The white finish makes a return (it was available on the 2015 model) but this time there’s a white screen bezel to go with it which does a lot to improve the aesthetic. It still doesn’t look like a premium device and if you don’t like white you can still get it in black or the Twilight Blue and Plum hues which match the colours available on the 2019 version of the smaller Fire 7 tablet.
Fire HD 10 (2019): Price & availability
Fire HD 10 (2019): Features & design
Unlike the Fire 7, with its 7in non-HD screen, the Fire HD 10 does what it says: it has a Full HD 10in screen. It’s a perfectly good IPS screen which is bright enough, has great viewing angles and good colours.
What’s new is an octa-core processor which makes the HD 10 more responsive. The previous quad-core model wasn’t exactly a powerhouse, and it did get a bit frustrating at times to have to wait for stuff to load, even Settings screens.
The updated chip makes a small difference: the tablet does feel slightly quicker to launch apps, load web pages and Alexa responds faster. But don’t expect slick iPad-like performance: this is a budget tablet.
As before, Alexa is hands-free so you can ask her a question even if the screen is off and the tablet locked. And she can control smart home gadgets, bring up the video feed from compatible security cameras, add items to your shopping list and all other usual stuff.
Oddly there’s no support for the Show Mode Dock, so you can’t turn your tablet into an Echo Show as you could with the previous generation. Alexa still displays the same sort of graphics you get on an Echo Show, though, such as a weekly weather forecast, and you can enable Show Mode.
Most people won’t care about the dock, however, and there are other compelling updates here. One is the switch to USB-C, so you no longer have to flip the hateful microUSB cable three times before it will go into the charging port.
USB-C also brings faster charging, although you’ll need to buy a 15W charger to get a full recharge in three hours. The supplied 9W adapter increases this to four hours.
Battery life has increased by two hours to a total of 12 hours of mixed use. The previous model offered an extra two hours over its predecessor, so the latest 9th-gen Fire HD 10 lasts an impressive four hours longer than the seventh-generation.
In other areas, there are no changes: you still get a standard headphone jack and decent stereo speakers, and there’s dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Unfortunately, you also still get the same below-par 2Mp cameras on the front and rear.
Software
Most of the big names are there including Netflix, Facebook, Spotify, Messenger, Twitter and Skype, plus TikTok, Instagram, Roblox, Minecraft and Clash of Clans. But there’s no Fortnite or Call of Duty Mobile.
If you feel confident, it is possible to install the Google Play Store on a Fire tablet which opens up access to a lot of the missing stuff, but there’s no official support if you do this and run into problems.
Verdict
As ever, bear in mind the absence of Google apps and services, but so long as you’re happy to use their web versions, or jump through a few hoops to install the Google Play Store, it’s a great-val;ue choice.
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.
