Amazon makes some really nice, affordable tablets. The tradeoff for that affordability is a lack of updates. While more expensive tablets will often see at least a couple of generations of updates, you never really know when a Fire tablet will get one.

That makes today's news very surprising, as Amazon has dropped a new update for both the Fire HD 8 2018 (8th Gen) and Fire 7 2019 (9th Gen).

Amazon currently ships the Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 10 with its own version of Android 9 Pie, and this update brings the older devices up to the same version of Android.

Fire HD 8 2018 and Fire 7 2019 Update

At first, it wasn't clear what update this was, but Android Police confirmed that it's Amazon's own version of Android 9 Pie. That means it's not just a visual tweak, but it actually adds lots of new stuff that makes using the tablet a more enjoyable experience.

The Fire tablet update to Android 9 Pie brings with it plenty of useful features including picture-in-picture support for videos, notification channels, updated, more specific app permissions, improved battery life, and more.

If you're a Fire Hd 8 and Fire 7 device owner, you'll definitely want to get this update, as it really does change the functionality of your device in a big way. As is always the case with major Android updates, this won't cost you anything.

With that said, it's still a little behind the times, as Android 11 is about to drop in the near future. Still, it's better than nothing!

How to Get Android 9 Pie on Your Fire Hd 8 and Fire 7

If you want to download the latest update for your Fire tablet, you need to head to the Amazon Help page. From there, click Download software update. Make sure to select the correct model for your device. Next, download the Bin file to the root directory of your tablet's internal storage. Lastly, go to System Updates in the Settings app and install the update you downloaded.