New Fire HD 8 Kids Edition revealed boasting brand-new UI but no Alexa

Amazon has given its 8-inch kids tablet range a refresh, adding more expandable storage and an overhaul to the user interface to make it easier to find content on the device. 

The new Fire HD 8 Kids Edition (2018) has been announced at the same time as a new Fire HD 8 (2018) and, when it comes to hardware specs, it is the same tablet. 

These specs include a 8-inch HD display, 32GB of storage with up to 400GB of expandable storage via a microSD card slot, and up to 10 hours of battery life. 

The big differences here is that the Kids Edition tablet comes with child-friendly software and a whopping great bumper around the device, which is there to protect it from bumps. 

If this protection is not enough, then Amazon is bundling in a two-year worry free guarantee. So, if it breaks - no matter how - it will get replaced. 

New UI, Audible for kids incoming

The new Fire HD 8 Kids Edition (2018) comes with year of Amazon Fire for Kids Unlimited, which offers 5,000 child-friendly books, videos, educational apps, and games. Amazon also revealed that a kids-version of Audible will soon be added to the service as well. 

One big change coming with the tablet is the arrival of a new user interface. Instead of sideways scrolling, there are now dedicated rows based on the content type, making it even easier for kids to find their favourite titles. 

This UI addition will come to other Kids Edition tablets at some point, thanks to a firmware upgrade. 

When it comes to Alexa, it's still a no-show on the Kids Edition range. We asked Amazon about this and a spokesperson said that they knew it was a feature people were requesting but there was no word if it would come to these devices in the future. 

Given Amazon has been working on Alexa for kids on the Echo Dot range in the US, we're sure it's something that's in the pipeline.  

The new Fire HD 8 Kids Edition (2018) is available for pre-order from £129.99/$129.99. It's officially released October 4 and comes in blue, pink, and yellow. You can also get the Fire HD 8 Kids Edition tablets as a multi-pack option. Buy any two Fire HD 8 Kids Edition tablets and save £50/$50.

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