Amazon Fire Max 11 review

Amazon has been making Hearth tablets for years – over a decade, actually. However till now, it has firmly set its sights on interesting to those that needed to spend as little as doable on a tool for leisure.

The Hearth Max 11, then, is kind of a departure from that technique. The title is new, and so is the pill itself. It’s the primary pill Amazon has made with an 11in display screen, and the primary to have an aluminium physique as a substitute of plastic.

It seems and appears like a top quality little bit of equipment and, though it’s the most costly pill Amazon has ever made, it’s nonetheless a lot cheaper than an iPad.

Who’s it for, although, and who can buy it? Nicely, the quick reply is that it’s a respectable pill for watching video, shopping the online and – sure – all issues Amazon.

The issue, as ever, is the software program since you’re caught in Amazon’s world. A world with no Google and – it seems – one the place quite a lot of the apps you may like to make use of merely don’t exist.

Options & design

• Aluminium building
• Fingerprint reader
• Non-compulsory keyboard and stylus

One factor’s clear while you first get the Hearth Max 11 out of its field: that is no toy. The ‘wise’ graphite-colour end, square-sided design and strong really feel within the hand offer you a reassuring sense that you just may simply have spent your cash properly.

Amazon says it’s thrice extra sturdy than the ten^th-gen 10.9in iPad, a pill which has clearly impressed the Hearth Max 11’s design, as a result of the Hearth Max 11 seems precisely the identical, even right down to the oh-so-similar bezel thickness across the display screen and measurement and placement of the rear digicam, and the way a lot it protrudes.

The entrance digicam, too, is in the identical place because the iPad’s in the course of the lengthy facet and the similarities don’t cease there. Amazon has constructed a fingerprint scanner into the facility button, and there’s an non-obligatory keyboard and stylus, simply as there’s for the iPad.

Dig additional into the specs and the 2 tablets mirror one another with Wi-Fi 6, USB-C charging and a base storage of 64GB.

In fact, the Hearth Max 11 isn’t actually an iPad rival and, contemplating the worth, you’d actually forgive the truth that it doesn’t have a TrueTone display screen, the flexibility to document 4K video and different options.

Evaluating specs is a folly, although, as a result of as everybody is aware of, it’s software program that may make or break a tool. I’ll get to that later.

The opposite issues that you must know in regards to the Hearth Max 11 are that it has a microSD slot for cheaply including extra storage, hands-free Alexa and cameras which might be miles higher than earlier Hearth tablets. Each are 8Mp and whereas it’s uncertain that many patrons will use the rear digicam a lot, however the entrance digicam is nice for Zoom calls, as you’ll be able to see:

Jim Martin / Foundry

Display & audio system

• 11in 2K display screen
• Stereo audio system

One of many Hearth Max 11’s greatest bits is its display screen. The 2000 x 1200-pixel decision is a lot to make every part sharp and hues, distinction and viewing angles are superb.

Jim Martin / Foundry

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It’s absolutely laminated, too, which suggests there isn’t a air hole between the entrance glass and the LCD show behind it as there’s on the ten^th-gen iPad. This implies there isn’t a hole sound while you faucet the display screen and it’s one more reason why the Hearth Max 11 has that well-built feeling.

Brightness isn’t the display screen’s sturdy swimsuit. Amazon claims 410 nits – decrease than the iPad’s 500 nits – and neither pill is de facto vivid sufficient for snug out of doors use. Nonetheless, discover a place with some shade and also you may simply have the ability to use the Hearth Max 11 outside for net shopping and studying Kindle books, however you gained’t love watching video outside, or making an attempt to create or edit paperwork.

Jim Martin / Foundry

Stereo audio system are mounted within the high edge (when holding the pill with the digicam on the high) and help Dolby Atmos. Nonetheless, as you’d count on, sound high quality is kind of ‘skinny’. It’s high-quality for dialogue, podcasts and Alexa, however not perfect for music due to the shortage of bass.

The Hearth Max 11 doesn’t have a headphone jack – what does today? – however there’s Bluetooth 5.3 to your wi-fi headphones.

Efficiency

• Mediatek 8-core processor
• 4GB RAM

Just about all of the Hearth tablets I’ve reviewed prior to now have felt underpowered. And that’s to be anticipated given their low costs.

Lots of people wrote off the Hearth Max 11 earlier than laying their arms on it, saying 4GB of RAM wouldn’t be sufficient. However that’s not the case. Subjectively, it feels zippy and responsive more often than not. There’s no lag when swiping between house screens, and there’s sufficient energy right here to play video games like Roblox and Asphalt 8 with out lowering the standard to a blurry mush.

In measurable numbers, the PCMark Work 3.0 check confirmed that the Hearth Max 11 is 25% sooner than the Hearth HD 10, reviewed.

One other space the place Hearth tablets haven’t traditionally carried out nicely is pictures. However the Hearth Max 11 has upgraded entrance and rear cameras: each are 8Mp. (Up from 2Mp and 5Mp, respectively, on the Hearth HD 10.

Battery life is respectable. The 7,500mAh battery is claimed to last as long as 14 hours, which is 2 greater than the Hearth HD 10. I discovered that it lasted simply over 10 hours enjoying video.

Amazon features a 9W charger within the field, and a full recharge takes simply over 4 hours. If in case you have one – or purchase one – you should utilize a 15W charger as a substitute to chop that point right down to about 3.5 hours.

Software program

• Hearth OS 8 (based mostly on Android 11)
• No Google Play
• 3-month trial of Microsoft 365

Software program is the Hearth Max 11’s sticking level. Not as a result of it’s dangerous, however as a result of it’s a walled backyard which doesn’t embody any Google providers.

So though the pill is technically operating Android 11, you’ll be able to’t set up the YouTube app, Google Drive, Gmail, Google Maps or any app from the Google Play retailer, as a result of none of those can be found on the Hearth Max 11.

Apps should be put in from the Appstore, which is okay if these you need are in there. Various in style ones are, together with Netflix, Disney+, Spotify, Instagram, Fb, TikTok and Twitter.

But it surely gained’t be lengthy till you seek for an app which isn’t there, resembling Snapchat, any Google apps, just about any sensible house app and even sure streaming providers resembling Discovery+.

That’s a shock when the app is accessible on Amazon’s Hearth TV units, however the identical is true of YouTube.

In case you actually need to, you’ll be able to set up any Android app on a Hearth pill. It’s a course of referred to as side-loading and entails downloading actual Android apps (or in any other case getting maintain of them), tweaking just a few settings and putting in them on the Hearth Max 11.

Not all apps will work correctly, although, particularly any which depend on Google’s software program being put in alongside.

Let’s additionally keep in mind that Amazon is pitching the Hearth Max 11 as a productiveness system. You should buy the official keyboard case and a stylus, each of that are high-quality equipment. The issue, once more, is apps.

You do get a three-month free trial of Microsoft 365, however when you don’t need to use – or pay for – Workplace, you’re reliant on net apps.

Jim Martin / Foundry

And, to be truthful, it’s doable to make use of Google Docs, Drive and Images in Amazon’s Silk net browser, similar to you’ll on a Microsoft Floor or iPad. And you will get your Gmail in Amazon’s personal Electronic mail app: you simply check in to your Google account.

The keyboard could be very helpful for emails and typing paperwork, and it has a row of helpful shortcut keys to regulate brightness, quantity and media playback in addition to having devoted House, Search and Information buttons.

Jim Martin / Foundry

It isn’t backlit, however quite a lot of keyboard shortcuts work as you’d count on them to, together with Alt-Tab. The trackpad isn’t as intuitive as a result of it requires a two-finger faucet to pick out textual content, somewhat than inserting the cursor and clicking and dragging. In any other case, it’s superb, with gestures for scrolling, pinch-to-zoom and a three-finger gesture to change apps.

Hearth OS 8 additionally helps split-screen, which helps you to put some apps facet by facet, and you’ll slide the divider so one app takes up a 3rd of the display screen as a substitute of half.

Once more, although, when you can’t use an online app, you could discover that what you need isn’t accessible within the Appstore. Dropbox and Adobe Reader are two noticeable examples, however there are others.

Within the Information app, now you can create a brand new doc, spreadsheet or presentation. That sounds promising, however after I tried to check this, I bought a warning that WPS Workplace for Amazon was constructed for an older model of Android and will not work correctly.

Positive sufficient, it didn’t, with the phrase processor failing to show correctly on the Hearth Max 11’s display screen, slicing off the highest menu and making it unattainable to make use of.

I used to be impressed by how good the stylus integration was with Hearth OS. You’ll be able to write anyplace you’d usually sort, use it to scroll, navigate, choose textual content and sketch in apps resembling Piscart. It magnetically attaches to the facet of the Hearth Max 11 for storage. The AAAA battery is claimed to final round six months.

Jim Martin / Foundry

There’s no pairing: it’s a USI stylus so you should utilize it with some other system that additionally helps USI styli resembling one other pill, laptop computer or Chromebook. It additionally means you don’t have to purchase this one to make use of with the Hearth Max 11.

Handwriting recognition is, frankly, excellent. My daughter tried to idiot it with outrageous cursive script, but it surely was too intelligent and at all times knew which characters she was scrawling. The one subject I encountered was that palm rejection wants work: you’ll be able to’t merely lean your hand on the display screen to write down with out knocking down the notification shade, or inflicting different issues to occur.

The opposite main software program function is Alexa. As with Amazon’s different Hearth tablets, Alexa is hands-free on the Hearth Max 11, so you’ll be able to say “Alexa, activate the bed room mild” even when the pill’s display screen is off and it’s locked with a passcode.

It helps Present Mode, too, which suggests it might probably act like an Echo Present and show data seen from a distance resembling images, time, climate, sports activities scores, recipes and extra. You’ll need a appropriate stand for this, but it surely’s price noting that the keyboard case is definitely two separate components: the keyboard and a rear kickstand. You’ll be able to detach the keyboard and depart the kickstand on for watching movies – or utilizing Present Mode.

Jim Martin / Foundry

Amazon says it’s going to present 4 years of safety updates for the Hearth Max 11 however, as ever, there aren’t any such guarantees about Android model upgrades.

Worth & availability

The 64GB model of the Hearth 11 Max prices $229.99 / £249.99 from Amazon. Go for 128GB and people costs rise to £279.99 / £289.99.

In case you assume you’d just like the keyboard and stylus, it’s price shopping for them as a bundle along with the pill as you’ll save a bit over shopping for them individually. Nonetheless, that’s solely the case within the US, the place the 64GB model with each equipment prices $344.99 as a substitute of $369.97. Within the UK – on the time of overview – the bundle merely provides £89.99 for the keyboard and £34.99 for the stylus, the standard costs for every when purchased individually.

Even on the Hearth Max 11, Amazon will present advertisements on the lockscreen except you choose the “With out Lockscreen Adverts” possibility when shopping for, including $15 / £10 the worth.

Other than this cheeky observe, these costs are a lot lower than you’d pay for an iPad 10^th-gen with an Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard Folio. In truth, Apple’s keyboard alone prices greater than a Hearth Max 11.

There are, after all, alternate options. Lenovo is an apparent one, with the Tab P11 having very related specs to the Hearth Max 11 and costing beneath $280 / £280 from Amazon for the 128GB model (with 6GB of RAM, too). Extra importantly, it runs Android 12L, and gives entry to all of the apps lacking from the Hearth Max 11.

See our roundup of one of the best tablets and one of the best Android tablets for different decisions.

Verdict

When it comes to {hardware}, there’s rather a lot to love in regards to the Hearth Max 11. And when you’re after a pill with a keyboard or stylus however are on a funds, it needs to be a tempting possibility.

The caveat is that that you must make it possible for any apps you completely will need to have can be found on the Hearth Max 11.

For many who are snug side-loading apps, the Hearth Max 11 may make much more sense however, as talked about, this isn’t a magic bullet that lets you run all Google apps.

Anybody after a easy life could also be higher off with an Android pill just like the Lenovo Tab P11, however on the flip facet, the Hearth Max 11 is nice for anybody who predominantly makes use of Amazon providers resembling Prime Video, Kindle, Audible, Alexa, Amazon Music and others, but in addition cares about having a good-quality pill with a big display screen.