If there’s anything we’ve learned from the events of the past several years, it’s that creativity and productivity can happen anywhere. No longer must makers, creators, and dreamers be tethered to an office or a kitchen table to do their best work.
And just as people shouldn’t be held back by where they work, they also shouldn’t be limited by their tools. Laptops have become essential to getting work done today, so whatever you do, you need a laptop that can keep up with you – and maybe even inspire you.
Acer is no stranger to making high-quality, powerful, affordable laptops, and the company’s updated Swift lineup continues that trend by offering the latest-generation, performance-ready Intel or AMD processors, beautiful displays, and a premium design at a price to fit any budget.
Made for makers
Unleash a Swift notebook on even the most demanding projects. With extreme performance condensed within a thin and light metal chassis, creation becomes portable and so do you.
Acer has built several innovative cooling features into the Swift lineup to ensure it can handle even the most intense creative session. There’s also plenty of ports to connect all the essential accessories and great FHD screens designed to deliver the most accurate colors.
And Acer’s OceanGlass trackpad – available on the latest Swift 5 – is great for the environment, helping to preserve the planet for the next generation of makers.
(Image credit: Acer)
Exceptional performance anywhere
Creating on the go also means freedom from battery anxiety: no constant worrying where the next outlet is. Thankfully, the Swift series provides up to 16 hours of battery life inside an ultra-lightweight design without having to compromise the screen size or ports.
Plus, the Swift series is backed by either powerful Intel® Core™ processors and Iris Xe graphics or AMD Ryzen™ processors and NVIDIA® graphics, with plenty of RAM and storage to give creators all the tools they need.
Equipped for entertainment
When the hard work is done and it’s time to relax, the ultrasharp, colorful screens on the Swift lineup make it perfectly suited for kicking back with a good movie.
When the work starts up again, Swift laptops are capable of high-quality imagery even in low-light conditions. They’re designed with impressive screen-to-body ratio options and powerful color technology, and thanks to options like Acer PurifiedVoice with AI Noise Reduction, video calling and sound have never been so good.
(Image credit: Acer)
It takes a lot of hard work to create the art and technology that drive society, and those who make it shouldn’t be held back by inferior tools. Acer’s Swift laptops are perfectly designed to provide makers with the power, performance, and portability they need to create their best work wherever they are.
Great tools shouldn’t come at a high price either. Acer has a range of Swift laptops, including these three that are perfect for any budget:
The Swift 3 packs heavyweight performance in a lightweight shell.
The Swift 5 delivers power and award-winning thermal design in a premium package.
The Swift X is built to handle the most demanding tasks.
The new Amazon Kindle Scribe is a massive shake-up for the retail giant's line of ereaders, bringing the biggest screen and most storage we've ever seen for a Kindle, plus, for the first time, a stylus for note-taking.
Interested fans, though, may be put off by the ereader's hefty $339 / £329 starting price, which goes up even higher if you want more storage or the Premium Pen with more note-taking features.
When the Amazon Kindle Scribe was first announced, its release date wasn't actually mentioned, but shortly after the launch event, Amazon confirmed the availability window via the ereader's official store listing. And there's some bad news for people looking for a cheaper device.
The Kindle Scribe is officially going on sale on November 30, over two months after its announcement. But in those two months, two massive deals opportunities are happening, which means the new Amazon ereader won't be available at a discount at either of them.
A big two months for sales
On October 11 and 12, the second Prime Day sales event of the year, which we're calling Prime Day 2, is taking place. It remains to be seen how big this is for third-party manufacturers, but it's almost certain that Amazon will discount its own products by quite a bit - in fact, early sales are already doing just that.
But the biggest sales event of the year is after that - Black Friday deals are a popular way to pick up pre-Christmas gadgets for less, but this year, that Friday is on November 25. Even Cyber Monday, which used to be the tech-gadget sales event before Black Friday took that mantle, is on November 28.
Amazon's choice of this date likely isn't a coincidence, as it wouldn't launch a new tech product when everyone was spending their money on other gadgets - particularly if it wouldn't go on sale at a discount from its RRP.
Instead, the Kindle Scribe is likely being launched as a holiday product, so people can buy it as a gift or pick one up to prepare for the holiday break.
When the device goes on sale, or nears release, we'll test out the gadget to see where it ranks on our list of the best Kindles. But if you're really keen, you can already pre-order the thing to ensure you get it straight away.
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A big-screen E Ink device equally at home with documents and books released by Amazon in the depths of an economic downturn, and it's not the Kindle Scribe that Amazon unveiled on Wednesday during a massive smart product rollout.
This was the Amazon Kindle DX, a 9.7-inch E Ink reader released in 2009. It wasn't as svelte, light or bright as the 300ppi backlit Kindle Scribe. There wasn't even a touch screen, rather it had a physical keyboard and nav buttons. The Kindle DX was thought to be the future of Amazon's E Ink book business, especially for textbooks.
The device's big screen and ability to hold thousands of books would mean the end of students struggling under the weight of overstuffed backpacks filled with gargantuan and expensive textbooks. The Kindle DX cost almost $500, but most expected typical college and school textbooks to be half as expensive through Amazon's online bookstores.
After a single update in 2010, the Kindle DX died a fast and unremarkable death. I've never been sure why but came to believe that the majority of Kindle e-reader users read novels on them while on vacation and have no interest or need for a tablet-sized device that offers only a black and white screen and can't even play video.
The release of Apple's iPad in 2010 essentially sealed the DX's fate
By that measure, the new Kindle Scribe could be the same kind of misfire. However, despite the economic similarities, 2022 is not 2009 and the Kindle Scribe is far more technically accomplished than the DX.
The biggest innovation, at least for Amazon, is the Kindle Scribe's stylus, included in the $339 price. First, it's comforting to see that Amazon didn't follow the DX pricing model: go expensive or go home. Second, bundling the stylus, which is probably more intelligent than a simple piece of plastic, is a bit of genius. It's what makes the Kindle Scribe cool, desirable, and, aside from obvious design differences, quite different than Amazon's last big-screen E Ink tablet attempt.
Even here, though, Amazon is treading in familiar territory, though not necessarily its own.
In 2017, I tested the first ReMarkable tablet, a 10.1-inch, 350-gram E Ink and stylus-supporting tablet. It boasted 226ppi with a look and feel that was as close to a piece of paper as you could get without being made from pulp. ReMarkable worked closely with E Ink to create a version of electronic paper that offered 100 millisecond response time, making it feel as if the E Ink that appeared on the page was flowing out of the ReMarkable stylus. That stylus, by the way, needed no batteries, drawing energy from the screen via inductive charge. The follow-up ReMarkable 2 tablet is even lighter and thinner (4.7mm).
The similarities between the Kindle Scribe and ReMarkable 2 are not, well, remarkable, as they are a reflection of how far E Ink display, processing, materials, and stylus technology have progressed in 13 years since Amazon unveiled the Kindle DX. That ReMarkable got there first is a credit to them, but also now a concern.
Amazon's had 15 years to perfect its e-reader business, with a range of products that start as low as $99 (often on sale for $69) and cost as must as the $249 Kindle Oasis. The 10.2-inch Kindle Scribe is more affordable than the original DX , though not as cheap as the $279 ReMarkable 2. It extends the Kindle's utility into a space once owned by ReMarkable.
Amazon now has the wherewithal to let this pricier and mainly niche e-reader percolate and grow in market share, while the scrappy startup ReMarkable will need some splashy innovation. It needs to remind consumers it was here first (as if that matters) to survive.
What's odd is that my excitement over the Kindle Scribe is almost entirely based on my ReMarkable 1 experiences. It's fun to draw with a stylus on E Ink. It can look and feel just like paper. ReMarkable was always smart enough to leverage the processing power behind the paper-like screen for more utility.
The arc of technology often goes up but also bends back in time to long-forgotten failures to make something fresh and new. It's fun to look at and try the new thing, but always worth remembering how we and everyone else got here.
With the holiday shopping season fast approaching, we've seen big product launch events from the likes of Apple, Samsung, and plenty others. Amazon announced a slew of products covering a wide range of product categories throughout the home. Unlike the others, Amazon didn't open this event to the public, but we were invited to watch the announcement and check out details on all of the new products.
Amazon launched a few entirely new devices, starting with a long-requested Kindle you can write upon! The Kindle Scribe is a huge reading tablet that also includes a stylus for note taking. The Halo family of health-conscious gadgets got a bedside clock, the Halo Rise. The budget-friendly Amazon Fire TV brand of television sets took a step toward the upper echelons with a set that uses quantum dot QLED tech.
A number of existing Amazon products got a yearly refresh, including new Echo Dots, with some new kid-friendly characters, as well as a new Echo Auto contraption. There is an upgraded Fire TV Cube that comes with a spanking new Amazon Alexa remote control. Ring and Blink home security gear also got some fresh new kit additions.
Finally, some of Amazon's existing products can do new things. The Amazon Astro robot, with its massive waiting list of buyers, can now detect pets and other objects around the house. The Echo Studio speaker sounds better with a new upgrade, and the Echo Show 15 can display new content.
What's all new?
Kindle Scribe
Halo Rise
Fire TV Omni QLED
What's a new version?
Echo Dot (5th Gen)
Echo Auto (2nd Gen)
Fire TV Cube (3rd Gen) and Alexa Voice Remote Pro
Ring Spotlight Cam Pro and Alarm Panic Button
What does new things?
Astro can detect pets and call the cops
Echo devices extend your Wi-Fi network
Echo Show 15 gets Fire TV
(Image credit: Amazon)
Kindle Scribe - Finally a pen for our Kindle
Amazon has finally given us a Kindle you can write on. The Kindle Scribe comes with its own stylus and lets you draw and take notes directly on the screen. You can annotate books directly, or write freestyle journal entries. The Scribe will let you write on PDF documents as well, and Amazon says it will add support for Microsoft Word in the future.
Like the S Pen used on the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (and the old Galaxy Note phones), the Kindle Scribe does not need to charge its stylus. The pen is included with the device, but an advanced pen with eraser and highlighting features will be available separately.
The Kindle Scribe is a huge e-reader, with a 10.2-inch display, making it by far the largest Kindle you can buy and closer to an iPad in size. It will use a 300dpi e-ink screen, making it just as sharp as other Kindle readers.
The Scribe will be expensive, starting at £339.99 / $339.99 for a 16GB model and going up for 32GB or 64GB of storage. That price gets you four months of Kindle Unlimited books.
In the realm of sleep-tracking, we’ve seen some recent advancements but nothing like the Halo Rise, part of Amazon’s Halo family of fitness devices. The Halo Rise uses sensors that detect your body position while you sleep to monitor your breathing and respiration movements.
The device’s main feature is a large light that will help wake you up at the time Halo deems most appropriate, based on your sleep patterns. There is a digital clock at the center of the LEDs, in addition to a small alarm speaker.
Halo Rise will be mostly automated. It will detect when you lie down so you don’t need to tell it you started sleeping. It can detect when you get up and start a number of Alexa-based routines to help you start your day.
The new bedside clock and light will cost $139.99 (regional prices TBA) and will come with six months of Amazon’s Halo health and fitness services. Presumably the light will still work if you don’t keep paying for service.
Fire TV Omni QLED - A step closer to the cutting edge
Amazon Fire television sets have never been known for cutting edge picture quality and technology. They’ve been a bargain TV with full access to Amazon’s suite of Prime and Alexa services. Focused on Quantum Dot technology, the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED series gives you the color sharpness of QLED with other advanced features like full-array local dimming.
Amazon’s new TVs also support Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive, which, along with the local dimming, should improve black levels and contrast on the set, healing one of our biggest complaints about previous Amazon Fire TV Omni sets.
The Omni Fire TV QLED series comes in two sizes. You can preorder today the 65-inch for $799 or the 75-inch for $1099 (regional prices and availability TBA).
Echo Dot with a clock - Don’t skip the purple dinosaur
Amazon has improved the sound quality on its latest fifth generation of Echo Dot, which the company says will distort 50% less (whatever that means), and will deliver twice the bass (now we’re talking). There is a plain flavor of Dot and new Echo Dot with Clock that uses a dot matrix display that can side-scroll information, including track info about whatever music you’re hearing.
What’s most important are the new Echo Dot 5th Gen Kids Edition speakers, which feature a purple dragon character or a somewhat adorable owl. If you’d rather your kids speak to cartoons than Alexa, Amazon has you covered, as well as your Echo Dots.
(Image credit: Amazon)
In addition to the Echo Dot, Echo Studio owners will find their devices sound a bit better thanks to upgrades Amazon has made to the speaker’s spatial audio processing. Amazon says everything will sound “closer to the listener,” with improved sound quality across the board.
The Echo Dot will cost $49.99 / £54.99, while the Echo Dot with Clock or Echo Dot Kids will cost $59.99 / £64.99.
The Echo Auto device is getting an update with an entirely new look and a new adhesive mount so you can stick it wherever you want Alexa to live in your car. The Echo Auto has five microphones to eliminate all of the ambient noise a car ride creates.
You can set up Echo Auto to control your music and make calls, and you can yell for roadside assistance if you need. Amazon will send someone to change a tire or fill your car with gas if you manage to strand yourself, in addition to other services.
We’re not sure when the new device will be available, but the updated Echo Auto 2 will cost $55 when it’s launched. The roadside assistance does not require a subscription, you simply pay for services as you demand them.
(Image credit: Amazon)
Fire TV Cube and Alexa Voice Remote Pro – Talk to things and they talk back
The Fire TV Cube (3rd generation) gets serious about performance, especially if you’re streaming content in the highest resolution possible. It adds support for Wi-Fi 6E and an Ethernet port so you can connect to faster home networks, giving you the bandwidth you need.
There’s also a new HDMI input, and when you plug a device into the Fire TV Cube it will let you use Alexa voice commands to control whatever you’ve connected. You can control a cable box or a video game console this way.
The new Alexa Voice Remote Pro comes with a built in speaker, and you can locate it by calling out “Alexa, find my remote,” or by using the Fire TV app. The remote speaker will ring so you can find it.
The Fire TV Cube and the Alexa Voice Remote Pro are available for pre-order today. The Cube is $139.99 and the Remote Pro is $34.99.
Ring Spotlight Cam and Ring Alarm Panic Button – Radar for the home
Ring has stepped up its light-augmented security camera offerings with a new Ring Spotlight Cam Pro and a mid-range Spotlight Cam Plus. The new Pro model adds RADAR capabilities to the home security lineup, in addition to the standard motion sensor and very loud siren. Using radar tracking, the Spotlight Cam Pro can work with your other RIng devices to map an intruder’s path across your property.
The Ring Spotlight Cam Plus doesn’t upgrade the feature set of the original Spotlight Cam, but it does package everything in a much nicer bundle. The sleek new light still features two-way talk, color night vision, and other Ring Spotlight features.
Both the Spotlight Cam Plus and Cam Pro are available with a variety of power options, including a solar kit. The Spotlight Cam Pro costs $229.99 / £199.99 for the battery or plug-in version, and $249.99 (UK pricing to come later) for the solar kit. The Spotlight Cam Plus will start at $199.99 / £179.99 for the battery or plug-in.
If you want to set off every alarm in your house, the Ring Alarm Panic Button (2nd Gen) will show intruders just how many security devices you own. For $29.99 / £29.99 you can install a Panic Button that will also call your emergency contacts and even request emergency assistance from first responders.
Astro – Understanding your home and its inhabitants
It may be hard to get your hands on an Amazon Astro robot, but Amazon is plugging ahead with upgrades that make the little thing more useful as a security device and a home companion. The robot can now recognize doors and windows and can check whether they are open or closed. For businesses, it can investigate an incident while a professional monitors its camera, then call the authorities if needed.
At home, Astro can now recognize pets. It won’t take your dog for a walk or shoot a laser pointer for your cat to chase, but it will take short videos of your pets and send them to you. If it's cute, you can do nothing, but if it’s destructive you can call the authorities, if needed.
Amazon is constantly updating Astro, and it is learning how to recognize your furniture, and also how to check the level of your pet’s food. The Astro robot costs $999.99, though Amazon will eventually jack the price up to $1499.99. Astro is available by invitation only.
(Image credit: Amazon)
Eero in Echo – Your Echo devices form a net
Amazon owns Eero, a company that makes Wi-Fi extender and Wi-Fi mesh devices. Now it is bringing some of those features to its Echo speakers, both new and old. The new Echo Dot (5th Gen), the current Amazon Echo (2020) and the previous Echo Dot (2020) can now work together to boost the Wi-Fi signal around your house.
This is an exciting new feature, and a great way to take advantage of the Wi-Fi capabilities already on board the Echo Dot. We love Wi-Fi mesh networking as a way to boost signal, and we know that Echo Dot devices often see a price cut for Prime Day, making this a great target for bargain tech shopping.
(Image credit: Amazon)
Fire TV on Echo Show 15 – An old school kitchen TV
The Echo Show 15 is a nice smart display to have in the kitchen or around the house. It could already play Amazon Prime video, and Amazon says this was a very popular way to use the device. Now owners will be able to use the full suite of Fire TV features, including an expanded list of streaming channels, on the Echo Show 15, making it much more like the small, old school TV we used to gather around for dinner time in the days of sitcoms and network TV.
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At the September Amazon launch event, the retail and home tech giant unveiled a major new addition to its Amazon Kindle family of ereaders, in what looks like the biggest shake-up of the line since the Kindle Keyboard.
The Amazon Kindle Scribe is the first model in a new family of ereader, joining the standard Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Oasis. It’s Amazon's most premium Kindle yet, and brings a notable upgrade in screen size and storage space over the existing models – and it also introduces a brand-new feature to the range in the form of a stylus.
The Kindle Scribe has a large (for a Kindle) 10.2-inch display, a panel which dwarfs the 7-inch screen of the Kindle Oasis, the previous Kindle heavyweight in this regard. It’s a 300 pixel-per-inch display, matching the resolution of its siblings.
Because of this large screen, this is also the biggest Kindle we’ve seen in a while. Like the Oasis, it has a large bezel on one side, so you can easily hold it, but there’s no prominent ridge as on the Oasis.
The stylus can be used for annotating documents, as well as for note-taking, sketching, and drawing in other apps. Amazon talked about being able to send documents to your Kindle from your phone, and, from 2023, from Microsoft Word, which suggests the device has better connectivity than older Kindles.
At the launch event Amazon said the device was designed for note-taking and journaling, with the stylus designed to feel like a real pen in use. It doesn't have a battery, so doesn't need to be charged, which gives it a big advantage over the Apple Pencil and similar tablet slates.
This isn’t the first ereader we’ve ever seen with a stylus – models from brands like Onyx and Kobo also offer them – but this is the first Amazon Kindle with such an accessory.
Beyond that, the Kindle Scribe comes with either 16GB, 32GB or 64GB storage, matching options offered by the Paperwhite, but without a 8GB option, and adding a high-storage version that's new for Kindle, marking yet another surprising upgrade.
The device will cost $339.99 in the US, which also gets you Kindle Unlimited bundled for four months, and the pen is included in the price rather than having to be purchased separately. We're waiting to hear about prices and availability elsewhere, and we'll update this article when we get that information.
This is a major shake-up to the Kindle line and to Amazon's ereader strategy, and we’re keen to test the new ereader, so look out for our hands-on and then full, in-depth reviews. We're interested to see whether the Scribe is the Kindle reinvention it promises to be, and whether it makes it into our line-up of the best ereaders.
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Our ranking of the best Amazon Kindles is going to get a massive shake-up soon, according to a leaker - there's an Amazon product launch happening in a few hours, and a leaker says a brand-new family of Kindle is launching at it.
This leaker, called SnoopyTech, has named the Amazon Kindle Scribe, and has provided some information about this surprise ereader, with imagery included. As with all leaks, take this with a pinch of salt, but the leaker has proven fairly reliable.
Amazon Kindle Scribe, the first Kindle with Pen10,2 Inch display with 300 ppi pic.twitter.com/PDsdb7Mi7QSeptember 28, 2022
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As you can see, this Kindle is said to come with a stylus, which you'd be able to use for note-taking and perhaps drawing and sketching too. Lots of entries in our list of the best ereaders have styli like this, but it'd be Amazon's first such device.
The leak continues to say that the tablet would have a 10.2-inch screen, which is significantly bigger than other Kindles. The Kindle Oasis, the largest right now, has a 7-inch screen, but an extra 3 inches would be useful for the aforementioned notation.
Apparently, the tablet will also come with 16GB or 32GB of storage - Amazon used to always offer either 8GB or 16GB for its Kindles, but recently, it's begun adopting 32GB more, likely realizing that more storage is useful for audio books, comic books and magazines.
For the past few years, we haven't seen a new family of Kindle, and have instead purely seen newer generations in the existing lines: the standard, Paperwhite and Oasis. So the launch of the Scribe is fairly huge news, especially with its big feature.
There's a lot that the leak doesn't say about the new Kindle Scribe: details like the price, whether the stylus is included, what the battery life is like and whether there are any new screen features, will hopefully be announced on-stage at the event.
Previous Amazon launches have featured lots of new devices across the company's many ranges, including Fire, Ring, Echo and more. The event starts very soon, with the kick-off at 9am PT / 12pm ET / 5pm BST, which is 2am AEST, and we've started an Amazon Launch live blog that you can follow for all the latest.
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It makes sense that the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 would get a budget 'FE' successor later in the year – it would follow tradition, after all – but the total lack of leaks about it made us completely forget about any prospect of a new cheap tablet from Samsung. However, a new leak does pique our interest for one big reason.
The upcoming (and as yet undiscussed by leaks) tablet has been spotted in a benchmarking database, as noticed by Dutch site GalaxyClub.
This listing hints toward the processing power of the tablet, showing a mid-range multi-core score, though pre-release tests like this can vary from the final product as engineers tweak the device. There's also 4GB of RAM, apparently. However that interesting tidbit that we referred to is also listed here: apparently, the tablet will run Android 13.
Other than in beta form, Android 13 isn't available on any tablets yet, though it's expected to roll out soon. And if this Galaxy Tab S8 FE information is correct, and if the tablet does roll out reasonably soon, it could well be the first tablet to come with the software built-in (or even be compatible with it at all).
Samsung's FE tablets are generally fine mid-rangers that offer reasonable value for money, but rarely impress in any serious way. However if the above is true, the Galaxy Tab S8 FE could be a contender for our 'best tablet' medal, for one exciting reason.
Analysis: Android 13 and its effect on tablets
Android 13, which was officially announced earlier in the year, sounds like it could be a revolution for Android tablets – enough, perhaps, to let them truly rival Apple's iPads.
Various changes are coming with Android 13 to user interface facets: the home page is getting a redesign, widgets will get a design change, multi-tasking will be easier, swipe-down options are getting organized, apps are getting tweaked to work better on larger displays, and the Google Play Store is getting extra information to let you know which apps have been optimized for tablets.
Android used to feel like a phone operating system that had been stretched and distorted to work on larger tablet screens, but from Android 13, it sounds like the software will be bespoke for these big slates, making it a much more enjoyable experience.
So if the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 FE is the first Android tablet with this design overhaul, it will be the first for many years to rival the iPad Pro in gunning for the top spot of our best tablets list. And at the very least, it'll likely be an easy pick for our best Android tablet list.
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Apple recently held a big event where it launched the iPhone 14 line and new Apple Watches, including the Apple Watch Ultra, but there’s still more to come, with new iPad Pro 2022 models possibly set to headline an event in October. That said, we’re now hearing they might not get that much limelight.
According to Mark Gurman – a journalist with a good track record for Apple information – in his latest Power On newsletter for Bloomberg, the company is more likely to announce the new iPad Pros via press release than at an event.
Gurman claims that both 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models are “highly likely” to land this year, but that they won’t be a “major departure” for Apple, so won’t justify a big event.
Apparently they’ll use the new M2 chipset – which has already been unveiled – along with having some “improved specifications”, but nothing drastic.
Gurman claims that we’ll also probably see new Mac Minis and MacBook Pros, but that these too will use chipsets in the previously announced M2 line, and won’t be big upgrades in any other way, so they likely wouldn’t carry an event either. Likewise there might be a new Apple TV box, but that’s not a major product for Apple.
It’s worth noting that the use of press releases rather than an event for these products seems to be an educated guess rather than inside information, and Gurman acknowledges that Apple may feel differently, so an event is still possible. But the key point is that the products themselves probably won’t be overly exciting upgrades however Apple chooses to announce them.
Analysis: a new standard iPad is notably absent
While Gurman has listed quite a few products here for launch in 2022, one thing that wasn’t mentioned was a new iPad 2022.
That’s slightly surprising as multiple sources – including Gurman himself – have previously said we’ll see a new basic iPad before the end of the year.
It’s possible that Gurman just neglected – or forgot – to mention it in this latest list, but it could also mean that they’re no longer confident we’ll see the slate before 2023.
If it does land this year then leaks suggest we’ll probably see it – along with the new iPad Pros – in October, so there might not be long to wait. But if it doesn’t land in October then perhaps there will be a while to wait for this cheap tablet after all.
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Officially, we haven't been given too many details on the Google Pixel Tablet yet, other than the fact that it exists and is coming in 2023. Unofficially, leaks are filling in some of the blanks when it comes to what we can expect from this slate.
As reported by 91mobiles and Kuba Wojciechowski, the Pixel Tablet has apparently now entered its engineering validation test (EVT) phase, which means that it's gone beyond the prototype stage and is now being tested internally.
When it comes to specs, 128GB and 256GB storage options are apparently on the way. The tablet is also said to support Wi-Fi 6 and will come with a 10.95-inch display – which is definitely on the large size for what we think will be a budget tablet.
Putting the pieces together
Some of the features reported in the latest leak have come up before: there's said to be a Google-made stylus being made for the Pixel Tablet, for example, and we've previously heard that the slate would come with stylus support.
Earlier rumors pointed to the tablet turning up with 4GB of RAM. Add in the first-gen Tensor chipset, which Google has confirmed will be powering the device, and this looks very much like something at the more affordable end of the scale.
Consumers wanting a premium option might have something to look forward to as well though, as hints about a Pixel Tablet Pro have been spotted in Android's code. It's possible that more than one model will be on the market before 2023 ends.
Analysis: budget tablet wars
Ignoring for a moment the Pixel Tablet Pro rumor, from what we've heard so far this sounds very much like a budget Android tablet – something cheap and cheerful for consuming media, checking email, and browsing social media.
You may have noticed that Amazon just updated its 8-inch Amazon Fire HD tablet series, which offers good enough tablet specs for not much money at all. The standard edition of the tablet with 32GB of storage will set you back $99 / £99.
There are plenty of other contenders in the field as well. The 8-inch Nokia T10 was announced earlier this year, and gives you 32GB of storage for £129 in the UK (that's roughly $140 / AU$215 with a straight converstion).
That's the market that Google is dropping into with its Pixel Tablet, and it will be hoping that its combination of sleek hardware, clean software and an appealing price are going to be enough to shift a serious number of these devices.
I've made sure to champion second-hand products in my time at TechRadar; buying pre-loved gadgets is a great way to save money and the environment in one go. But since all the gadgets I use are review loans, I haven't actually had to buy any tech for going on four years.
However, since I'll soon be leaving TechRadar, the situation is different. I'm now at a point where I have to begin buying my own tech again. I have to spend my own money on devices that I'll own – and not having been in this position for some time makes this a very scary change indeed.
A recent purchase I've had to make is an iPad. While I'm not a huge fan of Apple products, some of the apps I use in my professional life are available only on iOS, ruling out Android tablets for working.
I've been offering up tech buying advice for years as part of the TechRadar team, but having to put my money where my mouth is has felt like a huge test of what I've written. However, having finally picked out a refurbished iPad Pro 12.9 (the 2021 model) with 256GB storage and Wi-Fi connectivity and received it last night, I feel vindicated in recommending refurbished gadgets.
Finding a tablet
Buying a new iPad was quite an intimidating proposition, because gadgets from Apple are ludicrously expensive – but I kept an open mind with regards to which device I'd buy.
That attitude lasted exactly a second, at which point I ruled out buying an iPad Mini – because who on earth would consider buying a tablet that similar in size to some Android phones? Certainly not me.
For a moment I did consider buying a new iPad (2022), upon hearing rumors of a redesign, and possibly would have gone forth with the purchase had the new generation launched alongside the iPhone 14. This didn't happen, of course, and I can't hang around waiting for the rumored October launch event. Plus, I'm not a fan of the antiquated design of the current-gen models, so the entry-level iPad line was also checked off the list.
The iPad Air 2020, my first choice of tablet.(Image credit: TechRadar)
The iPad Air became my top choice; not the iPad Air (2022), because it's quite a duff upgrade over its predecessor, but the iPad Air (2020). This tablet offers a premium design that I like, more than enough processing power, and a compact body. However, as you already know from the heading of this article, it wasn't the device I went for in the end, for one simple reason: storage. Although the iPad Air has a mid-range price, it's for a pithy 64GB storage. Opting for the next size up, at 256GB, raises the price quite significantly.
So where to next? The iPad Pro range, of course – it's the line I'm most familiar with, after all, having used every model since 2018. While the iPad Pro range is also incredibly expensive, I like the more generous sizing of the 12.9-inch model, plus there are many more storage options, too.
And, whilst shopping around, I discovered that there are plenty of options in the form of refurbished models, too. You see, while checking out prices for new iPad Pro tablets, I'd also been keeping an eye on the cost of refurbished models, from the likes of BackMarket, Amazon and Apple's own stores, taking note of the differences in cost between the two.
My research found that the iPad Pro models were available at the best prices comparing new to second-hand. In addition, there was also a greater selection of quality grades on offer; some refurbished websites let you choose the quality of device, with pristine-looking models costing more than slightly-scuffed ones.
This is the reason I ended up with an iPad Pro instead of an iPad Air, and a 12.9-inch model instead of a cheaper 11-inch device, one with 256GB of storage instead of 128GB. The generous number of refurbished models of iPad Pro on the market meant that I could effectively get more tablet for the same amount of money, which actually saved me quite a bit of money.
In the end, I saved about £250 on the iPad I picked up, compared to buying it new at launch a year ago. Given that even Black Friday often sees a reduction in price of only about £100, this felt like a significant saving, one with which I was very pleased.
Getting more than iPaid for
After clicking "Buy" on Apple's website (which, surprisingly, offered the model at a better price than Amazon or BackMarket), I immediately had doubts – I'd agreed to spend a large sum of money on a second-hand tablet that I'd never seen before. Had I made a massive mistake?
The iPad Air 2021, which I ended up buying.(Image credit: TechRadar)
I was full of apprehension upon reaching the Apple Store, something that was made worse on entering; it felt like I was at a street bazaar. Why were there so many folk just hanging out, not really looking to buying anything at all? Why were all the employees shouting at one another across the floor? Why did all the show products look like they'd served time in a war? By trying to make its Apple Stores more like hubs where you spend time, and less like shops, Apple had made for a rather confusing visitor experience.
What caused even more confusion was that on receiving the iPad I'd ordered, it was in a box covered in plastic wrap. Had the staff member given me a brand-new tablet by accident?
But getting home, I saw that the box stated this was a refurbished product; Apple had simply gone to surprising lengths to make this refurbished tablet feel like a new one. This was evident when I opened the box, too, finding the wall plug and cable inside nicely wrapped up.
In fact, if it wasn't for the word "refurbished" on the box, no-one would ever know that this was a second-hand device – and the actual tablet is as much an indicator of this as the packaging. It was pristine, with no scuffs or marks. Even the charging port, which can quickly become scratched, looked like it had never seen a USB-C cable in its life.
Annoyingly, iPads don't come with the Battery Health feature seen on the iPhones, so I can't say for certain how well the battery will hold up. However, following my day of using this tablet, it feels identical to the brand-new test unit I'd been using for months.
I'm pleasantly surprised at just how new this "refurbished" device feels, and it has had me rethinking all of my future buying plans. Sure, Apple is a big company, and can be relied upon for having a top-notch process for refurbishing its products, but that also means that its close competitors (including Amazon's renewed service, and popular website BackMarket) likely need to keep up to speed to remain competitive.
My iPad Pro basically feels new, with the only difference being that I paid far less than I would have paid for a new model. So, if I can save a similar amount of money purchasing other products, of equal quality (something that seems like a no-brainer considering the cost of living crisis) then I don't really see the need to buy new ever again.
If you don't closely follow Amazon Kindle news – or spend too much time on BookTok, the reading-centric community on TikTok – you might not be aware of the ongoing ebook-return drama going on. But now it's prompted Amazon to change the way it handles its digital books.
A TikTok trend encouraged readers to quickly read, and then return, ebooks on their Kindle, with the automatic returns program netting them a full refund even if they'd read the whole of the book.
This didn't hurt Amazon, as the readers were likely expecting, and the action actually left the authors out of pocket, as it was them who had to shell out for the refund. Plenty of ebook authors put out statements criticizing this action, and it sounds like Amazon listened (see testimonies on Twitter here and here, and a change.org petition about it here).
1/2 Every time you return an ebook at Amazon, the author is charged back more than what they were paid for the sale. Yes, that means we could owe Amazon at the end of the month. Since TikToks went viral saying ‘it’s okay to return ebooks’June 3, 2022
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In a post made by the Author's Guild, a US-based organization designed to protect authors' rights, it was confirmed that Amazon's ebook return policy is changing. Starting toward the end of the year, you now won't be able to automatically return ebooks if you've read more than 10% of them.
Going forward, if you've read 11% or more of a book, you can still file a return, but it'll be reviewed by a physical person, and Author's Guild reasons that this will work as a reasonable deterrent to stop people gaming the system.
There are still some things to be clarified – collections of poems or short stories, which you might jump around in, could tag you as having read over 10% if you just read one excerpt half-way through them, for example, and it's not clear how easy it will be to get a refund through this manual system. But it's a step in the right direction.
Analysis: good or bad for readers?
For some books, 10% is plenty of pages – if (for some reason) you're reading Edward Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, that's over 500 pages in itself. But for novellas or shorter texts, the difference between 10% and 11% could be one accidental page-turn.
This new change is undoubtedly good for authors, and it means that opportunistic and bad-faith readers will no longer be able to game the system to get a free read without spending any money. Now, more authors will be able to rely on their writing to support themselves, which is great news for literature.
However, it's not as good news for your standard readers, who might genuinely get about 15% of their way into a book before realizing it's just not for them, and want to get their money back.
Of course, it's the readers who took the mickey whom we have to blame for this change, with the TikTok trend (and other users who did the same – we can't solely put the blame on this one community of readers) likely turning this small quirk of Amazon's return policy into a larger problem.
This update could affect the way some people read books, making them much warier of their book progress percentage (which is displayed on Kindle ereaders) than they otherwise would be, in order to make a decision on whether they'll progress beyond 10% or not. But if it means authors can continue to write, maybe it's a positive after all.
New rumors suggest that Apple may be launching updated MacBook Pros later this year - and they could be something very special.
DigiTimes reports that the new MacBook Pro 2022 models are said to be fitted with Apple’s M2 Max and M2 Pro chips, and we’d love this to be true as the new chipset is rumored to offer a 12-Core CPU and 28-Core GPU, which is an incredible jump when you compare that to the M1 Max, which has a 10-Core CPU and 32-Core CPU.
Could we see a potential new look?
Even without any massive aesthetic changes, the mere suggestion that we may get updated MacBooks is certainly exciting when you consider how much we’ve been loving Apple’s recent MacBooks and Macs.
They have changed not only the way we interact with our laptops in our day to day, but our expectations for what smooth and seamless performance can be, even when it’s attached to a hefty price tag. They’re suitable for most user bases like creatives, students and professionals and have a chic and simple design.
That being said, there are a few improvements we hope to see with the new devices - if and when they come. In our review of the Macbook Air (M2, 2022) we highlighted that the colors Apple puts out for the MacBooks could do with a little bit of life. The choice of gray, a darker gray and gold is getting a bit old. The latest installments of colorful iMacs have really showcased how much color was missing from Apple’s other product lineup, and we hope with the success of the colorful iMacs we may see slightly less drab MacBook in the near future.
There isn’t much more we can say on these potential new MacBook Pros as of yet, but as we get closer to launch we may see more leaks and rumors cropping up.
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The next iPad is rumored to launch at an event in October, and we’ve been hoping for a major redesign. One of the key changes was the expected removal of the home button, bringing the base model iPad in line with the iPad Air, iPad Pro, and just about every fancy iPhone Apple sells besides the bargain-basement iPhone SE.
New rumors suggest the iPad 2022 model, the tenth generation of iPad tablet, will get a new look but will keep the familiar old button. This leak comes from a newsletter sent by Twitter leaker LeaksApplePro, available only by subscription. Presumably, this means the bezel around the screen won’t shrink too much. We’ve also heard that the sides of the device will get flattened, making it look more like the iPad Air in profile.
Our leaker also expects the next iPad will, like the more powerful iPad Pro, use USB-C. This comes from the same leak that suggested the next iPhone 15 family could use USB-C for every model. It’s entirely possible we’re at the beginning of the end of Apple Lighting on mobile devices.
The next iPad may also get support for Apple’s fanciest writing utensil, the Apple Pencil 2. Currently, the Pencil 2 only works with the iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro, but not the regular old iPad. The next iPad could change that. We’ve recently seen a slip-up from Apple Crayon maker Logitech showing support for iPad Pro models to come, but nothing indicating base model iPad support. The Logitech Crayon Digital Pencil uses the same technology as Apple’s own Pencil stylus.
Finally, after some delay, we will see the launch of iPad OS 16. The phone version of Apple’s mobile OS, iOS 16, arrived a few days after the iPhone 14 family was announced. We have been following the beta progress for iPad OS 16, but have not heard official news of when it would be available to the mainstream. Now it seems like iPad day will be the big day for software and hardware alike. If you want to familiarize yourself with the whole iPad family before the big launch, you can check out our best iPad roundup.
Analysis: An older-looking iPad should have an older-looking price tag
We won’t be hasty to dismiss this iPad just because it keeps a feature that Apple has been slowly killing on every other device it makes. Clearly, the home button has no long-term future with Apple, but that doesn’t mean this won’t be a great tablet to buy. After all, the iPhone SE represents a powerful bargain in the iPhone family lineup, and its aging exterior belies hardy tech within. We consider it one of the best iPhones you can buy.
If anything, this could mean we won’t see a huge price increase for the new iPad 2022. A major redesign that completely changes the face of the device offers more justification for Apple to jack up prices. If the new iPad looks like an evolutionary upgrade of the last model, but not a whole new beast, it may start at the same price. In this year of a huge cost of living crisis, that may be considered the most welcome feature.
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Right off the back of a massive Windows 11 update, Microsoft has set October 12 2022 as a big day with some big announcements. It’s around this time of year that Microsoft drops new devices, and the expectation is we will be seeing new Surface hardware.
WinFuture (often a reliable source for all things Windows) reports that the Surface Laptop 5 and the Surface Pro 9 are set to be showcased rocking the latest 12th Gen Intel processors. Roland Quant, another familiar source, suggests that both the Surface Pro 9 and Surface Laptop 5 share a few components. He suggests that the two new laptops will be equipped with the Intel Core i5-1235U and Core i7-1255U processors, and not the more powerful Alder Lake P-series.
The Surface Pro 9 5G is expected to feature a customised version of the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3, the Microsoft SQ3. Quant also claims the Surface Laptop 5 will have the same processor options.
Both models are, according to (you guessed it) Quant, will be sold with 256GB, 512GB and 1TB storage capacities.
As for price, we should brace ourselves to see the Surface Pro 9 at around $1,1270 (£1,130 or 1,920 AU$) and the Surface Pro at around $1,350 (£1,200 or 2040 AU$)
What we're expecting
While we are very hyped for the new Surface goods, we do have a few expectations and things we’d like to see when the Surface Pro 9 comes out.
The Surface Pro 8 was near perfect, so we simply can’t wait to see how the Surface Pro 9 will improve on all the older models' qualities, like the 4K video capabilities, long battery life and vivid display.
However, there were a few quibbles that we hope will be addressed with this new launch (like the Type Cover being included for the substantial price of the laptop/tablet). When we reviewed the Surface Pro 8, we hoped that its successor would bump up its processors to the Intel Alder Lake series, which if Quant is accurate, might not be the case.
The price of the Surface Pro 9 is paramount to how well the device may be received. Should it stay at around the same price as its predecessor (around $1,130, £999 or AU$1,699), it may be better received even if the keyboard and Type Cover still aren’t included (they should be, really). Any jump in price might make future users reluctant to purchase the Surface Pro 9 when you consider the 2-in-1 laptop would require a $179 (£159 or 270 AU$) keyboard to be a functioning laptop.
So you’d be paying for an expensive tablet and the keyboard as well, which is just a big ask when you could just get any other laptop that will (more than likely) come with everything it needs.
Hopefully Microsoft hears our cries for a keyboard and trackpad bundle, but we can only wait and see. Should the Surface Pro 9 build on its exceptional predecessor, it may surpass many of the current tablets and laptops - and perhaps even it's main rival, the iPad Pro.
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Be aware that not everything on the Framework Chromebook is customizable.
Starting with the more static aspects, the laptop comes with a 13.5-inch high-resolution display (2256x1504 pixels) and a 1.5mm keyboard all housed in a chassis partially made out of recyclable material. Under the hood, it’s powered by a 12th Gen Intel Core i5-1240p CPU made out of 12 individual cores and a 55Wh battery that can last up to 10 hours on one charge.
As you would expect, the Framework Chromebook runs on ChromeOS, something that previous company offerings could technically do. But as a company representative told us, those older models used ChromeOS Flex whereas this new device has the full ChromeOS experience. This gives the laptop the ability to download Android apps from the Google Play Store, something the Flex models couldn’t do. Users can also run Linux apps if they're developing software and play games thanks to Steam on Chrome OS Alpha
What is customizable are the ports, RAM, and storage. According to the company, you can pick and choose the ports you want and which side you want them on thanks to the Expansion Card system. Supported inputs include USB-A, USB-C, MicroSD, HDMI, and Ethernet, just to name a few. For the RAM and storage, the Chromebook comes with 8GB of DDR4 and 256GB of space. They can be upgraded to a maximum of 64GB of DDR4 and 1TB of storage. Plus, you can beef up the storage with another terabyte via expansion cards that go underneath the laptop.
Privacy and availability
For privacy, the Framework Chromebook has a series of switches around the body that cut off power to the camera and microphone when not in use. Google’s own Titan C security chip is present to protect you from phishing attempts and hacking. Because of this chip, the Chromebook will receive continuous updates from Google up until June 2030.
The same representative told us the Titan C cannot be removed because it’s “an integral part of the electrical system.” However, you can put the laptop into “Developer Mode” allowing you to download customized firmware and software outside of Google.
The Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition is currently available for pre-order with a $999 price tag, but in the United States and Canada only. You won’t have to pay the full price tag initially as “only a fully-refundable $100 deposit” is required at the time of pre-order. You'll pay the rest when the laptops begin shipping at the beginning of December.
As for a global rollout, it doesn't appear there are plans to do so yet, but the same representative hinted at a potential announcement.
Overall, it's good to see more and more companies embracing either customizable or repairable devices. This new attitude will go a long way toward reducing e-waste and saving money. Arguably one of the more robust repair programs comes from Samsung who collaborated with iFixit for the parts. We highly recommend checking out TechRadar’s coverage of that story to see where the industry is potentially going.
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We’ve been expecting a new Apple iPad announcement before the end of the year and now one of Apple’s closest accessory partners may have confirmed new Pro models are coming.
Our friends at 9to5Mac have noticed Logitech now says that its Crayon Digital Pencil will work with two iPad Pro models that have yet to be announced. If this reflects future products, this means an update to the iPad Pro 12.9-inch and iPad Pro 11-inch tablets could be here very soon.
On the Logitech site for the Crayon, it lists compatible devices, including a “6th gen” iPad Pro 12.9 and a “4th gen” iPad Pro 11-inch. The current larger iPad Pro is on the fifth generation, and the 11-inch model is on generation three, so this would seem to be a hint at the next generation of devices. We already pegged a new iPad launch in the October timeframe, so it’s not a huge surprise to see these models poke their heads above the surface around the end of September. It’s more surprising to see a trusted partner leak the information.
Samsung uses technology developed by Wacom in its S Pen stylus, and is therefore compatible with many third-party accessory makers. Apple uses a proprietary tech for its Apple Pencil, and Logitech is the only third-party currently licensed to make a pencil that works with Apple screens. Other stylus devices for iPad are hardly more than finger pointers with a tip that registers on the capacitive screen. They don’t take advantage of the accuracy and advanced features of Apple’s technology like the Logitech Crayon Digital Pencil. The Crayon is one of our favorite Apple Pencil alternatives.
Will they be as Pro as the iPhone 14 Pro?
New iPad Pro devices would be very exciting to see, as Apple has launched a next-generation chipset in its A16 Bionic platform, found only in the iPhone Pro devices. Perhaps Apple was saving more of these chips for Pro-level iPads and wanted to keep Pro-exclusivity across the line. We will see next month when we expect Apple to finally make its announcements.
We are following upcoming iPad announcements closely, now that the mania from the iPhone 14 family and Apple Watch Ultra launch is starting to calm down. If you’re interested in learning more about the current generation of iPads and everything they can do, we break it all down in our roundup of the best iPads.
Analysis: Someone is in very big trouble
Before an iPhone announcement, we get tons of emails from case and accessory manufacturers claiming to have gear ready for the next big thing, but they’re only guessing. Apple is highly secretive. Even the most popular brands of accessory makers don’t have specific details on the new products until the absolute last possible moment, and often that is not until after the public announcement.
Logitech has a special status, though, because it is an exclusive partner for Apple’s own technology. Apple trusts very few third-party companies in this way. Even the smallest violation of trust can have repercussions throughout the business. A small mistake on a website may seem like a minimal error, but Apple could perceive this as a lax attitude throughout the business to guard its corporate secrets. The company has the most guarded reputation in all of technology.
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The new Amazon Fire HD 8 has been launched; this 2022 update on Amazon's middle-sized tablet family replaces the 2020 model, and has four different tablets in all.
That's right, Amazon has launched four tablets: there's the standard Fire HD 8, a Plus model, a Kids' Edition version and a Kids' Edition Pro device, because Amazon clearly isn't worried about confusing its buyers with too many options.
These all replace members of the Amazon Fire HD 8 (2020) family, though the upgrades are quite limited. To give you an idea as to what's new, we'll run you through the new Fire HD 8 below.
Amazon Fire HD 8 price and availability
The new base Amazon Fire HD 8 costs $99 for 32GB storage, which is a slight price hike over the $89 / £89 starting cost of the last-gen model. A 64GB version of the tablet is also going on sale but TechRadar wasn't provided the price for that ahead of time.
(Image credit: Amazon)
The Fire HD 8 Plus sells for $119, which is again slightly more than the $110 / £110 asking price for the previous version of the slate.
Both the Fire HD 8 Kids, designed for younger users, and the Fire HD 8 Kids Pro, designed for older kids, cost $149 – these models are more expensive because they have protective cases and special software designed for children.
Pre-orders for all these tablets begins on September 21, and they'll fully go on sale in October.
Amazon Fire HD 8 vs Plus vs Kids vs Kids Pro
Before we go on a deep dive into the standard Amazon Fire HD 8, we should probably run through the variants, so you know how they're different.
Firstly, the 8 Plus is a more premium version of the standard HD 8. It has more RAM, wireless charging and a higher-resolution camera, but not much else. You can buy a dock for it, which works with the wireless charging to turn the Fire HD 8 Plus into an Amazon Echo imitator if you like too.
(Image credit: Amazon)
Both the Kids and Kids Pro models are designed for younger users: the former is aimed at 3-7-year-olds, while the latter is for 7-12-year-olds. The tablets come with big protective cases and the software is quite restrictive, locking the user to content and apps which are appropriate for this user group. A parental account can be linked to better control what the child can access.
Amazon Fire HD 8 design and display
Amazon's tablets don't exactly have revolutionary designs, but that's to be expected with the price.
The slates, including the new one, are large plastic rectangles with a screen on the front – hey, it's a tablet, what did you expect? The new model has a USB-C port for faster charging, 3.5mm headphone jack for wired audio, a power button and a volume rocker.
The new Fire HD 8 has seen a few design tweaks from its predecessor as it's thinner, lighter and, according to Amazon, more durable: the company says the slate was "testing twice as durable as the iPad mini in tumble tests." But the changes are likely minor.
As with all Amazon Fire tablets, this one is named after its display, which means it has an 8-inch HD screen. This is unchanged over the display on the 2020 model, and we found that the screen on that wasn't great, but was fine for certain entertainment tasks.
Amazon Fire HD 8 cameras and battery life
(Image credit: Amazon)
You're probably not buying the Amazon Fire HD 8 for its photographic prowess, but it's always useful to have something for video calling.
The Amazon Fire HD 8 has a 2MP front and 2MP rear camera, and at that resolution these are fit for video chats but not much else. If you want some additional camera grunt, the Plus model has a 5MP rear camera.
In terms of battery life, Amazon cites the device as lasting for 13 hours of use, which is a single hour up from the 2020 model. That's for watching content, but you'll get more time if you're just reading an e-book or checking your emails.
The charging speed doesn't seem to have changed though; so you'll still be waiting well over an hour and a half for the thing to be powered to full.
Amazon Fire HD 8 performance, specs and software
(Image credit: Amazon)
In terms of performance, not much has changed with the new Amazon Fire HD 8. The company says the processor is 30% quicker, but it's still at 2GB RAM (3GB for the Plus model), so the differences will likely be rather minor.
Amazon's tablets tend to be pretty slow though, as they're designed for entertainment purposes like watching TV shows, listening to music and playing low-end games, so you don't need that much processing power.
You can pick up the tablets with 32GB or 64GB storage, but if neither of those options are enough, you'll be pleased to know that there's expandable memory up to 1TB.
As for software, Amazon's tablets are all locked to the company's own operating system, which is in fact a heavily modified version of Android. This has heavy integration with the brand's own services like Prime Video, Prime Music, Kindle and so on, so you'd better be a Prime subscriber to make the most of it.
That doesn't mean Amazon engages in anti-competitive measures though, and you can also download apps like Disney Plus, Netflix and Spotify, and use various games and apps that are available on Amazon's app store.
Whether they'll make it onto our best cheap tablet roundup remains to be seen, but they'll no doubt find favor with those after an affordable slate with some family-friendly functionality, just like always.
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Amazon recently launched the new Kindle (2022) alongside a Kids' Edition version of the slate, but those apparently weren't the only new ereaders the company had up its sleeve. They were all of them deceived, for another Kindle was made.
As spotted by keen-eyed fans, the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite from 2021 has received a new purchase option on Amazon's website – you can now buy it with 16GB storage, instead of just 8GB as before.
Amazon didn't make much of a song and dance about this new Kindle model at all – in fact, the news only started doing the rounds a few days after launch.
As well as 8GB, the current model can also be had with 32GB storage, if you buy the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, but this ereader costs quite a bit more than the 8GB 'standard' Kindle.
The new 16GB Kindle Paperwhite costs $149.99 / £149.99 / AU$259, making it only slightly pricier than the $129.99 / £129.99 / AU$199 8GB model, and much cheaper than the 32GB Signature Edition at $189.99 / £179.99 / AU$289.
Other than the storage space, this is exactly the same Paperwhite that launched last year – you're getting a big screen, USB-C charging and a 10-week battery life.
Analysis: the Goldilocks Kindle
One of the biggest decisions you always have to make when buying a new device is storage space – how much do you need?
Too little and you'll find yourself having to frequently delete your files and apps when you want something new. Too much, and you'll be paying extra money for bytes that you never end up using.
This dilemma was previously the case for prospective Paperwhite purchasers – 8GB might not be enough if you like your comic books, magazines or audio books, yet 32GB (and the ensuing price hike) would be overkill for most people.
However, this new 16GB version will likely be just right for most people, offering the right amount of storage at a fair price, and we imagine that it'll become the most popular option for Paperwhite buyers going forward.
That's especially the case for people who want a premium ereader, as the Kindle Oasis, which last saw an update in 2019, only comes in 8GB or 32GB too – and it certainly comes at a high price.
In fact, at 16GB, this could be one of the best ereaders on the market, providing enough storage for most people without ramping the price really high. We'd recommend checking it out for Kindle power-users who don't want to spend too much.
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The new Amazon Kindle (2022) has been unveiled, bringing a USB-C port and high-res screen to the company's line of budget ereaders – however it continues a worrying trend amongst the rainforest-named brand's E Ink gadgets.
The new Kindle costs more than its predecessor, the Kindle (2019), with an entry price of $99.99 / £84.99 meaning that you're paying $10 / £15 more for this new model than you would have spent on the cheapest variant of the older one.
We saw the same thing happen with the Kindle Paperwhite (2021), in some regions at least, as in the UK it cost £10 more than its predecessor (but the same in the US and Australia). Other Amazon gadgets aren't exempt from these price increases, with the Amazon Fire 7 (2022) costing $10 / £10 more than the previous-gen model - bear in mind these are all super-affordable devices, so even a low double-figure price increase is of note.
Sure, these price increases are justified in myriad ways - the newer devices all eschew the older micro USB port for the standard USB-C, and they also come with more storage by default, so you're not losing ou in terms of value.
But that's to forget the fact that, if you just want the hardware without having to spend lots of money, and without worrying about specs, you're still having to spend more for the newer gadgets than you were for the older one.
However you don't need to be substantially out of pocket when buying a new Kindle ereader – no, this is a good reminder that it's possible to buy a gadget on a budget.
Previous-gen versions exist
While Amazon likes to make a song and dance about its new, flashy Kindles, it generally leaves the older-gen models on sale.
In the case of the standard Kindle, this is the 2019 model, while for the Paperwhite it's the 2018 one – the high-end Oasis hasn't had an upgrade since 2019 so the current-gen version of that is rather old at this point.
These older Kindles don't have the upgrades and tweaks of the new ones, but those changes aren't always worth the cost anyway, so some users might not mind that they're getting an older version.
Plus, as we've already discussed, these versions are cheaper than the newer ones – and that's not even taking into account the frequent price cuts and discounts they see, making them more affordable overall.
Second-hand Kindles
(Image credit: TechRadar)
The second-hand market for Kindles isn't as bustling as it is for tech like smartphones or tablets – ereader gadgets are generally designed to last a lot longer than smart ones, meaning people are unlikely to get rid of one unless it's completely broken.
But there are a few refurbished and renewed Kindles on the web, and buying one of these can be a great way to save yourself some money on an older device that might run just as well as a newer one.
That's especially the case ahead of the release of a new Kindle, as lots of people will be trading in their older models for the new one, especially given that the 2022 model has USB-C, which is a popular feature.
Amazon has its own refurbished section, but if you hunt around online, you can find other refurbished sites too. You can also simply buy second-hand devices, ones which haven't been renewed, from a load of other sites, including eBay and the Facebook Marketplace, but these have less of a quality guarantee.
It's worth it to save money
More so than most gadgets, we'd recommend looking into buying older or renewed Kindles.
While buying second-hand or older gadgets generally comes with pitfalls – these gadgets are sometimes slower, with reduced battery lives and scuff marks – these issues aren't as problematic on Kindles. Amazon's ereaders are already slow, with such long-lasting batteries that it takes years of use to have a noticeable impact on their lasting power.
As we've said, the second-hand market isn't the same for Kindles as it is for smartphones, but that makes buying previous-generation models more tempting. If you're looking for a 'new' ereader, then before buying one of the brand-new devices, it's definitely worth checking out alternative markets.
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