Amazon Fire Max 11 tablet (newest model) vivid 11” display, all-in-one for streaming, reading, and gaming, 14-hour battery life, optional stylus and keyboard, 64 GB, Gray

UPDATE: I've been using this Fire for about a year (got it on Prime Day 2023) and I still like it a lot. It is a bit heavy for relaxed reading, so I also got the Fire 10 HD (13th gen) this year, 2024 Prime Day. Indeed the 10 is significantly lighter even thought the size difference between the two is fairly small (same width but 11 is taller when in portrait, so it is wider screen in landscape). It is nice to have both. I will keep using the 11 with the keyboard it came bundled with and I will not get a keyboard for the 10. The keyboard is awesome and having the 11 be wider than the 10 allows the keyboard to be very comfortable. So if you touch-type, and want the attached keyboard, I recommend the 11 over the 10. I've used the keyboard extensively and it really is great (other than accidentally touching the touch pad occasionally, and unintentionally change my typing location).Also, I noticed that the 10 is annoyingly slower than the 11 when rendering all the icons on my home screen. Occasionally the icons disappear and you have to wait for them to reappear. It is only a couple of seconds but I don't recall ever seeing that on a "regular android" device, so it is a Fire OS issue that is more apparent with the slower 10. But the main reason I decided to write an update is the SD card issue that some other reviewers mentioned.I thought others had issues because they set up the card as "internal" which is essentially (but not quite) like having a bigger internal space for everything including apps. This is dangerous and there is a reason why you can no longer do this with newer versions of Android. So unless you have a zillion apps and really need bigger internal space because of your apps, you really should set up the card as Portable Memory instead (no apps on the card, only media and other files, etc.). Then you can decide what types of files to put there AND you can safely remove the card and access it on another device like your laptop (that's why it is called "portable"). You can choose to have the Kindle app, Prime Movies, etc download to the card. Most people need expanded memory for media, so this makes sense, and again it is safer. You also have good control over what gets stored on an SD card vs internal storage.But, setting up the card as Internal isn't the reason people had issues, because today for the first time I had the issue that others complained about, which is that my card supposedly unmounted and the Fire asked me to re-format. (This would be a bigger problem if I had set it up as "Internal" rather than "Portable"!!). I shut down the Fire, removed the card, and mounted it in Windows. Windows told me there was a problem with the card and I should scan and fix it. I did. Windows showed it as then fine, no further issues. And I had no trouble copying out all the folders from the card to Windows. Returning the card to the Fire still showed the screen for formatting the card, but I'm wondering if this is because the Fire tends to show screens that were on when you shut down. Or else the card was somehow marked as needing a format. The super weird thing, is, when I said to format as Portable Memory, it did so without removing anything. Doesn't formatting a card mean erasing it (or showing it as blank) so you start over with it fresh ?!?!? I was going to format it however Fire likes to format, and then return the original folders. But I did not need to copy back anything. It is working fine now. So apparently it would have re-formatted only if I had decided to swap from using it as "portable" to "internal." Probably every time you unmount ("eject") the card, you will get this message, and it won't really erase everything and reformat, unless you opt to change how you want to use the card. So all is okay with the card, but this situation should not have happened. It probably happened because some function was writing to the card and another function (an update??) dismounted it, thus interrupting the write. This is why Windows had to fix it.So, I think the card issue almost certainly has nothing to do with the particular card, so others' comments are correct about that. (I've been using a new high-quality Samsung Pro Plus card, overkill for a Fire tablet but it was on sale). When the card issue surfaced, I was trying to do some updates from the Appstore and it seemed frozen. (There is still a problem with the Appstore!). So the Fire was not in a good state. It may be a good idea to reboot it occasionally once in a while (I probably hadn't rebooted for about a month). I was also thinking maybe it was trying to update and that broke its normal functionality. Could be. My biggest suspicion. It is on Fire OS 8.3.2.4, from July 3, 2024. I checked for updates even though it showed as last checking today, and it said to tap to install an update, but when I did, everything froze. I eventually went back to the updater, and now it said I have 1 update (rather than a bunch of gibberish that suggested some pieces were still downloading, and with a broken button for installing, as initially happened). Now I was able to install the update, and when I re-checked for updates, it showed "no updates found," and the Check Now button reappeared as normal. So all seems fine. Other than the fact that my OS still shows as 8.3.2.4. And it still shows it as being from July 3 (today is Aug 7). And I did not get the usual message that my system has updated. It was a secret undocumented thing, or the old update re-installed (why??). Perhaps it was not a Fire OS update but an update of some other built-in component (like the Apstore, or some such thing). The Appstore still seems hung on the page where I update apps. The other parts of it work. It is an issue with the app, because F-Droid can install and update just fine. And my new Fire 10 also works fine, so it is not the server for the Appstore. I'm now thinking it got a corrupted (interrupted?) update and won't work until Amazon has a newer update that I can install on top of it.Amazon, if you are listening: please please be normal about updates. Let your users know there is an update and let them pick when to do the update. If control-freak Apple can do this, you can, too. I do not want to be using my device while it is trying to update (or shutting it down to remove a corrupted card...). That's just asking for trouble. I want to have it plugged in and keep my hands off it for a while. This is a problem with other Amazon devices as well. Okay, you're gonna force an update whether I like it or not, but please, if you don't want to cause a lot of grief, just let people have some control (and awareness!!!!!) when the device needs to be updated. My guess is that even when there is only a minor update (as seems to have been the case for me), the Kindle is not fully functional but pretends to be, and since it is not fully functional (it quits some processes), some unexpected quits will cause corruptions/crashes/SD card issues.....But otherwise it is a good device. Truly. I'm still happy to have it. I love the whale background :-)Initial Review:I got the productivity bundle and I am super pleased. I needed something to take notes with in classes, that also had a touch screen for drawing, and this is great for that. (Amazon Appstore has OneNote and Squid and both are great for notes with this.) In my experience it DOES matter which app you use with the pen because a paint app I tried worked but was slow (so I blame the app, since OneNote and Squid are fine). There is also a fairly new open source app called Saber that seems great (I still need to experiment with that one -- available on F-Droid). I'm thinking that some of the professional reviews (on other web sites) got an early or different version of the pen because the harsh criticisms of it do not match my experience. It works great.This is my 2nd Fire tablet, and I like it so much better than my first one, Fire 8 HD from 2017. I wasn't unhappy with the old tablet when I got it (because I got it on sale for a great price) but I just almost never used it because the screen was so unpleasant and stressful to look at, plus the device was annoyingly slow. Not so with this new tablet -- I am very pleased with the screen quality, and the speed is good for how I'm using it.The pen and keyboard are truly awesome. I wasn't sure at first whether I liked the aspect ratio/shape of the tablet but actually it makes sense. The longer shape allows for nearly full-sized key spacing on the keyboard while not causing the tablet to be unnecessarily large and heavy, as it would be with the iPad's aspect ratio. Someone said they prefer the snap-in clamshell keyboard that is available for the 10, but I much prefer this thin-and-light keyboard (didn't have the 10 but considered it and looked at pics of its keyboard). It is super easy and fast to pull off and snap on the keyboard and it does not need batteries. At home (where I have "real" laptops) I use the tablet mostly without the keyboard, and half of the keyboard case stays on it, protecting the back and the camera, and giving the tablet a nice non-slip feel, plus I can use the fold-out stand. I don't use it on my lap at school, and at home I use a lap desk so I don't mind that I can't put it directly in my lap while typing. Really, I have no complaints at all about this setup. Perfect.Well, maybe I can complain a little about Fire OS but it is mostly okay. I would hate it for a phone but it is fine for a tablet. And it is much improved over what I had on my old Fire, especially the settings (I like to have control and info). I put Google Play on my previous Fire but I'm not sure I will do so on this one. I mean I have an Android phone that has things I'd like from the Play store, like my calculator collection and bank apps and whatnot. I don't need to replicate that on this tablet. I've installed F-Droid so I can still easily put a bunch of nice apps on it. I have a Linux terminal app (Termux) and will probably install a small Linux distro with desktop which will further expand the usability. Plus I have a Microsoft 360 subscription from work and it is nice to have an app for that on this tablet too. It has the most critical work apps like Zoom and Teams and Office and Outlook. So it already has what I really need on a tablet. Oh, and Kindle, of course. I think in the past it was almost necessary to side-load Google Play but the Amazon Appstore now has my most critical apps, at least for a tablet. (Yea, it generally is not great and not well maintained, with tons of outdated apps.) Don't be mad at Amazon about Google Play Store, YouTube, etc. It is a Google policy. Google does not want others to take the open source piece of Android and build their own thing on top of it, with no control from Google. There are penalties for doing that. And Amazon couldn't sell its media to you directly on regular Android, so it kind of has to make a separate OS. This is your tradeoff for getting a subsidized tablet. I'm poor so I will accept the tradeoff, especially for a tablet as nice as this one.I paid to get rid of the ads, and I do that on every Kindle or Fire (I value discounts a lot, but aesthetics even more) and now this tablet is a pleasure to use. And soooo much less expensive than a similar setup would have been from Apple.

The media could not be loaded. ***Notice: on March 6th, 2024 I have updated this review. I would append the original version, but combined with this would be too much text. If you wish to view the original version, I would suggest using the way-back machine found on the internet archive.***Preface:I have been using this tablet on-and-off for about 9 months as of the time of writing. I actually went and bought the (2023) Pixel Tablet, and installed LineageOS on it for a clean android experience, and even though not always mentioned, it is the basis of comparison for a lot of my complaints. Above all else however, it is important to note the price disparity, $230 for the Fire 11, versus $500 for the Pixel Tablet - To some less privileged, that might be enough to make it affordable whilst keeping food on the table.Chassis:Unlike any other Amazon tablet to date, this device is supported by an aluminum body, with only a single plastic insert near the top, where the speaker holes are. My only qualm is the camera bump - the rear facing camera has a bump, despite having the same resolution (8 megapixels) as the selfy camera which is flush under the screen's glass.Display and Sound:It's display is adequate, it's efficient and gets bright enough to do any task in nearly any lighting condition. The resolution however brings mixed feelings; I can notice slight aliasing (where smooth curves and angled lines can look like stairs, with distinct steps/layers) of icons on the homescreen, but not when reading books or viewing content. Since most content is produced in either 4k or 1080, increasing the resolution any higher would make the device more expensive and produce weird aliasing until you scaled the screen to 4k. Even the pixel tablet doesn't reach 4k, with a 2560x1600 screen and providing a smoother homescreen but aliasing for content if you look closely at it.Sound quality is surprisingly good. This isn't something that will rival a dedicated speaker, like an Echo or something from Bose, but I've enjoyed many a night laying in bed, watching YouTube and other content on it, without any concerns for the sound quality.Software:FireOS 8, based on android 11. It seemed palatable at launch, and it's going to be less so as the device ages, considering android 14 launched later in 2023. I'd be more mad about the version, except that there's been no interesting or really major changes in android since android 11, which has the side effect of allowing various apps an easier time maintaining compatibility.I would highly recommend anyone who's interested look up the Android Police's articles on installing the Google Play Store, it will make your experience a lot nicer (although I do note that sometimes the Google Play Store does not like it when you install SD cards, you may wish to get the 128GB model).Make no mistake however, I am thoroughly irritated at Amazon's update policy; They promise software updates and support for 4 years after the device is last available for purchase, which is industry-leading. This however does not include major OS version updates: My Fire HD 10 (2021), is still running FireOS 7, based on android 9, much to my annoyance. For a device this expensive, Amazon should be able to provide the same software support other vendors do, and update it to FireOS 9 whenever that comes out.The UI is simplistic, with a homescreen that an apple user would find familiar, but with the android controls that any lifelong android user would be able to navigate with ease. I wish Amazon would port gesture navigation, to bring the device up to parity with any Android and Apple phone released in the past 5 years, but I'm instead given 3-button navigation, which sometimes leads me to accidentally swipe backwards ineffectively.I did once complain that the Google Play Games login did not work on the device, but Amazon actually seems to have resolved that in an update released shortly after launch. I can now play Homeworld mobile, and have my progress saved across multiple devices.Performance:The processor is fast enough to not only navigate the UI, browse the web using Chrome, but even emulate some DS games (with Drastic), and play some dedicated android games. I still maintain that a device with 4GB of ram shouldn't be expected to run modern Android apps, but that's the price issue.Of slightly more annoyance, is the WiFi adapter: I've tested it and found it tops out at around 50-100 megabits per second, which is enough to stream content (1080p content is less than 5), which is weird since I have devices that adhere to the same WiFi 5 standard, that are able to download much faster. I can only presume that internally the WiFi adapter is either budget, or is connected to the processor via some really slow bus internally, like serial or something.Accessories:Amazon offers a stylus and keyboard folio. The stylus is rather interesting as Amazon includes handwriting to text conversion on the device, allowing you to write in any text box you want. I've used it a few times to take notes quickly before sending them to someone via Discord. It uses the rather rare AAAA battery, which is annoying to source replacements for, but I'd rather replace the battery than be stuck with an internal one like Apple does, since Apple's stylus will become a paperweight once the battery dies.The keyboard however is the star of the show - I love how it's folio is 2-piece, allowing me to remove the keyboard and toss it wherever if I don't need it, yet retain the (very stable) kickstand of it's backing piece. The feel of the keys themselves are meh, and I'm annoyed by the function key where the CRTL key should be, but it's not enough of a problem. It finds frequent use, allowing me to write messages on Discord, or handle other tasks without needing to bring my bulky laptop with me. The trackpad however, is useless - Android doesn't need it, and it feels a bit weird and rough.Features:This is the first tablet Amazon has released with a fingerprint sensor, and I'm honestly surprised by how reliable it is. Amazon's on-device messaging with the fingerprint sensor is also helpful (for example, it will inform you that it's been more than 72 hours since the PIN was last used, and for security reasons, forbid further fingerprint unlocks until you unlock it with the PIN at least once). It's extremely fast and seamless, immediately dropping me to the homescreen with a gentle tap of the sensor - I don't have to actually click the power button down.Desires:I understand wireless charging is an impossibility with the aluminum chassis, but I really wish Amazon released a charging/speaker dock for this thing. There's already pogo pins on the bottom for the keyboard, it wouldn't be hard to repurpose them for a dock, and it would encourage users to use it in the "show mode" that Amazon advertises this thing is capable of.I'd also really want major version updates. When FireOS 9 comes out, I want that on this device, not to be stuck on android 11 forever. This is Amazon's flagship, and it's powerful enough to handle it.Above all else however, I want Amazon to let me unlock the bootloader. I understand these devices are likely sold at a loss, so maybe let me buy an un-refundable unlock code for my device to make up the difference for Amazon, but let me do it.Conclusion:There's a lot of gaps where this device falls short, but it's basically unbeatable at this price range. If $500 seems insurmountable for your situation, or you want a disposable device to give a family member or child, you can't go wrong with this. My complaints whilst numerous, are not enough to drop it's rating from 5 stars in my eyes - it's still found a happy home with me.