![]() The ASAP feature, which debuted on the Fire TV, predicts what movies or TV shows you'll want to watch next, in an effort to avoid buffering time. (Amazon tells us that it just didn't work right for the use cases of a tablet.) It's now easier to share the HDX with your family membersĪmazon has added a new Profiles feature that makes it easier to share the Fire HDX 8.9 with other people in your household, and the new Family Library lets you share books, apps, games, Prime Instant Video, and more with other family members and across devices. The HDX doensn't have the four cameras and head tracking of the Fire Phone, so there are no dynamic 3D interfaces here. The Firefly feature, which lets you identify movies, songs, and objects quickly and then instantly buy them on Amazon, has made its way over from the Fire Phone, but other interface features have not. It's based on Android 4.4 KitKat, and it's a minor refinement of the software, with a few new features, but not overwhelmingly different than before. The HDX 8.9 comes with Fire OS 4.0, which Amazon has code-named Sangria. Other highlights of the HDX's hardware are a claimed 12 hour battery life, 802.11ac Wi-Fi with four times the peak bandwidth support of last year, and a new Origami Cover that's thankfully 20 percent lighter than last year's tank of a case. (Samsung is using a similar software trick on its Galaxy Tab S tablets released earlier this year. Amazon says the display more closely resembles a printed page with this feature, which we don't really agree with, but it's definitely easier to read on than without the automatic adjustments. A new feature is Dynamic Light Control (coming later in the year via software update), which automatically adjusts the brightness and white balance of the display when using the Kindle app for reading books. Amazon is quick to point out that the HDX has 30 percent more pixels than the iPad Air, but in practice it's hard to see the difference. It's bright and vibrant and has great viewing angles. The HDX's 8.9-inch display has the same 2560 x 1600 pixel resolution and 339ppi as last year's model. We didn't find it to be remarkable in our brief time with the tablet, though the sound quality is certainly good. Amazon is making a big fuss about the HDX's new Dolby Atmos sound engine, which is supposed to enhance and improve the sound quality when you wear headphones. The HDX was a snappy and responsive tablet before, and it should only be faster this year. Inside, the HDX 8.9 has a new, 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor, which Amazon says has a 70 percent faster graphics chip than last year's model. The HDX 8.9 is still remarkably thin and light ![]() ![]() Build quality and tolerances are still good, though nobody is going to confuse Amazon's tablet for an Apple product. That makes for an easy to hold tablet while reading or lying in bed, and it's still remarkable how easy it is to pick up the HDX 8.9. Last year's tablet was strikingly light and this time around is no different - Amazon says the Fire HDX 8.9 is a full 20 percent lighter than even Apple's svelte iPad Air. ![]()
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