Amazon Announces New Upgraded Fire HD 8 with Alexa Hands

Amazon has unveiled next generation Fire HD 8 tablets with always-ready Alexa access. The Kids Edition will begin shipping October 4. The Show Mode Dock itself is $40, so you’re saving quite a bit of cash.

The 16GB version will set you back $79.99, while the 32GB is $109.99, both with Special Offers (aka, ads). If you want the dock as well, then it’ll cost you £110. It shows the time, news, hints and tips on how to use Alexa, and adds visual aids to various Alexa queries, such as timers and questions about the weather.

Amazon has gradually been adding Alexa to its excellent tablets, but now it’s going all in, with the All-New Amazon Fire HD 8. This can do the usual tablet type duties we know and like, but also transform into a voice controlled, graphically rich Echo Show. For those in the USA, you can already buy it for $39.99.

This tablet will be available starting at approximately $80 Dollars in Black, Marine Blue, Punch Red, and Canary Yellow.

There’s no waiting for the kids’ version of the new tablet.

You can pre-order this bundle now and you’ll get the device when it’s shipped on October 4.

Pricing remains the same as a year ago, so it costs £129.99 / US$129.99 from Amazon.

The Fire HD 8 Kids Edition also gets kid-friendly Audible books in FreeTime Unlimited and boasts a new FreeTime design.

Even Better with Prime Fire tablet customers that are Prime members have access to millions of movies, TV episodes, songs, books, and much more included as part of their member benefits. Amazon has also provided an HD front-facing camera sensor to enable video chatting. The new one has a more sensible 1280×720 resolution. This brings an experience similar to what was initially arrived on the Amazon Echo Show and Echo Spot. They must use Amazon’s Apps & Games Services SDKs. The base price for a Fire HD 8 – available in Black, Marine Blue, Punch Red and Canary Yellow – is $79.99. You don’t actually need the Show Mode Dock: it’s really for convenience. You’ll also be able to view screen time statistics and restrict non-educational content until they’ve met their learning goals for the day. This is a dock that will automatically switch your tablet into Show Mode for a more immersive Alexa experience and charges the device as well.

The Fire HD 8 also comes with Show Mode and a Show Mode Charging Dock which essentially turns it into an Echo Show in everything but speaker quality (though there is Dolby Atmos here) and a mic array for voice command pick-up.