lineup of Fire tablets has settled into a familiar routine: they are available in small, medium, and large; they are priced far lower than comparable iPads; and they are mostly good for reading and watching movies or TV, with content likely supplied by Amazon itself. The company doesn’t update them as often as their competitors, sometimes going a few years between upgrades. This year, the large model, the Fire HD 10, has gotten a refresh, bringing a redesigned body, better performance, and a host of new configurations you can choose from when buying it.
Despite the update, much remains the same. The Fire HD 10 is a good, inexpensive tablet for consuming content from Amazon, including Kindle books, Prime Video movies and TV shows, and Audible audiobooks. It also has access to other popular streaming services, like Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, and HBO Max. The Kids editions are great for parents who want to limit what content their children have access to or how long they can use a screen each day. But if you’re looking for a tablet to replace your laptop or get serious work done, the Fire HD 10 is not it.
he Fire HD 10 family (yes, it’s a whole three-row SUV full of options now) now includes the $150 standard model, the $180 Fire HD 10 Plus, a $200 HD 10 Kids model, and a $200 HD 10 Kids Pro option. (Those are all the full MSRP prices; Amazon frequently discounts its products, and you should probably just wait for a sale if you’re planning to buy one.) Of these, three of them — the Fire HD 10, the Fire HD 10 Kids, and the Fire HD 10 Kids Pro — have the same hardware; the Fire HD 10 Plus adds an extra gigabyte of RAM, a soft-touch finish, and wireless charging.
The HD 10 and 10 Plus are available with either 32GB or 64GB of storage; the Kids models are only available with 32GB. All of them have support for microSD card storage expansion up to 1TB. The Fire HD 10 is available in four muted color options, while the 10 Plus only comes in black and the Kids versions come with a variety of colorful cases. Lastly, the HD 10 and 10 Plus include Amazon’s lock screen ads by default; you can pay $15 more to remove them either when you buy the tablet or after the fact.
Not only has Amazon expanded the configuration options available for the Fire HD 10, but it’s also increased the number of accessories you can opt for. The big new thing is a $50 detachable keyboard case that works with either the Fire HD 10 or 10 Plus. You can get it in a “Productivity Bundle” that includes the tablet, the keyboard case, and a year of Microsoft 365 for $220 or $250, depending on which Fire HD 10 you choose. It’s clearly Amazon’s answer to the iPad Pro and other tablets that aim to be more than just laid-back consumption devices. You can also opt for a $40 wireless charging dock made by Anker that’s specifically designed for the Fire HD 10 Plus and turns it into an Alexa smart display. And then there’s the usual suite of $40 color-matched snap-on cases that work with either model and provide protection and a vertical or horizontal kickstand.
It’s a whole lot of choices for what most would consider to be a simple, almost impulse purchase. I’ll go into more depth below, but if you are looking to buy one and want the TL;DR, my recommendation is to get the 32GB Fire HD 10 in whatever color you prefer and a separate microSD card to expand its storage.
