Amazon's new Fire 7 and Fire 7 Kids are faster, leaner, and better than ever

What you need to know

• Amazon has announced refreshed versions of the Fire 7 and Fire 7 Kids tablets.
• Changes include 40% longer battery life, more RAM, and  hands-free Alexa.
• Amazon's new Fire 7 and Fire 7 Kids are available for pre-order, and will be released on June 29.

It should come as no surprise that Amazon’s Fire 7 lineup of tablets continues to be one of the most popular options out there. Not only can it regularly be found discounted for less than $50, but Amazon has tailored its interface to make the Fire 7 good enough for entertainment needs. 

Last year, we saw the addition of the Fire HD 10 and 10 Plus, but the Fire 7 and Fire 7 Kids Edition have remained untouched since 2019. Well, that’s all changing, as Amazon is debuting a new and improved version of both the Fire 7 and Fire 7 Kids. 

As we’ve seen in years past, there’s really not much of a difference between the “regular” Fire 7 and the Kids Edition, at least when it comes to design and performance. Amazon has slightly revamped the general design of the hardware to better line up with the company’s other and more recent tablets. 

But under the hood, there are plenty of changes to be found. For one, Amazon claims the Fire 7 and 7 Kids are 30% faster thanks to an upgraded quad-core chipset and double the RAM of the previous generation, boosting it up to 2GB. Battery life has also been improved by about 40%, offering up to 10 hours of “browsing, watching videos, and more.” 

As for charging, it's a mixed bag, as Amazon is bucking the trend and including a wall charger in the box. And while the shift to USB-C has arrived, the included charging brick is limited to just 5W charging speeds. So the Fire 7 won’t really charge much faster than its predecessor, but USB-C is the most-logical decision in 2022.

On the surface, it really seems as though Amazon is simply packing the same specs as the Fire HD 8 into the Fire 7 and 7 Kids. This is further evidenced by the 2MP front and rear-facing cameras, capable of recording 720p video and offering better video call capabilities. Hands-free Alexa also comes to the Fire 7 series, as you can access your favorite Alexa devices, play some music, or do anything else with these new tablets. 

As for the Fire 7 Kids Edition, Amazon is including all of the same power and features that you’ll find on the regular version. But as expected, there’s a kid-friendly case included that comes in several different colors. This goes hand-in-hand with Amazon’s “two-year worry-free guarantee,” along with one year of Amazon Kids+ included.  

You can pre-order both (or either) of these new tablets starting today, with the Fire 7 priced at $59.99 and the Fire 7 Kids coming in at $109.99. New cases are also on the way for the Fire 7, all of which will start shipping on June 29.