Amazon Fire 7 Tablet (2022 Release) Review
Amazon has updated its entry-level Fire 7 tablet for the first time since 2019 with new hardware and software features, bumping the starting price to $59.99 in the process ($10 more than the previous model). These improvements are worth the minimal price increase, but don’t expect a tablet experience on par with an iPad or a more powerful Android slate. Of course, the 2022 edition of the Fire 7 Tablet is more affordable than most cheap tablets on the market, so that performance difference isn’t a surprise. If all you want is a cheap entry point to Amazon’s content and services, the Fire 7 Tablet, along with the pricier and bigger-screened Fire HD 8 ($89.99), are perfectly adequate starting points.
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A Small, Low-Res Screen
The first thing you notice about the Fire 7 Tablet are the thick bezels surrounding the screen. The tablet looks almost identical to its aged predecessor, which means it ignores the current market trend of adopting an edge-to-edge display. The plastic material on the back attracts fingerprints, so if you’re the type who likes a spotless device, be prepared to wipe it down often. The chunky design could look better, but it’s not the worst we’ve seen. It comes in Black, Denim, or Rose.
Amazon’s new tablet isn’t a large device at 7.11 by 4.63 by 0.38 inches (HWD) and 9.9 ounces, but it’s a little too wide to use comfortably with one hand—particularly if you have smaller hands.
Amazon Fire 7 Tablet (2022) Review
Amazon Fire 7 Tablet (2022) Review
The 7-inch display is subpar. It has a resolution of only 1,024 by 600 pixels, which is less than HD and equates to a density of just 171 pixels per inch (ppi)—the same resolution and pixel density as the 2019 model. As a consequence, it’s easy to pick out individual pixels when using the tablet. If you plan to watch movies or consume other visual content frequently, the Fire HD 8 is a slightly better choice thanks to its 8-inch, 1,280-by-800-pixel screen (189ppi). The Fire 7’s screen isn’t particularly bright, either; I found it nearly impossible to see outside under direct sunlight.
The top edge of the tablet holds a power button, a volume rocker, a USB-C port (a welcome change from the 2019 model’s micro USB port), and a 3.5mm headphone jack. A microSD memory card slot that supports cards up to 1TB is tucked into the right edge, while the left houses a single speaker. The mono speaker sounds rather weak and was wholly incapable of producing adequate bass in our test track, The Knife’s “Silent Shout.”
The tablet’s matte finish attracts fingerprints
(Photo: Dave LeClair)
Amazon offers a first-party case(Opens in a new window) ($28.99) for the tablet that’s made from an unknown rough, durable material. The front of the case has a diagonal fold that lets you prop the tablet up. Magnets keep the case open or closed. It feels high-quality, though it’s not as rugged as the case that comes with the Kids version of the tablet.
Sluggish Performance
The 2022 Fire 7 Tablet offers better (but still very modest) internal hardware compared with its predecessor. The new model features a 2.0GHz quad-core MediaTek MT8168 processor with 2GB of RAM. While this is an improvement over the old version’s 1.3GHz CPU and 1GB of RAM, the tablet feels sluggish at best. It performed poorly on benchmark tests, some of which failed entirely to run on the device.
This is a budget-friendly slate, however, so it’s reasonable to assume that most people will use it primarily for simple daily tasks. That makes the PCMark Work 3.0 test a good method to gauge performance. The Fire 7 Tablet turned in a score of 4,409 here, which is low compared with any modern smartphone, but still a bit higher than the older Fire 8 HD (4,290).
(Photo: Dave LeClair)
If you plan to use the Fire 7 Tablet to play games, think again. Most modern mobile games aren’t built to run on such limited hardware. Basic games like Color Switch (we typically test with Alto’s Odyssey, but it’s not available on the Amazon Appstore) run fine, but forget anything with 3D graphics—frame rates drop to unplayable levels. In other words, it’s good for basic games at best.
The tablet supports Bluetooth 5.0, which means you shouldn’t have any issues pairing your wireless headphones with it. A single-antenna, dual-band Wi-Fi radio handles internet connectivity. Anecdotally, the Wi-Fi performance is about what you could expect from a budget smartphone; you shouldn’t have any issues with streaming, for instance.
We tested the 32GB version of the tablet ($79.99), but the base model offers only 16GB of storage. Still, even 16GB of internal storage should be enough in light of the microSD card slot.
Pumped Up Battery Life
Amazon beefed up the battery in the new Fire 7 Tablet, which promises up to 10 hours of battery life. In our battery drain test (streaming a YouTube video over Wi-Fi with the screen at maximum brightness), the tablet managed to hang on for 9 hours and 30 minutes. That’s a massive improvement over the previous model (4 hours and 11 minutes). Companies tend to exaggerate battery life claims, so we’re happy the Fire 7 Tablet gets close to the manufacturer’s estimate.
(Photo: Dave LeClair)
The charging experience isn’t as impressive. The included 5W charger is quite slow, and Amazon says it takes four hours to fully charge the device. In our tests, charging took slightly longer (4 hours and 11 minutes). There’s no such thing as quick charging with this tablet. After charging the device for 15 minutes, it reached only a 9% battery level.
You Can Take Photos (But You Probably Shouldn’t)
The 2MP cameras on the front and back of the tablet can both record 720p video. However, unless you happen to be somewhere without your smartphone, we don’t recommend relying on the Fire 7 for capturing anything important.
(Photo: Dave LeClair)
If everything is perfect and you have a moderate amount of daylight, you can probably capture a passable image. In most other situations, however, you likely won’t get a good photo. For example, in low-light environments images show a significant amount of noise.
(Photo: Dave LeClair)
The cameras are convenient if you ever need to jump on a quick video chat or scan a document, but that’s about it. Zoom video chats looked clean and were audible. However, we can’t stress enough that you shouldn’t rely on the Fire 7 Tablet to take pictures of anything important.
Fire OS Upgrades to Android 11
Amazon’s Fire OS is likely the most divisive aspect of this tablet (and all other Fire tablets). The platform is based on Google’s Android, but Amazon’s user interface is significantly different from what most Android users are accustomed to. For starters, it ditches the bountiful Google Play Store for the much-less-popular Amazon Appstore (though you can always sideload apps). This puts it at a disadvantage compared with other Android tablets and iPads, which benefit from access to far more apps via their dedicated app stores. Case in point: The Fire 7 can’t download the basic YouTube app from the Amazon Appstore, let alone the benchmarking apps we use for testing.
Two screenshots of Fire OS 8
Beyond the app limitations, Fire OS 8 at least benefits from an update to Android 11 (Fire OS 7 ran on top of Android 9). New features include a dark mode, the ability to access device location in the background, and other smaller, less-noticeable tweaks. For example, Amazon has added some one-time permissions and foreground services for accessing the camera and microphone.
In case it isn’t clear, the main goal of Fire OS is to promote Amazon’s services—Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Music, and the like. The low price of the hardware is a small price for Amazon to subsidize if it means more Prime subscribers in the long run. If you already subscribe to Amazon Prime, you won’t miss a beat with the tablet, which will automatically sync your favorite movies, TV shows, and playlists. If you’re not an Amazon Prime subscriber, a more traditional Android tablet is potentially a better option.
Some users might find Fire OS a little easier to use than stock Android, because it guides you through what it can and can’t do. That makes Amazon’s tablets attractive to those who aren’t tech-savvy or don’t want to spend a lot on an iPad.
Finally, it’s worth noting that the base version of the 16GB and 32GB models of the Fire 7 include ads on the lock screen. You can pay an extra $15 for either model for an ad-free experience. Our test device didn’t have any ads, so we can’t comment on the ad experience.
Should You Buy the Fire 7 Tablet (2022)?
If you’re looking for an affordable tablet that showcases all things Amazon, the new Fire 7 Tablet is a decent option at just $60. The slight performance improvement and significantly boosted battery life justify its slightly higher cost than the previous model. Whichever storage or ad configuration you choose, it’s difficult to beat the price. You do have to go into the experience, however, knowing that it will work best with an Amazon Prime Subscription ($139 per year).
If you’re not invested in Amazon’s ecosystem and don’t want to pay for a Prime subscription, but still want an Android tablet at a rock-bottom price, look at something like the 8-inch onn. Tablet(Opens in a new window) ($83); we haven’t reviewed the latest model yet, but we liked the 2019 version.
Amazon Fire 7 Tablet (2022 Release)
3.5
(Opens in a new window)
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$59.99
at Amazon
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MSRP $59.99
Pros
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Cons
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The Bottom Line
The $60 Fire 7 Tablet holds appeal if you want access to Amazon’s content ecosystem on the cheap, but you should keep your expectations in check.
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