazon Kids+.

Amazon also makes tablets for older children called the Fire Kids Pro. The Kids Pro tablets cost the same as the Kids versions and offer all of the same features. The only difference between them is that the included case is a little slimmer and the Amazon Kids+ subscription surfaces content appropriate for children ages 6 to 12.

(Credit: Sarah Lord)

The Fire HD 8 Kids features the exact same hardware as the Fire HD 8. Its defining characteristic is the included case, which Amazon says is kid-proof. The colorful and bulbous case is made out of thick foam that completely envelopes the tablet. With the tablet, it measures 8.7 by 7.1 by 1.1 inches (HWD) and weighs 18.3 ounces, which is bigger and heavier than the tablet on its own (7.94 by 5.40 by 0.37 inches, 11.88 ounces). The Fire HD 10 Kids is bigger (10.5 by 8.19 by 1.06 inches, 23.61 ounces), while the Fire 7 Kids is smaller (6.4 by 7.9 by 1.1 inches, 15.1 ounces).

The cases come in Blue, Disney Pixar Cars, Disney Princess, or Grape. I reviewed the Disney Princess version, which is pictured in this review. The cases cost $32.99 if purchased on their own. The Disney Princess case is bright pink with purple accents and includes a portrait of six Disney princesses on the back, including Arielle, Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Merida, and Moana. There are cutouts on the top of the case for little fingers to access the power button, the volume rocker, the USB-C charging port, and the 3.5mm headphone jack; otherwise, the tablet is completely locked into the case. There’s a selfie camera on the right side of the screen for landscape-mode video calls, as well as a cutout for the rear camera on the upper left side of the device. 

(Credit: Sarah Lord)

The case houses a plastic hinge that you can pull out to act as either a handle or an adjustable stand. The hinge on the Disney Princess case is dark purple. It takes a bit of force to grip and move. I doubt that young kids will be able to adjust it themselves, so parents might need to lend a helping hand.  

(Credit: Sarah Lord)

The Fire HD 8 Kids tablet is not waterproof, even with its enormous case. It doesn’t feature an IP rating for dust and water, so you should make sure kids keep it away from the pool or bath. However, the two-year worry-free guarantee allows you to replace the tablet for free if it breaks with no questions asked.

The tablet's 8-inch screen has a resolution of 1,280 by 800 pixels. The Fire HD 10 Kids has a larger, sharper screen at 10 inches and 1,920 by 1,200 pixels, while the Fire 7 Kids has a smaller, lower-res screen at 7 inches and 1,024 by 600 pixels. The Fire HD 8's screen is perfectly fine for indoor use but is often obstructed by glare when used outside and under direct sunlight. 

In addition to the tablet and case, the box includes a USB-C cable and a 5W charger. 

Performance: Fine For Kids

The tablet's battery should last through a long car ride. Amazon doesn’t specify its size, but the tablet ran for 9 hours and 41 minutes when streaming HD video over Wi-Fi. The Fire HD 10 Kids lasted longer, at 10 hours and 18 minutes, while the Fire HD 7 Kids ran for 9 hours and 30 minutes. 

The tablet took 2 hours and 1 minute to fully charge from zero using a 15W wired charger. If you use the included 5W charger, which takes about 5 hours to fully recharge the tablet, you'll need to leave it charging overnight.

The Fire HD 8 Kids uses the same six-core 2.0GHz ARM processor as the Fire HD 8. The 32GB model that I received has 3GB of RAM, while the 64GB model has 4GB of memory.

The tablet works well when switching from app to app and tooling around in Amazon Kids+. Some apps stutter from time to time, and it can take a few seconds for the tablet to display the home page after pressing the power button upon waking it. It’s unlikely your child will be able to play any intense games on it, though I doubt that will be an issue for the target demographic. The tablet performs well enough when it comes to running the Amazon Kids+ content and other apps I installed, though the Fire HD 10 Kids runs noticeably quicker.

(Credit: Sarah Lord)

The Fire HD 8 Kids uses Wi-Fi 5 to connect to the internet and Bluetooth 5.2 to connect to wireless headphones and speakers. I got fast download (318Mbps) and upload speeds (22.5Mbps) when testing it with my Wi-Fi 6 router. 

Kids will have no problem accessing fast streaming speeds when watching their favorite show on the device, but they might have a hard time hearing it, as the speakers aren't very loud or impressive. They might fill a very small room, but it's best if you're directly in front of the tablet when watching any kind of content. You can connect wired or wireless headphones for better sound quality and volume. 

The Fire HD 8 Kids comes with a 5MP rear camera that doesn’t take great photos but is fine for children to take basic snaps. The camera software is easy to use—just press the camera icon to take a picture, the video camera icon to record video, and the reverse camera icon to activate the 2MP selfie camera. 

(Credit: Sarah Lord)

The pictures themselves are grainy and lack detail, but it's doubtful a child will care too much. Selfies are washed out, especially in low light, but should be good enough for any budding photographer.

(Credit: Sarah Lord)

You can set up who kids can video chat with, so you don't need to worry about them talking with anyone who isn't approved.

Software: Kids+ Is Pretty Much Mandatory

A parent is needed to initially set up the Fire HD 8 Kids tablet. You first have to select a language, connect to Wi-Fi, pick your country, sign into your Amazon account, and enable location services. You’ll eventually be prompted to set a PIN code in order to switch between parent and child profiles. Once that's complete, you’re taken to a screen where you can create individual profiles for multiple children. You can add up to four profiles for each device. In each profile, you can create an age-based content filter, set the daily screen time and tablet theme, add content to the device, manage in-app purchase requests, and more. You can even pause the device for a specific amount of time (making it unusable) and remove the pause when ready. When you’re satisfied with the profile, you hit the launch button, and the Kids software will load onto the screen. 

(Credit: Sarah Lord)

A voice tutorial shows your child how to navigate the tablet. There are three buttons at the bottom of the screen: a back arrow to take you to the previous screen, a circle to take you to the home screen, and a square for switching between or closing open apps. The bulk of the screen is filled with the apps you’ve allowed your child to download. The home screen also includes apps for a store, a browser, messages, video calls, a camera, and a web video app filled with short educational videos. 

The Amazon Kids+ section runs across the top of the screen. It includes buttons labeled For You, Apps and Games, Videos, Educational, Books, Audible, Stations, and Quests. Each button offers age-appropriate content from the Amazon Kids+ subscription. 

(Credit: Sarah Lord)

I found the content to be a good mix of educational and fun. I particularly enjoyed the Quest app, which encourages kids to read or watch informative content based on a particular theme, such as animals or space. Completing a book or video moves you on to the next level until you complete the quest. The content of the quests hits the sweet spot between education and fun in a way that can keep the attention of kids and adults alike. For example, some of the videos in the Jungle Journey quest include an episode of Ocean Mysteries about alligators, as well as another one about Hawaiian birds. There are also books about crocodiles as well as an app called the Ultimate Jungle Simulator, where you control a tiger in a jungle environment. I’m not a kid, but I still had a good time learning about the animals of the jungle using the Quest app. 

(Credit: Sarah Lord)

The only downside of the Kids experience is that it relies heavily on the Amazon Kids+ subscription. After your initial trial expires, you'll need to pay for the monthly membership to get the most out of the tablet. Without it, you're limited to the basic installed apps and whatever else you find through the Amazon Appstore, which is up to you to curate for your child.

Verdict: A Decent Starter Tablet

The Fire HD 8 Kids holds appeal with its protective case, two-year warranty, and Amazon’s Kids+ service. The tablet doesn't offer top performance, and you’ll need to eventually pay for the Kids+ subscription to get the most out of it, but it's affordable and easy for kids to carry around. That said, the larger Fire HD 10 Kids includes all the same features and has a sharper screen, faster performance, and longer battery life for just a bit more money, making it our top recommendation.