Amazon's new cheap tablet is out now - and it's the Kindle I never knew I needed

After a mid-May announcement, the newest Amazon Fire 7 is finally available to buy - this is the follow-up to the Fire 7 (2019), and the newest generational version of the company's cheapest slate.

This new cheap tablet has more RAM, a longer-lasting battery and finally a USB-C port for faster charging over its predecessor, though the range's core feature - the 7-inch 1024 x 600 screen - hasn't seen any changes.

Here's how much the slate costs in your region:

You can spend more to increase the storage from 32GB to 64GB, and also to remove the built-in software ads, but we don't find them intrusive enough to be an issue. Saying that, you don't need to make your ads decision straight away, as you can pay at any time to have them removed.

The price hike might make the tablet a hard sell given the limited changes over the 2019 model, but Amazon Prime Day on July 12 and 13 might bring discounts to offset that increase.

The tablet launched alongside a Kids version which is more expensive but comes with a protective shell and age-appropriate built-in software

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Opinion: early test results are in

I haven't tested the Amazon Fire 7 for long enough to write a full review, but I have used it for a day now in its eye-catching pink - oh, sorry, rose - version, and it's the 32GB model.

While we at TechRadar often rate the Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 10 tablets higher than the Fire 7 ones, because of their bigger and higher-resolution displays, my testing time does show that there's a place for the budget option.

In fact, I very quickly found myself using the Fire 7 instead of my Kindle when commuting on the tube. Its small screen matches my Kindle Oasis (2019) in terms of inches, but its longer and thinner aspect ratio made it more easily pocketable.

The tablet's low resolution doesn't exactly matter when I'm just reading books. This gadget costs so much less than the $249.99 / £229.99 / AU$399 Oasis, yet can also stream content on Prime Video or Amazon Music, and play a few games.

Sure, the Oasis and other Kindles do have some ereader-specific features that make them technically better for reading, but between its size, price and feature set, I can really see why some people might prefer the Fire 7 to a Kindle for reading.

I'll see if this opinion stays the same after a few weeks of testing when I'm ready to write a full Amazon Fire 7 review, but as it stands, I'm finding the slate a lot more useful than I expected. Maybe this will show up in our list of the best tablets after all...

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