A modern, but basic tablet
The Fire 7’s design isn’t going to garner much attention when you’re using it in public. It’s a basic plastic housing with a slab of glass on top that’s designed to just get the job done. It comes in three different colors – black, denim and rose. The front-facing camera has been moved to the middle of the display when the Fire 7 is in landscape orientation, something that makes video calls from the small tablet easier. The front and rear cameras are each 2-megapixel sensors. Pictures and videos look okay, but not great.
Also: Using the wrong USB-C cable can damage your tech. How to avoid that
On the bottom edge of the Fire 7 is a microSD card slot that allows you to increase the storage from 16GB or 32GB to a 1TB.
The display measures 7-inches, just as its name implies, and has a resolution of 1024 x 600. It’s not the sharpest display, but that’s to be expected at this price point.
The most notable thing about the Fire 7’s design is just how small it is. It’s something you could easily carry around in a purse or backpack without noticing it’s really there. For the detail-oriented, the Fire 7 measures 7.11 x 4.63 x 0.38-inches and weighs 9.9 ounces.
Improved performance that’s just good enough
The 2GB of memory alone is double what was in the previous model, and it’s a noticeable addition, especially when gaming. However, overall performance with the Fire 7 is something that will teach you to have patience.
There’s a dedicated gaming mode built into the Fire 7’s operating system that automatically turns on when it detects you’ve opened a game (any game you’ve installed from the Appstore will trigger it). Game Mode optimizes the device’s memory, hides notifications and disables the Alexa feature. Even with Game Mode, it can take a minute or two before a game becomes playable.
From what I can tell, as long as an app stays in memory, the performance boost is noticeable. But if you, for instance, exit the Silk Browser after browsing the web for a few minutes, and then return to it an hour or two later after using the Fire 7 for a different task, that next launch of Silk takes a few extra seconds to load.
In other words, the Fire 7’s performance is good enough as long as you stay within a single app and don’t expect it to be a multitasking workhorse.
A word about the software… and Alexa!
Along with the ability to ask Alexa questions, you can view and manage your Alexa-connected smart home devices like cameras, lights and outlets using your voice or by tapping on the dedicated Devices button in the bottom navigation bar.
Bottom line
