This is also the brightest Fire tablet we’ve tested so far, with a peak brightness of 504cd/m². It may still struggle with glare in direct sunlight, but you won’t need to close the curtains on a sunny day to enjoy the display.
Image quality is pretty good for a budget tablet. The average Delta E of 2.51 means that colour accuracy is largely on the money, if not up there with the best, and the contrast ratio of 1,657:1 is very respectable. The sRGB gamut coverage of 90.5% and the volume of 95.8% is nothing to get too excited about, however.
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Amazon Fire Max 11 review: Performance and battery life
The Fire Max 11 put in a strong showing in our performance tests. The octa-core Mediatek Dimensity MT8188J processor has a maximum clock speed of 2.2GHz and is paired with a fairly modest 4GB of RAM. Nevertheless, the Fire Max 11 left its rivals in the dust, beating the next best (the Oppo Pad Air) by over 80% in the single-core benchmarks and around 29% in the multicore.
The only model we don’t have figures for is the Fire HD 10 Plus, due to issues with Fire OS running our benchmarking software – more on that in the next section.
The opposite problem cropped up for the GPU tests, with the Fire HD 10 Plus running the benchmarks and the Fire Max 11 failing to do so. Subjectively, though, the Fire Max 11 is no 3D powerhouse. The fact that Amazon bundles the Fire Max 11 with a Luna controller might suggest that the tablet is ready for gaming, but my time in Fortnite was plagued with stutters and frame-rate drops. Stick to casual titles and the Fire Max 11 will be more at home.
The quoted 14-hour battery life turned out to be a modest underestimation on Amazon’s part, as the Fire Max 11 lasted for a hair under 20 hours in our standard looping video test. This is well ahead of most of its peers, beating the Oppo Pad Air by over an hour.
Amazon Fire Max 11 review: Productivity bundle and Fire OS
Like the HD 10 before it, the Fire Max 11 has some optional peripherals that transform it into a productivity-focused laptop replacement. The Made for Amazon Stylus Pen costs a further £35, the Keyboard Case is £90, or you can get both for £125.
The keyboard case comes in two separate pieces: the backplate connects magnetically to the rear of the tablet, with the lower half folding outwards to produce a built-in kickstand, while the keyboard itself snaps into magnetic docks on the bottom edge. Both pieces are covered in the same fabric you see on the standard flip cover, which adds to the premium feel of the tablet.
Typing on the keyboard is surprisingly satisfying, though you’ll need to use a desk as it’s too flimsy to sit on your knees. The trackpad is a bit jittery, and mistaken clicks aren’t uncommon, but it’s serviceable overall. The basic stylus lacks pressure sensitivity or the ability to charge via the tablet, but once again, it gets the job done. Hurried notes convert well into text and tracking is accurate enough for doodling. It’s a shame that there are no official notes or drawing apps preinstalled on the tablet, though.
