iPad mini vs Amazon Kindle Fire: let's kick-off the mini-tablet match ~ Techradar

With many Prime Day deals still to choose from like a sweetshop, there's also plenty of opportunities to see if a tablet can fit around your home at a lower price.

With iPad mini and the Fire, both are great tablets in their own right, but with their own uses that make them a better fit than their bigger brethren. The mini-tablets are seen more as e-readers in color, but with the option to use them for something else when the opportune time comes.

With Prime Day well on its way, we wanted to show you just what the benefits were between each device, and which one you may want to pick out of the two.

iPad mini vs Fire HD: the Prime Day deals running right now

As we near the end of this year's Prime Day deals, those of you keen to buy a cheap tablet can check out the models below.

We're seeing discounts on both the iPad mini and Fire HD tablets in both the US and UK – and while Amazon's range appears to have the price advantage in its own sales (no surprises there), the iPad and its App Store ecosystem may just tempt you to spend a little bit more for that instead.

iPad and Fire US deals

2019 Apple iPad Mini (Wi-Fi, 256GB): ~~$549.99~~ $489.99 at Amazon
Save $60 - The latest iPad mini model from Apple that has the powerful A12 Bionic chip inside, alongside TouchID and up to 10 hours of battery life. A perfect companion to have around the house for reading, watching movies and creating content, especially if you have the Apple Pencil.

Amazon Fire HD 8 Tablet (64GB): ~~$119.99~~ $74.99 at Amazon
Save $45 - This 64GB tablet is at its best price ever for Prime Day 2021. Designed for entertainment, you can use this to stream everything from Netflix to Disney Plus, with up to 12 hours of battery life to support you through any long, boring journeys coming up.

iPad and Fire UK deals

2019 Apple iPad Mini (Wi-Fi, 64GB): ~~£399.99~~ £369.99 at Amazon
Save £30 - The latest iPad mini model from Apple that has the powerful A12 Bionic chip inside, alongside TouchID and up to 10 hours of battery life. A perfect companion to have around the house for reading, watching movies and creating content, especially if you have the Apple Pencil.

Amazon Fire HD 8 Tablet (64GB): ~~£119.99~~ £69.99 at Amazon
Save £50 - This 64GB tablet is at its best price ever for Prime Day 2021. Designed for entertainment, you can use this to stream everything from Disney Plus to BBC iPlayer, alongside up to 12 hours of battery life to support you through any long journeys finally coming up.

What are the key differences?

When you think about Amazon and its devices, the first point of call will be Alexa and its many devices, from the Echo Dot, to the Echo Show.

There's a whole ecosystem built on voice, but with the Fire tablets, Amazon has been able to carve a niche that has made mini tablets affordable and alluring to many.

These have become an ecosystem on themselves, running on Google's Android operating system, but with Amazon's own look across the tablet, orange color-scheme included.

For an even cheaper price, you can buy a which features a variety of ads while you use the tablet, which may hinder your experience somewhat. But if you're only buying it to read books on and watch movies, it's a small price to pay.

Apple iPad Mini 5 — Pictured: iPad mini and its many features. (Image credit: Apple)

While Apple and their iPad mini devices are not just about content consumption, but content creation, especially due to the fact that the Apple Pencil can be used here, able to allow artists to turn these into mini art books.

The iPad mini has been around since 2012, and there's been no compromise taken here - everything that you know in iPadOS is here, but in a 7.9 inch display. There's no ads in the OS here, and you also have access to the software updates that Apple brings out every year, with iPadOS 15 due to arrive later this year.

If you already have an Apple device, whether that's an iPhone or a Mac, you can log in with your iCloud and AppleID account, and in an instant, your apps and information will appear, ready to go.

Which one has more content?

It's a tie here, as Amazon and Apple both have a huge amount of content, especially when it comes to TV shows and films. There's Apple TV+, their exclusive home of shows and movies, while Amazon has their own studio, and most recently, buying up MGM, home of James Bond.

However, when it comes to apps, Apple wins here, but with a caveat. Amazon has its own app store, but there are ways to enable the Google Play Store, opening up your Fire to even more apps, not sanctioned by Amazon.

But with Apple, you've got a multitude of apps, with many of them tailored for iPad. But alongside this, many also work on an iPhone, other iPad models, and now Macs that have an M1 chip. You can sync your progress across all these devices, and carry on with an iPhone for example if the iPad mini is somewhere else.

Prime Day deals 2021 Fire HD 8 Plus — Amazon Fire 8 HD Plus

Which one is cheaper?

The Fire wins out here, no question. If you're looking for a tablet to do the basics, to be used by more than one person, and be kept in one location, then for £79 you can't go wrong. The apps it offers are plenty and all of them useful for what you want to do on the tablet.

It's a content consumption device - it's meant to be used to have your eyes follow the content on the screen.

Which one is better?

This really depends on why you want a mini-tablet.

If you already have a few Apple devices and knee-deep into the whole ecosystem, from iCloud to Apple TV+, then the iPad mini will make you feel right at home in a 7.9-inch display

But if you're someone who's deeply entrenched in the Amazon ecosystem with Alexa devices everywhere and a recurring Amazon Prime subscription, then the Amazon Fire family of devices is probably your better option, especially if you're on a budget.

More Amazon Prime Day deals in the US

Amazon devices: early Prime offers from $14.99
Amazon Echo Dot: 2 for $49.98 with code PDDOT2PACK
Amazon Echo: 2 for $119.98 with code ECHOPRIME
Audible Premium Plus: save 53% on your first 4 months
Apple Watch Series 6 (40mm, GPS): $399 $279 at Amazon
Deals under $25: save on games, smart home, fashion and more
Fashion: men's and women's fashion from $14
Headphones: save on Sony, Beats, Bose and more
iPad (8th generation): was $329 now $299
Kitchen: save up to 42% on Cusimax, Cosori, Instant Pot and more
Laptops: Chromebooks, MacBooks and gaming laptops discounted
Nike: save on NBA jerseys, sneakers, and more
Nintendo Switch: big titles now $10 off
PS5: now starting at $29.88
Smartwatches: save up to 35% on Samsung Galaxy Watch 3
Subscription boxes: 50% off for Prime members
TVs: Fire-enabled smart TVs starting at just $99.99

More Amazon Prime Day deals in the UK

Amazon Echo devices: now starting from £9.99
Amazon Echo Dot: £49.99 £24.99 at Amazon
Amazon Echo Show 5 (2019): £79.99 £39.99 at Amazon
Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet: £89.99 £39.99 at Amazon
Audible Premium Plus: Prime members get 3 months for 99p
Blink Mini security camera: now just £21.99 for Prime members
Deals under £15: save on games, smart home, fashion and more
Fashion: big savings on Amazon brands starting at under £5
Headphones: Jabra headphones from £69
Kitchen: Dolce Gusto coffee machines from £59 and more
Laptops: cheap PCs starting at just £199
MacBook Air M1: £100 off at Amazon - now £899
PC games: EA titles including The Sims 4 from £7.49
Prime Video: channel add-ons 99p for three months
PS5: Demon's Souls, Immortals and more discounted now
Smart home: Ring Video Doorbell from £35
Smartwatches: Fitbit Charge 4 now £99
TVs: 4K smart TVs from £298

source https://www.techradar.com/news/ipad-mini-vs-amazon-kindle-fire-lets-kick-off-the-mini-tablet-match/

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