Amazon is coming out with two new versions of its affordable Fire 7 tablet
Amazon's cheapest tablet is getting some slightly better specs (and a slightly higher price tag) for 2022.
The retail giant announced the next-generation Fire 7 on May 18, promising improved performance and a longer battery life for the 7-inch Alexa-enabled device. It launches alongside a subtle refresh of the Fire 7 Kids on June 29, with preorders beginning immediately on Amazon.com.
Starting at $59.99, the standard model is available in black, a new light pink rose, and new a deep blue denim. The child-friendly version starts at $109.99 and comes with a redesigned protective case in your pick of three hues: blue, purple, and a bold new red.
Both tablets are $10 more expensive than their predecessors from 2019 and retain a largely similar design with 2MP front and rear-facing cameras. Their main upgrades are internal, including a 30 percent faster quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM — double the memory of the previous models — for a better streaming and gaming experience (maybe). The standard Fire 7 also supports a white-on-black dark mode for Kindle content; Amazon throws in a free three-month trial of Kindle Unlimited with every purchase if you want to check it out.
Geared toward ages 3 and up, the new Fire 7 Kids features a 16GB or 32GB capacity for the first time (now matching the regular model). Its updated case is slightly chunkier than the 2019 version's but just as durable, with an adjustable kickstand that doubles as a handle. Per usual, Amazon throws in a two-year worry-free guarantee and a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids+, which unlocks age-appropriate content like movies, shows, mobile games, and books. (That'll renew at $2.99 per month for Prime members after the term ends.) Parents and guardians can manage screen time, enable filters, set educational goals, and approve contacts for calls in the back end via the Amazon Parent Dashboard.
You'll get up to 10 hours of battery life per charge out of these new Fire 7 tablets, which is a three-hour increase compared to the previous iterations.
UPDATE: May. 18, 2022, 9:57 a.m. EDT A previous version of this article said the Fire 7 tablet started at $69.99, but it actually starts at $59.99. Mashable regrets the error.
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Haley Henschel is a Chicago-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable who reviews and finds deals on popular tech, from laptops to gaming consoles and VPNs. She has years of experience covering shopping holidays and can tell you what’s actually worth buying on Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day. Her work has also explored the driving forces behind digital trends within the shopping sphere, from dupes to 12-foot skeletons.
