Fire Max 11: Amazon Finally Has a Real iPad Alternative

Amazon Fire tablets have all the time been the worth different to Apple’s iPads, permitting Amazon Prime members and sometimes their youngsters to faucet into the corporate’s huge library of leisure content material, together with “free” motion pictures, ebooks, video games and extra which are bundled into that membership. The drawback is, Amazon did not have an choice for individuals who wished to do extra with their tablets. With the brand new Fire Max 11, Amazon now has a premium iPad different.Equipped with a quicker MediaTek processor and higher front- and rear-facing cameras than the earlier Fire pill fashions, the Fire Max 11 options an 11-inch display screen with 2.4 million pixels (2,000×1,200 decision — 213 pixel-per-inch density) in an aluminum physique moderately than plastic. The Fire Max 11 begins at $230 with 64GB of storage with lock-screen advertisements enabled and can also be out there with a keyboard case and powered stylus for $330. (Not coincidentally, that is the identical MSRP of Apple’s baseline 10.2-inch iPad, sans equipment.) It’s out there for preorder at the moment and ships in mid-June.  After spending a while utilizing the Fire Max 11 at a product preview assembly with Amazon, I used to be usually impressed with the construct high quality and efficiency of the brand new pill. Think of it as Amazon’s Fire pill model of its premium Kindle e-book readers that not often get discounted — the Kindle Oasis and the more moderen Kindle Scribe. Those fashions even have aluminum designs and the Fire Max 11’s aluminum again and slim bezels undoubtedly give it a higher-end look (you will not mistake it for a price range product). It weighs in at 17.3 ounces (490 grams) or solely barely greater than the $150 Fire HD 10 (16.4 ounces, 465 grams). I received a little bit of hands-on time with the brand new Fire Max 11, utilizing it with the brand new Amazon Keyboard Case and Stylus Pen. David Carnoy/CNETIn my restricted time with the pill, the efficiency did not fairly match up with the iPad (10th Generation), nevertheless it actually feels zippier than earlier Fire tablets, together with the Fire HD 10, which is an exceedingly good worth, notably when it goes on sale for round $100. Amazon lists the display screen spec for the HD 10 as 1,920×1,200 with over 2 million pixels (224 ppi) so the Fire Max’s bigger 11-inch show with 213 ppi is not fairly as sharp.By comparability, Google’s new Pixel Tablet has a 10.9-inch display screen with 2,560×1,600 decision and 276 ppi. But that pill begins at $500 with an included dock. The Pixel Tablet runs Google’s Pixel-flavored model of Android 13 whereas the Fire Max 11 runs Amazon Fire OS 8 on prime of Android 11. Like different Fire tablets, you do not get the Google Play Store (and are restricted to Amazon’s app retailer), although many individuals sideload the Play Store on their Fire gadgets. Improved camerasAmazon reps advised me the corporate seen a shift in how individuals had been utilizing their tablets in the course of the pandemic that has continued as individuals nonetheless earn a living from home a minimum of a part of the week. More individuals had been utilizing them as productiveness gadgets moderately than simply as leisure gadgets. That included utilizing them for Zoom and Microsoft Teams video convention calls, even when the cameras weren’t that nice from a decision standpoint. With that in thoughts, past the design improve, the largest adjustments are to the front- and rear-facing cameras and the quicker processor. The step-down Fire HD 10 is supplied with 2-megapixel front-facing and 5-megapixel rear-facing cameras with 720p HD video recording. By distinction, the Fire Max 11 has 8-megapixel front- and rear-facing cameras with 1080p HD video recording.  The Amazon Fire Max 11 has an aluminum chassis. Screenshot by David Carnoy/CNETThe Fire Max 11 is sort of 50% quicker than the Fire HD 10 Plus, Amazon guarantees. It’s powered by a MediaTek MT8188J 2.2GHz octa-core processor with 4GB of RAM. It additionally helps quicker Wi-Fi 6 wi-fi connectivity and has a fingerprint sensor (a primary on an Amazon pill) together with a microSD enlargement slot so as to add as much as 1TB of further storage. A 3-month free trial of Microsoft Office 360 is included.More costly Android tablets just like the Pixel Tablet and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S8 include 8GB of RAM. But the entry-level Samsung Galaxy Tab A8, which begins round $350, solely comes with 2GB of RAM whereas the iPad (2022) has 4GB of RAM. More RAM prevents your pill from getting slowed down when utilizing a number of apps on the similar time and makes the pill carry out higher general.Keyboard and stylus assistYou can get a keyboard case for the Fire HD 10, however the Fire Max 11’s design features a set of pogo pins to connect Amazon’s new Keyboard Case ($90) to the pill magnetically. The new Amazon Stylus Pen ($35) additionally adheres magnetically to the facet of the pill. As famous earlier, you should purchase the Fire Max 11 in a bundle with the Keyboard Case and Stylus Pen for $330 or $25 lower than what the objects would price if bought individually. The Keyboard Case did appear fairly good and in addition has an built-in touchpad for mouse assist. Meanwhile, the Stylus Pen is powered by a replaceable AAAA battery that lasts as much as six months with average use. As for the pill’s battery life, it is rated to rise up to 14 hours of studying, searching the net, watching movies and listening to music on a single cost; it costs through its USB-C port, however doesn’t have a wi-fi charging choice just like the HD 8 Plus or HD 10 Plus. I used to be given a demo of how handwriting recognition works with sure apps. You may write a URL within the net browser handle bar and have it convert into textual content. You in all probability would not trouble with that when you had the Keyboard Case, however some individuals actually like to make use of their styluses.  Ultimately, the worth proposition right here is that for across the worth of the entry-level iPad, you are getting not solely a reliable and durable pill (the Fire Max 11 is “three times as durable” because the iPad 10.9-inch, Amazon says), however you additionally get a keyboard case and stylus. Apple’s Magic Keyboard Folio prices $249 and an Apple Pen (2nd technology) lists for $129.Like the Kindle Oasis and Scribe, I would not count on the Max 11 to be repeatedly supplied at a steep low cost, even throughout Black Friday gross sales. You may discover some small gross sales on it, or maybe Amazon will supply offers on bundles that embrace a normal case or the Stylus Pen, however its worth ought to stay pretty mounted whereas we proceed to see flash gross sales on Amazon’s different Fire tablets. We’ll have a full evaluate of the Amazon Fire Max 11 across the time it ships.Fire Max 11 key specs, in line with Amazon11-inch touchscreen made out of strengthened alumino-silicate glass 2,000×1,200 decision with 2.4 million pixels. Fire Max 11 has 410 nits (typical) brightness with 213 ppi pixel density, 70% (typical) NTSC coloration gamut, 1,000:1 (min) and 1,400:1 (typical) distinction ratio64GB or 128GB of inner storage with assist for microSD playing cards as much as 1 TB for added storageMediatek MT8188J octa-core processorArm G57 MC2 built-in graphics4GB of reminiscence17.3 ounces (490 grams)Up to 14 hours of battery life; absolutely charged in beneath 3.5 hours with a 15-watt adapter8-megapixel front- and rear-facing cameras with autofocus and 1080p video recordingDual audio system with Dolby Atmos, USB-C audio and exterior quantity controlsDual-band 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) wi-fiBluetooth 5.3 BLE with assist for A2DP stereo headphones, audio system, microphone and LE accessoriesAccelerometer, ambient gentle sensor, corridor impact and fingerprint sensorOptional equipment: Keyboard Case ($90), Made for Amazon Stylus Pen ($35) and Slim Cover ($50)Third-party Bluetooth and wired keyboards will be linked. Third-party USI 2.0 styluses are appropriate, although may have some restricted performance in comparison with Fire Max 11’s MFA stylus penHands-free Alexa (you may allow always-on Alexa voice assistant)Show Mode (full-screen Alexa expertise)Starts at $230 with 64GB of storage. Productivity bundle with Keyboard Case and Stylus Pen begins at $330