iPad price hikes got you down? Amazon's excellent Fire HD 8 tablet is on sale for only $89.99 — an absolute bargain

(Image credit: Future / Philip Berne) If you're back-to-school shopping for a new tablet, iPad prices might shock you, and not in a good way. Apple recently raised prices on iPads and MacBooks because RAM and component costs have surged. That means that the cheapest Apple tablet you can find right now is the 11-inch iPad A16 for $399.99, not exactly "cheap".Now the good news: Amazon's best-selling Fire HD 8 tablet is on sale for only $89.99. That's just $5 shy of the all-time record-low price and a whopping $310 less than Apple's cheapest iPad.• Shop more daily deals at AmazonAmazon's best-selling Fire HD 8 tablet lets you watch your favorite movies and TV shows in apps like Netflix, Hulu, and more, or cozy up with a new book from millions of eBook options. You also won't have to worry about recharging throughout the day because Amazon's tablets offer all-day battery life and work with Amazon Alexa for hands-free control. This specific model features an 8-inch HD display, 4GB of memory, and 64GB of storage.Get Amazon's Fire HD 8 tablet for only $89.99Aside from price, the biggest differences between Fire tablets and iPads are the software they run on, their apps, and their processors. If you want a tablet with laptop-like speed and power, an iPad is a better fit. But if you just need the essentials, such as web browsing, email, video, and light gaming, then the Fire HD 8 tablet for just $89.99 is an excellent choice and an absolute bargain.If you're a devoted Apple user and insist on owning an iPad, I've listed today's best deals from Amazon below, including best-ever discounts after the price hike. Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Mackenzie Frazier is the lead deals editor in the US for TechRadar at Future plc. She has been sharing deal advice for Future for the past eight years and loves finding products that consumers want at the best possible prices. She's had 11 years of experience working in e-commerce and loves being a mom to her two little boys.