Almost two years later an all-new Fire 7 arrived still at the same price. However, while there are some new aspects – and Alexa is baked into the software now – it’s not “all new” at all. But it is still great value. NOTE: There’s now an updated version of the Fire 7. You can read our review of the 2019 edition here. A software update which arrived in early 2018 added a hands-free mode so you can use Alexa without having to press and hold the home button on the Fire 7. If you’d rather not be subjected to ads every time you turn it on you can choose to pay an extra £10 when ordering. You can also upgrade from 8GB of internal storage to 16GB for £10 (that’s well worth doing) but don’t forget you can also add storage by inserting a microSD card – up to 256GB is supported. There’s a choice of four colours, three of which are new: Marine Blue, Punch Red and Canary Yellow, and they’re all the same price. If you own an original Fire 7in tablet there’s no good reason to upgrade, but if you do for some reason then know that any cases you have won’t fit the new tablet. It also gets you 16GB of internal storage, a protective bumper case in pink, blue or yellow and a year’s subscription to Fire for Kids Unlimited. That includes loads of films TV shows, music, games, apps and books suitable for 3-12 year olds. Confused about which one to buy? We explain separately how the three Fire tablets differ. It may look identical, but the Fire 7 does have a subtly different design to its predecessor. It’s marginally taller and thinner, has a slightly redesigned microSD slot cover and on the top edge the volume buttons and headphone jack positions have been swapped. The camera lens also looks a little different and there’s no longer a seam around the perimeter of the tablet like the old version. None of this matters one jot, of course, but it does prove that this isn’t just the original 7in Fire in new colours. The bad news is that the internal hardware hasn’t changed. There’s still the underpowered 1.3GHz quad-core processor and woeful cameras. Plus, the screen still has the same low-resolution 1024×600-pixel screen.
Alexa
A big new software feature which, incidentally, will be added to older Fire tablets via a software update, is Alexa. On the Fire 7, Alexa has all the same capabilities but you can’t say “Alexa, turn on the lights” because the tablet isn’t always listening for the wake word. Instead, you have to long-press on the on-screen ‘O’ button that doubles as a home button after unlocking the tablet before you can speak. On our review tablet, the language was set to US English and we had to change that in the main Settings app before Alexa would speak in a UK English voice. There’s no option to change the language within the Alexa app itself, which is strange as you can do this if you select an Echo device instead of the Fire tablet. She’ll tell you what’s on your calendar, give you your flash briefing, a weather forecast and report on certain sports.
Performance
As the processor and RAM remain the same, there’s really no difference in performance compared with the original 7in Fire tablet. Ultimately, it’s best described as adequate. If you’re used to the performance of a flagship phone or tablet, you’ll notice the extra wait to launch apps and web pages, and a slight sluggishness when navigating around FireOS, typing and changing settings. The touchscreen is nice and responsive, and thanks to the fact it’s an IPS panel, viewing angles are decent. It’s not the brightest screen around, nor the best for colours. But many of these tablets are bought for kids, and we’ve never heard a single complaint about performance or screen quality from any of our testers under 10. And expect it to take around five or six hours to fully charge from empty using the included charger.
Software
Where’s all the Google?
However, it’s crucial to understand that there are no Google apps, nor the Google Play store. If you’re determined, it’s possible to ‘side load’ many Android apps, but it’s not easy to get Google apps. However, although Google has now blocked access to the YouTube app on Fire devices, it’s still possible to get it on the Fire tablets. If it does get blocked, you can watch – inconveniently – via a web browser. If Google apps and services are essential, then buy an Android tablet. Even if you buy the normal version rather than the Kids Edition, you still get the excellent parental controls via the Fire for Kids app and the ability to create multiple user profiles. Jim has been testing and reviewing products for over 20 years. His main beats include VPN services and antivirus. He also covers smart home tech, mesh Wi-Fi and electric bikes.
