Should you buy an Amazon Fire tablet with lockscreen ads?
Fire Tabletsare a popular product lineup for Amazon, with its 6.5% global market share (via Statcounter), taking 4th place among US-available brands. While that doesn’t look like much at first glance, Apple and Samsung dominate with a combined 55.5% global share, leaving a bunch of other manufacturers to fight for the rest. The driving force behind this growth is Fire Tablets' competitive pricing, which is low year-round but drops even further for big sales events likeAmazon Prime Day.
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How do the lockscreen ads work?
You’ll almost definitely notice the lockscreen ads with the lower-priced tier, but they also don’t intrude much, since they don’t bombard you with notifications or popups trying to sell you stuff you don’t need. Instead, you’ll see a new ad each time you view the lockscreen. This effectively makes the ads your lockscreen wallpaper, showcasing ebooks and other products Amazon thinks you’ll want to buy. You can choose to open the ad and view the product, or unlock your device as usual. It doesn’t hinder the device’s functionality much, since all it really does is prevent you from choosing your own lockscreen wallpaper.
How much will I save?
Price without ads
Price with ads
Amount saved
Fire Tablet 7 (2022)
Fire Tablet HD 8 (2022)
Fire Tablet HD 8 Plus (2022)
Fire Tablet HD 10 (2023)
Fire Max 11 (2023)
The $15 difference stays consistent across the entire tablet range. That might not seem like much, but if you’re on a tight budget (which is a common reason to consider a Fire Tablet), it can make a difference. You can then pocket the savings, or use it to offset the cost of a case, screen protector, or upgrade to more internal storage.
Can I remove ads from a device that has them?
If you’ve already purchased a Fire Tablet with lockscreen ads and regret your decision, there’s no need to worry. Amazon allows users to remove the lockscreen ads for $15, the amount you saved at the time of purchase. Thankfully, the process of eliminating them is straightforward:
The ads should be gone, replaced by a default selection of wallpapers from Amazon. Now it’s possible to go ahead and use your own image as a lockscreen wallpaper instead.
Should you buy a Fire Tablet with ads?
Ultimately, that decision is up to each user, but we recommend buying the tablet without ads. Amazon knows a lot about its users, and ads targeted to your own evolving interests can get annoying or downright creepy. Without a vice-like grip on your spending impulses, these ads could cost you more than $15 over the course of using the tablet. Spending the extra at the point of purchase is the best choice, in our opinion, and if you already own an ad-supported Fire device, then you should consider removing them.
If you’re considering one of the Fire tablets, confirm you understand their limitations, especially regardingthe operating systemthey use - they aren’t the same as fullAndroid tablets. You don’t want to buy a tablet only to find that it doesn’t support the apps you need.
Don’t forget to customize your Fire Tablet
While they might get some criticism for middling performance, Fire Tablets are actually more versatile than a lot of people think. Check out our various guides totweaking your Fire Tablet, which includes our favorite (and arguably necessary) trick,side-loading the Google Play Storefor access to a wide variety of Android apps you can’t otherwise find through Amazon’s own channels.
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