Amazon Fire Max 11

The Amazon Fire Max 11 from Amazon represents their largest and most expensive tablet release to date, while still maintaining a significantly lower price point compared to the Pixel Tablet . The starting model starts at £250 inclusive of VAT and offers 64GB of storage. Alternatively, for an additional £40, you can upgrade to the 128GB variant. A noteworthy feature is the availability of a microSD slot, enabling further expansion – a rarity among premium tablets.

In terms of physical design, the Amazon Fire Max 11 shares many similarities with the Fire HD 10 Plus . The brushed aluminum rear panel is visually appealing, though it does have a tendency to accumulate fingerprints. While the placement of the power button and volume rocker on the shorter side might be disorienting for those unfamiliar with Fire tablets, acclimating to this arrangement is quick and easy.

A highlight of the Amazon Fire Max 11 is its expansive and high-resolution display – the largest we’ve encountered on an Amazon Fire tablet. Although its pixel density of 212ppi doesn’t match the sharpness of an iPad, it delivers clear and crisp visuals for websites, games, and movies. Color reproduction is commendable, covering 75% of the DCI-P3 color gamut with an average Delta E of 0.2, indicating near-perfect accuracy. Notably, its brightness reaches impressive levels, peaking at 544cd/m² – surpassing both the 10th-generation iPad (504cd/m²) and the Pixel Tablet (433cd/m²). The only drawback is the glossy and reflective screen coating.

Audio performance presents a mixed impression. The stereo speakers offer adequate volume for watching films and TV shows, yet their lack of bass and somewhat tinny sound might leave you desiring more substantial audio output for music playback.

Under the hood, the Amazon Fire Max 11 houses an eight-core MediaTek MTK8188J processor paired with 4GB of RAM, effectively handling daily tasks. While web browsing, document work, and casual gaming like Stardew Valley pose no issues, more demanding applications can exhibit stuttering. The Amazon Fire Max 11’s performance in the Geekbench 5 CPU benchmark reinforces this observation, with a relatively modest multicore score of 1,084, trailing significantly behind the Google Pixel Tablet (6,558) and the Apple iPad (8,579).

On the positive side, battery life is commendable. In our battery rundown test, the Fire Max 11 persevered for an impressive 13 hours and 45 minutes, outlasting both the iPad (10 hours and 57 minutes) and the Pixel Tablet (11 hours and 56 minutes). However, charging speed is a drawback, with the battery only reaching 11% after 30 minutes.

The Fire Max 11 is equipped with 8MP cameras on both the front and rear, capably capturing color and fine details. It supports video recording at up to 1080p and performs well for video conferencing. Keep in mind that its service availability is confined to the Amazon Appstore, which includes applications like Teams and Zoom, though you shouldn’t anticipate access to Google Meet.

It’s important to reiterate that, in line with Amazon’s tablet offerings, the Fire Max 11 remains entirely disconnected from the Google application ecosystem. This translates to the absence of Gmail, YouTube, Google Photos, or Google Docs, noticeably impacting the tablet’s suitability for productivity tasks. While Microsoft 365 is accessible, the limitation on Google services can still be frustrating.

Furthermore, the array of non-Google applications is also restricted. Exploring the Games section of the Amazon Appstore yielded minimal success, as the catalog predominantly comprises free-to-play titles marked by lackluster user reviews. This prevalent trend contributes to an overall perception of the platform as being cost-effective, an impression compounded by Amazon’s customary practice of displaying ads on the lockscreen when the device is idle. Fortunately, these ads can be removed for an additional fee of ten pounds.

Remarkably, the Fire Max 11 offers a unique aspect by providing optional stylus and keyboard accessories, priced at £35 and £90 inclusive of VAT, respectively. The stylus exhibits impressive performance, consistently capturing strokes without missing or misinterpreting them. Its magnetic attachment to the side of the Fire Max 11 when not in use adds convenience. Similarly, the keyboard attaches magnetically and integrates with a rear cover that transforms into a stand. Utilizing the Fire Max 11 in this configuration proves notably more comfortable than typing directly on the screen. However, it’s worth noting that the keyboard’s compact size may feel constrained, and its construction might seem delicate if not placed on a stable surface.

Undoubtedly, the Fire Max 11 represents Amazon’s most outstanding and adaptable tablet creation to date. Nevertheless, it falls short when compared to an iPad or Google’s own tablet. It struggles with resource-intensive applications and demanding games, hindered further by its constrained software selection, which limits its potential as a productivity tool and an all-encompassing tablet solution.

Nevertheless, if your priorities are centered around tasks such as enjoying Prime Video content on a reasonably sized screen, exploring your Kindle library, and indulging in extended web browsing sessions, the Fire Max 11 fulfills these requirements admirably, and all at a substantially lower cost compared to its competitors.