Sections
- Page 1 Amazon Fire HD 10 (Discontinued, 2018 model) Review
- Page 2 Software and Performance Review
- Page 3 Camera, Sound, Battery Life Review
Amazon Fire HD 10 – Camera
There are many great phone cameras out there these days, but still relatively few decent tablet ones. The Amazon Fire HD 10 isn’t out to change that. Actually, Amazon shouldn’t have even bothered putting a camera on the device. If the lack of camera, at least on the back, meant an additional £10 off the price, then I’d be all for it.
The Fire HD 10 has a 2-megapixel camera on the rear, without a flash, and a VGA unit on the front. There’s no special tech at play and, predictably, photo quality is akin to a phone from a decade ago.
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The camera software is a little smarter than the hardware, however. Not only is there an HDR mode, but it will also indicate when it thinks you should use it. And it’s generally right, too, requesting it whenever light conditions become challenging.
However, using the HDR mode is very slow, making it appear like you’re taking an ultra-long exposure. Not only is it annoying, but the resulting photo won’t look right if you can’t keep your hands still.
Amazon Fire HD 10 – Battery life
The camera’s aren’t much cop, but the battery life is better. Amazon says it should last up to 10 hours from a charge – and that’s a pretty accurate estimate.
An hour of Netflix streaming over Wi-Fi consumed 11% of the battery, suggesting you’ll get over eight hours of such video streaming. I set the screen brightness to around 50%, which is enough to comfortably watch a movie indoors. This is a good result.
When the tablet does die, though, it takes some time to charge. A full charge from 0% to 100% can take around five hours, which is far longer than I’d expect from a phone.
Why buy the Amazon Fire HD 10?
If you want a cheap, durable device to play and consume Amazon’s vast array of Prime content then the Amazon Fire HD 10 will fit your needs. It isn’t revolutionary or overly interesting, but it will get the job done.
If you’re not deep inside the Prime ecosystem, or simply want a tablet that can be productive, then you should look elsewhere. There are too many compromises here, not least the complete lack of support for Google services such as YouTube and Gmail.
Verdict
A big improvement, but the Fire HD 10 isn’t for everyone.
How we test tablets
We test every tablet we review thoroughly. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly and we use the tablet as our main device over the review period. We’ll always tell you what we find and we never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Trusted Score
Score in detail
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Performance 7
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Design 5
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Battery Life 8
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Value 8
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Screen Quality 8
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
