Amazon's latest Fire HD 8 tablet is a great value for media consumption, as long as you can live without access to Google Play.

There’s no major new hardware in the 2017 edition of the Fire HD 8, but it’s still one of the only decent sub-$100/£100 tablets. It’s not worth upgrading from last year’s Fire HD 8, though.

it's hard to compare this tablet to what you could buy from Apple or Samsung. But, at $80, you can buy four HD 8s for the price of the cheapest iPad—enough for the whole family. And because of that, there are few tech bargains better than the Amazon Fire HD 8.

The Amazon Fire HD 8 2017 ticks a lot of the right boxes. It’s affordable, well built and plays back video to an exceptionally high standard. But we’ll say it again – you need Amazon Prime to fully enjoy it. It’s not that it is a complete necessity, but the prominence in the operating system of Amazon’s own apps and services means without a Prime membership it’s a frustrating user experience. This caveat aside, it’s an incredibly priced media consumption tablet that exemplifies Amazon’s dominance in the low-end market – this over makes it an attractive, interestingly unique option.

The Amazon Fire HD 8 is an affordable 8-inch media tablet with good Alexa integration and improved camera quality.

The new Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet is an excellent 8in tablet that features Alexa, the AI voice assistant that integrates with Amazon's platform. The new tablet has near-identical specifications as the sixth-generation tablet that was released in 2016.

The Fire HD 8 is perfectly usable and it’s best feature is its price, which starts at $80. There’s hardly any competition at that price, and if you’re looking for an affordable tablet for media consumption, this is it.

It now time for the Fire HD 8 model to receive the full review treatment. It is still focused towards Amazon apps and services, but it can also be used for everyday tasks too. Let’s see below how it compares to its bigger brother.

As an Amazon tablet, the easiest way to buy a new Fire HD 8 is directly from Amazon itself, though it can be found at many other retailers, both online and in-store. Like most electronics, this tablet goes on sale from time to time, so compare prices at multiple retailers before making your purchase to make sure you get the best deal.

If you want an affordable tablet for the whole family, the new Fire HD8 2017 is a solid choice – as long as you buy into Amazon’s ecosystem, of course. You get full parental controls and fast access to all of your content, including those awesome Prime services and the ever-growing Alexa assistant.

It's not got the highest spec, but if you're after a handbag or family device to reap the benefits of your Prime subscription, it'll certainly deliver.

The best all around tablet experience you can get for less than $100, the Amazon line continues to impress. While you won't have the full Google Play library to work with, you'll have more than enough content to satisfy your needs. If consumption and enjoyment are your primary mobile needs, it's hard to beat this device.

Although you cannot enjoy in Google Play store, the Amazon Fire 8 HD still delivers and it’s cheaper than most of the new generation tablets, so you should give it a go because it would be an excellent buy.

It can be a little sluggish at times, but you’re still getting a lot of tablet for your money with the Fire HD 8.