After over two years of constant use (we’re big fans of both Amazon Books and Amazon Prime Video in our family, and have bought many Fire tablets over the years) I opened the cover to find the glass on my HDX 7 shattered last week, and the touch screen inoperative.
I considered buying a used HDX 7, but instead went ahead and bought the current model Fire 7, and I’m very glad I did.
First, it is MUCH faster the the HDX 7, almost a night-and-day comparison. The 16GB of storage the Fire 7 came with was paltry, but I poped a 128GB SD card into the expansion slot for <$40, and now it’s got more than twice the storage of my HDX 7. Also, the improved OS and UI design is very nice, although I wish you could select the sort order for program names.
I don’t use the new Blue Shade function so I can’t comment on that - I know a lot of people like them, but I don’t have a use for apps like f.lux, and don’t get any personal benefit from them.
Do I miss the external stereo speakers, automatic screen brightness, and automatic screen shutoff on cover close of the HDX? The external stereo speakers were no loss - I always use Bluetooth headphones when watching video or listening to music, and the screen timeout is a good enough replacement for the cover close screen off on the HDX. I do definitely miss the automatic brightness control - I frequently read late at night and have to turn the brightness down, and then in the morning have to turn it back up again.
But all-in-all I’m thrilled with my new Fire 7, and the price absolutely can’t be beat.
