The Amazon Fire tablets have been a staple of the technology landscape since 2011 when the original Fire Tablet debuted as a natural progression from the Kindle e-readers.
The Fire line of tablets has come a long way with revisions and updates and the 2022 edition is the 12th Generation of Amazon affordable and ultra-portable tablets.
This year’s models feature some incremental and welcome upgrades that overall give a smoother experience whether you're reading, shopping or watching videos.
As you may have gathered the 7 denotes which version of the tablet this is and primarily refers to the screen size, in this case, it's very easy to carry 7” but there are also larger 8” and 10” editions.
7” tablets are an interesting size as when tablets were first introduced this made a lot of sense as an alternative to large bulky tablets or weaker performing mobile phones.
However, phones are now equipped with larger screens and are more powerful than ever, so do the 7" tablets still have a place?
The Fire 7 comes in three colours: Black, Denim, and Rose, which does allow for some expression, although this only changes the colour of the back.
It features a very compact and familiar design at 180.68 x 117.59mm and a thickness of 9.67mm which makes it easy to hold and carry, and even slip into your pocket. It weighs just 282g which is very light.
Despite its plastic design, it feels well-built and fairly solid but I would recommend a protective case, especially to keep the screen in good condition.
It also features two fixed-focus cameras a 2 MP front- and rear-facing camera with 720p HD video recording, while basic they provide the option of video calling through zoom and Skype, which is a decent addition and handy for those who don’t really use a smartphone for video calls.
The 7 includes a 3.5mm jack which is useful if you want to save battery and use wired headphones or if this is a gift for someone who isn’t ready to use wireless devices yet, like an older parent or child.
It also sports a USB-C 2.0 port so if you already own android devices or a Switch you can use the same charging cables.
The thing that most surprised and delighted me was the inclusion of a Micro SD card slot, this means you can expand the memory capacity and easily transfer things like pictures, films and PDFs to view on the Fire, provided they are supported.
The single speaker did a decent job but it was too quiet to use when there was much background noise and I kept accidentally covering it, so I much preferred to use headphones.
The 7” screen while bright and clear although it does have some chunky bezels that do date it slightly in 2022.
I was also a little disappointed with a sub-HD resolution of 1024 x 600 which is fine for casual watching of older films, TV shows and cartoons but just won’t be enough for some users, especially if you want to watch some of the more visually striking, modern 4k and HD films.
It is also an absolute magnet for fingerprints and doesn’t have automatic brightness adjustment, so you’ll need to adjust it depending on your conditions. Fortunately, I never found this too much of a hassle.
Screen: 7in, 1024 x 600, LCD 171ppi at 60Hz
Processor: 4× ARM Cortex-A53 @ 2.0 GHz
RAM: 2GB of RAM
Storage: 16GB/32GB plus MicroSD available
Operating system: Fire OS 8
The processor is a 2GHz quad-core from MediaTek that, while not lighting fast, did a decent job of browsing the internet and using various video apps while being around 30%faster than its predecessor.
The additional gigabyte of RAM and slightly upgraded processor certainly help smooth out performance but it still isn’t exactly snappy or any kind of powerhouse.
The only time I ran into real issues was when opening some high-quality PDF comic books and occasionally while playing games like Minecraft.
Obviously, it’s not really built with gaming in mind and without access to the Google Play store your options are limited.
That being said I did play some Minecraft, and Asphalt 9: Legends and they both ran much better than I had expected them to with some choppiness occasionally but mostly solid performance.
The new OS also now supports a "Game Mode" which optimises memory and performance while hiding notifications and disabling Alexa, which is a fantastic idea and a long-overdue feature.
There are several factors which impact the price of this tablet like its storage capacity - either 16GB or 32GB which I have to admit seems a little meagre in 2022.
That being said, I used the 32 GB version, and the small storage didn’t impact me much as most of the content I viewed on it was streamed and there is always the option of additional memory via a Micro SD card.
I was also able to easily connect the device to my Bluetooth earbuds and even speakers via Built-in Bluetooth 5.0 LE, while paired easily and reliably.
Battery life is surprisingly good lasting up to 10 hours which is much improved upon the previous model's 7/6 hour life making this more useful to carry with you all day.
The downside is it takes four hours to fully charge the device with the provided 5W charger, but it can use fast chargers which dramatically reduces this charge up.
Alexa functionality is also included offering you hands-free assistance when you are on the go, it wasn't something I used too often but it was great that it worked with my Echo dot at home.
Parental controls are also included which can allow you to place restrictions on the device as well as limit screen time, which helps give some peace of mind for parents.
Amazon tablets uses Amazon's own operating system called Fire OS and the Fire 7 2022 uses the latest version Fire OS 8. This is based on Android 11 this adds in a host of new features like Dark mode, settings specific to individual apps, HEIF support and enhanced privacy settings.
It's also important to note that despite being an offshoot of the Android operating system the Google Play Store is not included and instead you use Amazon's own app store that is curated with apps that are optimised to Fire tablets. This also means your Google Play store purchases will not transfer over.
This is a significant enhancement because their devices have been running the Fire OS 7 which uses on Android 9 since 2018. This device receives guaranteed software security updates until at least four years after the device is last available for purchase
Pricing is one of the strongest features of the Fire 7 with it starting at £59.99 for the 16GB version with ads included on the lock screen, while slightly more expensive than last year's model, it's still incredibly competitive pricing when compared to other budget tablets. However, you can pick up the no-ads version for £69.99 and the 32GB version with ads for £69.99 or £79.99 without.
Verdict 4/5
The Amazon Fire 7 tablet 2022 is a fantastic option if you are after something simple, that’s very portable and easy to hold, for basic internet browsing and watching films.
For all its flaws the main advantage of the Fire 7 is its incredibly affordable price as well as Micro SD slot inclusion and its seamless integration of Amazon services, which you'll need an Amazon Prime account to get the most out of.
It makes a brilliant device for kids or those new to tablets as it's simple but effective and works great for short commutes but shouldn't be overlooked as a support device for those who primarily use their mobile or laptop to do heavy work and gaming, leaving this to be a light and useful device just for reading and watching films and TV.
The Amazon Fire 7 tablet is out now starting at £59.99 from Amazon.co.uk
