The Fire 7 offers excellent value for the price. It runs Android and even features a 3.5mm headphone jack.
It wasn’t designed as a novelty or to compete against class-leading tablets, but it serves its own niche well enough – for instance, controlling Alexa-enabled smart home devices with it is possible.
Design
As with its predecessor, the Fire 7 features an unassuming design. Consisting of a thin slab of plastic with rounded edges and an inconspicuous front-facing camera, this tablet weighs 9.9 ounces and measures 7.11 inches tall by 4.63 inches wide by 0.38 inch thickness; half an ounce lighter and with narrower bezels than its 2019 predecessor for easy one-handed usage.
It boasts a dual-core 1.3GHz processor, 16 or 32GB of expandable storage (expandable up to 1TB via microSD cards), two 2-megapixel cameras on each end – with video calling capabilities using only 1,024 by 600 pixels, for 171ppi resolution images from its rear camera.
Amazon’s Fire OS, which is based on Android but lacks access to Google Play store (though you can sideload apps), makes for a frustrating user experience, feeling slow even with updated software installed. Furthermore, switching between applications lags considerably which makes the tablet’s low price tag all the more disappointing.
Display
No matter if you’re browsing the web or playing one of many pay-to-win tower defense/base building games that flood other tablets, the Fire 7’s touchscreen handles it effortlessly. Its responsive and accurate touch response are particularly impressive when used for browsing more detailed websites or mobile games with higher sensitivity requirements.
Display: Unfortunately, this display doesn’t match up to that of iPads and Android tablets; instead it features standard definition (1,024 by 600 pixels, 171 pixels per inch) images which may make them look blocky when seen under sunlight.
At its budget-friendly price point, the Amazon Fire 7 tablet is an ideal option if you’re searching for a simple tablet to read books and stream movies on. But don’t expect productivity apps or the latest mobile games; its version of Android can only do limited tasks; its low score on our PCMark Work 3.0 test was indicative of general performance issues; even with additional memory than last year’s model it still won’t match top Samsung or Apple tablets when it comes to performance.
Sound
The Fire 7 features a mono speaker capable of reaching decent volumes, yet music lacks energy and rhythmic integrity. Instead, films and TV programs fare much better on this device with dialogue coming through clearly when watching short episodes or films.
Like its predecessors, the Fire 7 runs Amazon’s customized version of Android. This changes how users experience Android by emphasizing Amazon services such as Carousels of apps, Prime Video content and Kindle books instead of Google Play; though manually installing Google Play store may void your warranty agreement with Amazon.
It features front and rear cameras, an FM radio for travelers and commuters, an IPS display with excellent stability at wide viewing angles, making it suitable for watching movies and playing games, although its performance might not match up as well in photo editing or graphics work. Unfortunately it’s also not the fastest device with loading times taking several seconds and sometimes abrupt transitions.
Battery life
This affordable tablet can meet basic media consumption and social networking needs for families on long car rides. Additionally, its support for Alexa hands-free makes it an excellent way to ask questions or find information similar to an Echo device.
Amazon claims this tablet has an updated processor and more memory, which make it up to 30 percent faster than its predecessor. Unfortunately, though, most applications and games still take too long to load fully; video playback remains responsive; however, response times to tapping buttons can sometimes be slow, and scrolling can become uneven or choppy.
If you’re an avid app user, consider purchasing an expensive model with better performance. The Fire 7 has 16GB of storage and features an inexpensive microSD card slot to add even more. Unfortunately, its charge time from empty is rather slow at four hours using its 5W adapter; furthermore, its wake up times from sleep mode is quite long too; making this an excellent choice for families that subscribe to Amazon Prime which provides access to many movies and TV shows at no additional charge.
Price
The Amazon Fire 7 provides some of the most impressive value in tablets we’ve tested. Depending on storage and ad configuration options, you could purchase one for as little as $60; that’s less than half what a basic new Android tablet would cost and significantly more than what Apple charges with their latest iPad at around $109.
That is especially important if you plan to watch movies and TV shows, read, or use the device for hands-free video chat with family members. Furthermore, its front and rear 2-MP cameras provide handy conferencing or selfie functionality.
The tablet’s primary drawback is its standard definition display with 1024 x 600 resolution and 171ppi density – neither are bad by any stretch, but fall far short of HD standards set by most modern mobile devices. This becomes especially apparent when watching videos such as No Time To Die which was shot in Matera Italy with many snowy and icy landscapes; some textures look grainy and blocky which breaks immersion for some viewers.
