The Amazon Fire HD 6, Fire HD 7, Fire HD 8, and Fire HD 10 are nice mid-range tablets in the market right now. They come with different storage options, 8 GB, 16 GB, and 32 GB. Would the 8GB be enough for you, or it’s better to go for the higher storage? Here we will help you decide.
If you are buying the device for kids, the Fire HD Kids edition is a good choice. It is a Fire HD 6 bundled with a child-proof case, a 2-year extended warranty and a 1-year subscription of Amazon FreeTime. But you still need to make the same decision on which memory size to get.
Storage Options for Amazon Fire HD Tablets
First, we look at how much space are available for your use, after deducting the space used by the system files. All the Fire HD tablets come with the Fire OS. So no matter you get the 6 inch, 7 inch, 8 inch, or 10.1 inch model, the following is the storage you get on the device:
- Fire HD 8GB – 4.5 GB free for your use (only available for the HD6, HD7, and HD8 models)
- Fire HD 16GB – 11.6 GB free for your use
- Fire HD 32GB – 26 GB free for your use (only available for the HD10 model)
- 32GB is the largest for Amazon Fire HD tablets. For larger memory size, you get to go for the Kindle Fire HDX, which has the 64GB option.
If you look at the actual free space, there’s actually a 2.5 times difference between the 8GB and 16GB models, which is quite a big difference indeed.
The case is better for the newer Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 10, as they have microSD memory card slot for memory expansion. However, some content like Kindle books and Audiobooks can’t be stored into the SD card, so it’s still better to reserve more free space on the internal memory.
Storage Occupied by Digital Content
Below are the list of content that you may possibly put on your Kindle tablet:
- Videos – A HD movie might consumes over 2 GB. If you download one HD movie on a 8GB model without SD card, you will already have used up nearly half of the available storage. You should only watch movies via streaming (which is done via Wi-Fi, and won’t consume storage) for the smaller storage model.
- Music – On average, a few hundred songs take up around 1 GB. If you’re a music lover, then you’ll need quite a lot of storage for this.
- Photos – Just like songs, a few hundred photos can take over 1 GB. If you want to load many photos on the device, then you get to count the space in when deciding the storage to opt for.
- Apps – Sizes of apps vary. While some apps are small, some larger apps can use well over a hundred MB space (1 GB is 1,024 MB).
- Games – Sizes of games can vary a lot:
- In general, games that are graphic intensive, 3D, or those that need a lot of data to run, take up much more space. Quite a lot of games use over hundred of MB space.
- It’s not uncommon for games to occupy over 100MB, or even over 1GB. Some examples (on Amazon Appstore) are Dead Trigger 2 (over 500MB), Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (over 1.5GB), Vainglory (over 2GB), etc. The sizes listed on their sales pages are only the game install files download sizes, they need much more storage space for install and during the play.
- Some games may not load well on the SD card too. If you are a game lover, it’s better to choose higher internal storage models.
- Books – 1 GB of space can store a few hundred Kindle eBooks. Unless you’re a lover of a great variety of books, space used by eBooks should be a lower concern.
- Audiobooks – They are quite big, and 2 or 3 audiobooks can occupy 1 GB already.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the free space on the 8GB model is quite inadequate for use for average user, unless you manage the storage on both the internal storage and microSD card very carefully. Since some content can’t be loaded on the microSD card, the 16GB model will be a safer and smarter choice.
The following Amazon customer review mentioned how to choose the size of internal memory of tablet and SD card (around the middle of the review), it should help your decision:
http://www.amazon.com/review/R3NUYSZAF2QLX3…
Good info. Since I want to store lots of photos I will take my 8gb and exchange it for a 16gb. I received the 8gb for a gift , but I think a upgrade will be a smart choice.
I have a 16GB Kindle, I haven’t even had it for a year and the storage is already full. I have a couple apps on it and some pictures. Nothing else is on it and I always get a message saying “storage is low.” I have Kik, Facebook, Messenger, Skype, WeatherBug and Steam. Those are the only apps on it and none of them take up that much storage. On top of that, the USB port is loose and it has problems charging constantly. Plus, the keyboard is always typing something erratic. It’s a nice device at first, but after a couple months, it becomes annoying and useless. I probably would get something like an iPad next time I want a tablet.
I really don’t want to seem disrespectful but I have have had a Kindle Fire for over a year and I use it daily and it is my only Internet device and I still have almost half my storage available. You have to delete items.. apps and other stuff that you don’t need or use. Or maybe you work for Apple.. LOL. 16 G with SD card availability is plenty for daily use.
Thanks to both of your comments. For 16GB, if you have put a couple of apps and some pictures on it, I think you may have to manage your content from time to time to avoid low storage. Personally, I used the Clean Master apps to clean up junk and unwanted files, it’s quite convenient.
I need some honest advice, I originally bought my son a Nabi thinking I’d have more years of him using it. But of course memory has become an issue. We want to get him the Kindle Fire but I’m not sure if I should get the 8GB or the 16GB when u can just add a 200GB memory card to expand it. And if loading books is what takes up most room, that’s not even a concern. I’m old fashioned and like having a bookshelf full of books, lol. We use Flixster, Netflix, You Tube and loves to play like ROBLOX, Minecraft and other android games. Would 8GB be sufficient if I buy an expandable memory card or is it better in the long run to get the 16GB.
Thanks for leaving us comment. From your previous experience with Nabi tablet, seems it’s better for you to get the 16GB. If you go with 8GB, you’ll need more effort to maintain the free space in internal memory. And actually not only books, there’re some apps files or system files that can’t be put on the SD card too. So unless you are technically well to manage the storage on your tablet, I suggest you go for the 16GB for long run.