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, 128 GB, Gray, without lockscreen ads

I come from a 2021 10 plus for reference.This tablet has better graphics, brighter, sharper...hands down. It does everything the 10 plus did plus more and it is faster. The charging port is a PD C port. This means that I can plug in various flash or external drives (the fire has to format them and prepare them first to work with it so go in bare and let it do that). These drives can STILL be used with your regular computer too after that per usual. I made a flash drive of various things that I'd want during a power outage for that purpose as my fire is my go to device in that situation. The pen...oh my, the pen. I bought one when I got the Max 11. It is the best thing I've ever done and the reason I also bought an 11 and pen for my disabled son. Lets talk at some length about the pen being used with the tablet as that is a major upgrade.It writes better on this tablet than any stylus I've ever used on any device. The palm rejection is GREAT..it only very rarely makes a small mistake. I tried every major stylus apps on my 11 (after sideloading the play store of course- if that ability goes away I will quit buying these as the provided app store is meager and pathetic- sorry amazon, it's true. It's super easy to do, google it and there are simple instructions to install 4 programs with links where to get them- very simple). The two that came out on top is Inkredible and Squid. Inkredible lets you buy what you want and need without having to get the whole thing. Brownie points there. I want fun and rich backgrounds to write on mostly for household notes. I have small papers all over with various notes I've taken and this will solve that mess. I tried doing it with adding a picture and sizing it over the provided area. That worked only somewhat ok. When I'd touch the stylus to make a dot for like the top of an i, it would stop writing and you had to fuss with it to get it to write again (that is a thing with the program and not the stylus). I figured out how to fix it though. I made the background what I wanted IN inkredible then exported it out of inkredible to a file as a .pdf (I sent it to my main computer), then I put the file back on the 11 and imported that pdf back into the inkredible and it was now an embedded background and it was fine, great...no more problems. They have writing enhancement in the inkredible that makes your writing still yours but cleaned up a touch to look nicer and smoother.On Squid, they want a continuing payment to unlock things like importing. It works very well but they don't have the enhanced writing so how you write is what you get raw. I was going to pull the trigger until I figured out how to make inkredible work for the backgrounds, now I don't need to I don't think. Squid has pages for a large variety of uses and needs though- graphing, music and the like. If I end up needing something that inkredible doesn't provide me I'll do Squid for the cost.The only thing I WISH I had on the 11 is the ability to mark over pages in the web browser and other programs that are similar. My HP laptop has that and it is fun and amazing to be able to markup stuff on webpages and save it as a screenshot essentially to send where you will. Other than that the stylus functioning is nearly perfect. I am SO jazzed, this is what I've been waiting for a very long time.With the play store sideloaded this becomes a great tablet. I don't know how productive it is for business people but for the average user it is productive enough. This is my brain cell and my babysitter. I take it with me out and it keeps me entertained or working on stuff while I wait in waiting rooms. It keeps notes for me, now easier than ever as I don't have to hunt and peck on the keyboard popup, I just write it, and it looks good while doing it. It will now stand in for the tablet/s I keep on my desk for taking notes while on the phone AND I don't have to scramble looking for the recent notes when I have a need to refresh my memory as they will be saved right on my 11. My son needs to keep notes as well as a function of his disability. The thing is he is disorganized and never has ready paper and a writing instrument, but he lives life with a fire in his hand- literally he's almost never without it. I got him a case that holds the pen too and now at any moment he is ready to take a note and he's absolutely loving that.Our 2021's were working fine, but because of the stylus capabilities I decided to try the Max 11 and I am so glad that I did. For us it is a major jump in enjoyment and productivity and disability mitigation. I think it is well worth upgrading to.

This is by far the best Fire Tablet since the HDX series, and my favorite. To put into context my love of the Fire Tablet, I’ve owned (or bought and returned) the following over the past 11 years:Fire 7 (2012/2014/2020),Fire HDX 7 (2014),Fire HD 8 (2018),Fire HD 8+ (2020/2022),Fire HD 10 (2018, 2019),Fire HD 10+ (2021),Fire Max 11 (2023).Of those, the ones I kept or kept the longest was the Fire HDX 7, the Fire 7 (2014), and the Fire HD 10 (2018).Specs for the Fire Max 11 can be found within the product description.Design and BuildThe Max 11 boasts a sleek and modern design, coupled with a build quality that feels robust and premium. Its lightweight aluminum structure makes it convenient for both work and leisure, allowing easy handling and portability. I like that it went back to a similar size/ratio of the 2018 HD 10.PerformanceEquipped with a more powerful processor than its predecessor, the Max 11 is capable of handling various tasks smoothly. Whether I am browsing the web, watching videos, or using multiple apps simultaneously, the experience is fluid and lag-free, especially compared to my HD 10.While not ‘blazingly fast’, it IS much faster than I expected. Out of curiousity, I wound up trying it with a bluetooth keyboard/mouse combo, and for the first time-I feel this is a possible viable laptop replacement for light to medium users. My HD 10 does not make a viable laptop replacement. Great multitasking ability, can run enough apps at once with little to no lag.The speakers are merely adequate, if not a tad disappointing. Thought normally I either use ear buds or a bluetooth speaker. I don't miss having a head phone jack, and love having the quite responsive finger print sensor on the power button.DisplayThis has been probably my biggest surprise. The display is vibrant and crisp, offering excellent viewing angles. It renders colors accurately, making it a joy to use for both media consumption and reading. I do wish it was a TAD brighter at times, but the vibrancy of the colors makes up for it most of the time. I’d wondered how much of a viewing difference going from the 10 to the 11 would be, and it’s shockingly a pretty big difference. The Max 11 almost feels like a small tv, or laptop screen at times.Battery LifeBattery life has been good. It’s not the best nor the worst, and should be more than adequate for most users. Since I have chargers adjacent to most places I use the tablet in my house, I’ve also not needed to run it low.ValueOne of the reasons I’ve had so many Fire tablets (I’ve owned only one other non Fire tablet, a 6th gen iPad mini that I use for my business) is that I love the value proposition and ease of use. Reviewers like to talk down the Fire software, but I have never minded it. I am admittedly deep into the Amazon ecosystem with movies, books, music, etc., so the operating system has always made it easy to access and use that stuff. I have also side loaded the Play store (I did this on my HD 10 also), so I have access to almost the entire Play store of apps on my Max 11. If one is really ambitious, you can essentially turn it into more an Android operating system. Personally, I have never like the tablet OS offered from iPad or Android tablets. When the Fire Max 11 was first announced, I was excited about the specs, but hesitant on the price. So I waited until Prime Day to buy it, also taking advantage of the trade in offer. In terms of what I paid ($229-$30 trade in gift card-$46 trade in 25% off-$80 prime day offer=$73.99), of course it’s an awesome value. At $229…I would suggest either going refurbished if available or just waiting it out for the inevitable discounts (at the time I write this, it’s on sale for $189.99). But I still think it’s a great tablet at $229, and wouldn’t fault anyone that pays that.OverallIn conclusion, the Fire Max 11 strikes a balance between aesthetics and functionality, offering a modern solution that should meet the needs of most while offering value and longevity. It might be a worthy addition to your tech arsenal, promising reliability and efficiency in daily use.Rating: 4.5/5