Amazon’s $79.99 Android Tablet Now Includes Hands-Free Alexa

Amazon is upgrading its Fire HD 8 tablet with new features today. The company just launched the new Fire HD 8, coming in at $79.99, with support for hands-free Alexa.

Hands-free Alexa support is going to be a sweet addition to the Fire HD 8. Alexa was available on the tablet in the past, though it didn’t include hands-free activation. That meant you had to actually unlock your tablet or turn on the screen to access Alexa. With the new Fire HD 8, you can simply access with your voice even when the display is on standby.

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday — and get free copies of Paul Thurrott's Windows 11 and Windows 10 Field Guides (normally $9.99) as a special welcome gift!

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Amazon’s also improving the Show Mode on the Fire HD 8 — it no longer requires users to have the device plugged into a power connection for the Show Mode to work. Additionally, it’s launching a new $39.99 Show Mode Charging Dock where you can dock your Fire HD 8 and essentially use it as an Echo Show device.

The tablet’s technical specs aren’t changing much, though — you still get the 8-inch HD display, with a quad-core 1.3GHz processor and 1.5GB of RAM. The device promises to offer up to 10 hours of battery life, and it’s available in 16GB and 32GB models, the latter cost $109.99 whereas the former comes in at $79.99. You can get a Show Charging Dock with the new Fire HD 8 for $94.99 as a bundle, which will save you a total of $24.99.

Keep in mind that $79.99 pricing is the version of the tablet that comes with “special offers”, meaning Amazon will display ads on the device. If you don’t want any of that, you will have to pay $94.99 for the 16GB model, and $124.99 for the 32GB model.

Tagged with

Share post

Please check our Community Guidelines before commenting

Conversation 6 comments

  • Silversee

    06 September, 2018 - 12:12 pm

    <p>The only serious question is, have they finally updated the horrible screen to at least a full HD display? Edit: apparently not.</p>

    • sgbassett

      Premium Member
      06 September, 2018 - 2:06 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#317935"><em>In reply to Silversee:</em></a>The screen isn't as nice as my iPad Pro or my Surface Book (or a high-end smart phone), but it is very serviceable for reading and watching videos. At this price, I don't see the screen quality as being an impediment. </blockquote><p><br></p>

  • sgbassett

    Premium Member
    06 September, 2018 - 2:05 pm

    <p>My 2017 Fire HD 8 already has hands-free access to Alexa. If I put it in "Show Mode" and leave it that way, I can ask it questions, having it read my calendar, read an Aubible book, make phone calls, etc., without having to touch the screen to unlock it. </p><p><br></p><p>I didn't bother with a dock. Instead, I bought a cheap folding kickstand and stuck it to the back of the Fire HD 8 and keep it plugged in when in Show Mode. </p><p><br></p><p>It will be nice if I don't need to keep it plugged-in for Show Mode. That will make it much more useful to move around the house – assuming this upgrade applies to the 2017 model as well as the new one that was just announced. </p>

  • hrlngrv

    Premium Member
    06 September, 2018 - 4:08 pm

    <p>Given my wife's experiences with Kindle Fires, they'd be expensive in terms of cumulative annoyance even if Amazon gave them away for free.</p>

    • wright_is

      Premium Member
      07 September, 2018 - 6:36 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#318209">In reply to hrlngrv:</a></em></blockquote><p>Not had any problems so far, ebooks, browsing, audio books… But we've only had them about 1.5 months.</p><p>What sort of problems have you encountered?</p>

  • wright_is

    Premium Member
    07 September, 2018 - 4:22 am

    <p>I bought a Fire HD 8 "with Alexa" during the Prime Day sale for 59€. Now I'm confused, did I get an old HD 8 with Alexa or the new one? Is this news late or have Amazon replaced the old Alexa enabled HD 8 for a new one?</p>

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Thurrott © 2024 Thurrott LLC