Amazon Fire Max 11 review: Dude, where's my app store?

Amazon's most expensive tablet yet is held back by a pitiful app experience

For years, Amazon's Fire tablet lineup has split into three models. Despite the low entry costs for the Fire 7 and Fire HD 8, it was tough to avoid the siren song of the Fire HD 10. The biggest, baddest Amazon slate was nearly always the most usable of the bunch, thanks in part to a 1080p panel and faster hardware. But the toy-like design — not to mention the lack of Google Play Services — was always enough to turn off some potential buyers, no matter how cheap the price.

With the Fire Max 11, Amazon's biggest tablet is getting a little bigger. It's sporting an all-new look that aims to modernize the Fire lineup, complete with slim bezels and a new aluminum shell. But is boosting its build quality enough to distract from the software woes that plague every Amazon slate, or is this another case of putting lipstick on a pig? With a price increase to match that decadent new design, it's tougher than ever to recommend the headaches that come bundled with every Amazon Fire tablet.

The Amazon Fire Max 11 is a big step up compared to previous generations of Fire tablets. The hardware has never been better, and overall performance feels up to modern standards for the first time in years. Ultimately, the software experience holds this one behind, especially if you're unwilling — or unable — to manually install the Play Store.

The Amazon Fire Max 11 starts at $230 for the 64GB ad-supported model. If you'd rather sport a custom lockscreen, add $20 to your final purchase price. The 128GB model is available for $280 in one ad-free tier. Amazon has kept the microSD card slot around on this new generation, so if you're worried about running out of storage on the cheapest variant, you aren't totally out of luck.

You'll also find the Fire Max 11 for sale in a couple of different bundles, including the productivity bundle I'm reviewing. This set includes the 64GB tablet, the keyboard case, and the stylus for $355 (with a seemingly semi-permanent discount to $330). You can opt for an ad-free or 128GB model for a little additional cash up front, along with a standalone keyboard and stylus accessories. Unsurprisingly, everything is sold through Amazon's storefront directly, though you can also pick up the tablet through Best Buy.

The design of previous Amazon Fire tablets — whether the lowest-end Fire 7 or the latest Fire HD 10 Plus — could never be described as much more than "functional." The company has used the same chunky aesthetic for a decade now, with even the most powerful of its devices (and I do use that term loosely) looking like a dated iPad clone.

The Amazon Fire Max 11 looks to change that. It's not like this is the sleekest slate we've ever seen, but by catching up to modern design trends, it's easy to mistake the Fire Max 11 for something with a much higher price tag. Relatively slim bezels — similar to what you'll find on Apple's iPad Air and tenth-gen iPad — with curved corners do a lot of the heavy lifting here, but it's the aluminum chassis that really ramps things up a notch.

That creaky, cheap-feeling plastic from all other Fire tablets has been replaced by a matte metal shell, and for fans of the company's budget slate lineup, it's a breath of fresh air. Obviously, the Fire Max 11 is still a step behind the most refined tablets on the market today, but if you're sick of your affordable gadgets sticking out like a sore thumb, this model fixes those complaints.

Overall, I think Amazon's efforts here really paid off. The company managed to find a good middle ground between affordability and premium hardware, building a slate that feels premium without sending the cost skyrocketing. The flat edges, the matte finish, the overall thin chassis — it's the first Fire tablet that doesn't look like it was manufactured by Fisher Price.

Amazon has also added a fingerprint sensor embedded in the power button for quick unlocking. It might sound like a small addition, but it's a very welcome addition at this price point. As mentioned, the company also kept its microSD card slot onboard, though it's locked behind a SIM tray-style hole. Unfortunately, the 3.5mm headphone jack is nowhere to be seen. That's pretty inexcusable on a budget device like this, especially one that might find its way into the hands of kids or younger teenagers. More than ever, it feels like an attempt to push the brand's Echo Buds lineup.

Although the display might sound similar to the Fire HD 10's panel on paper, side-by-side, it's a big step up. The 11" 2000x1200 panel is a little too wide for my liking, but if you're primarily using this device for movies or other widescreen media, it's perfect. Past Fire tablets nearly always look washed out, but the Fire Max 11 manages to boost color punchiness without looking too oversaturated. It's a good screen for the price.

Likewise, viewing angles are good, with only a modicum of brightness lost off-angle. Outdoor use is possible, though, at 410 nits, you'll want to avoid direct sunlight. As for its Dolby Atmos-certified speakers, well, I'm not sure if they'll be up to Christopher Nolan's approval; they sound perfectly fine for Netflix movies or YouTube videos. They could benefit from a bit of a volume boost. But cranked up, everything sounds fine, a rarity in this price range.

In the box, you'll find the tablet, a 9W power adapter, a USB-C charging cable, and an ejector pin for the SD card.

It should come as no surprise that the Fire Max 11 really falls apart once you turn it on. True, an Amazon slate has never felt as fast as this; apps open with limited splash screens, and everything just feels responsive in a way previous models never could. But the MediaTek processor powering this tablet is still a low-end chipset, and once you start throwing heavy web pages or multiple tasks at it, reality starts catching up.

With 4GB of RAM, the Fire Max 11 is really best as a single-task device, even if its ultra-wide screen feels like something that would mesh well with two side-by-side apps. I didn't notice application reloads enough for it to become an issue, though, and individual web pages loaded pretty fast compared to previous generations of Amazon Fire tablets.

Fire OS remains the biggest factor holding Amazon's hardware back. I don't care whether you're buying this tablet for productivity, media consumption, or just as a device to browse the web with — the apps you'll find on the Amazon Appstore aren't enough. At the risk of sounding too harsh, it's a rotting, failed storefront, one incapable of meeting the needs of most users in 2023.

Obviously, every Google application is missing here — no Gmail, no YouTube, no Docs — but a metric ton of third-party software is unavailable as well. If your company uses Slack for the bulk of communication, I regret to inform you that the Fire Max 11 won't fulfill your needs, regardless of whether you buy Amazon's productivity bundle. My go-to podcasts app, Pocket Casts? Unavailable. Even my preferred password manager, Bitwarden, was missing in action, rendering logins tedious and dependent on my smartphone.

You're going to spend a lot of time in the browser.

Some of these services have web apps that allow you to bypass these restrictions. You'll even find a handy YouTube web shortcut as one of the main suggested apps to install from the Appstore upon first boot. But relying on Amazon's Silk browser to fill in the large gaps left behind by avoiding Google Play Services can only get you so far. Even web apps that achieve 90 percent of the experience — like YouTube — still lack the snappy, smooth animations you'll find in dedicated applications.

Now, obviously, installing the Google Play Store on a Fire tablet remains an option. But even if it's an easy task in enthusiast circles, most Fire shoppers — parents, senior citizens, or just regular users on a budget — won't follow through on these steps. As such, I decided to limit myself to the selection of Appstore content throughout my review period. To be abundantly clear: I think most shoppers in 2023, regardless of their demographic, will find the software selection Amazon delivers to fall woefully short.

If you came to this review hoping I'd praise the Fire Max 11 for having Galaxy S23 Ultra-levels of camera quality, I… don't really know why you'd expect that. Even in decently-lit environments, shots from the rear-facing 8MP camera appear grainy and washed out. The camera application is slow and seems to struggle with base levels of motion. I'm confused how the sensor is even large enough to require a camera bump of any size; I wouldn't be shocked to learn it was a decision based on design trends rather than necessity.

The front-facing camera also measures in at 8MP, and it wouldn't surprise me if these were identical in all but placement. It's good enough for video calls — and the horizontal placement helps with that — but even considering the low-quality bar for selfies, the complete lack of detail in the background of a shot means you shouldn't consider it for anything outside of… well, I'd say Google Meet calls, but that application isn't here.

Measuring the battery life of a tablet isn't as easy as it is with a smartphone. In my experience, tablets alternate between heavy and light use on a whim — you might even go days without picking up your slate — while the experience of using a smartphone is much more consistent.

If you're looking for a marathon runner in tablet form, rest assured the Fire Max 11 can provide it. Maybe it's a matter of lacking the sort of intensive software you'd usually find on other devices — you aren't installing Genshin Impact here — but I never managed to get the Fire Tablet to drop below 60 percent in a single day of using it. Standby time is even better; between Prime Day coverage and a couple of sick days in July, I didn't touch the Fire Max for nearly a week. It didn't dip below 80 percent.

The Fire Max 11 includes a bundled 9W charger, a laughable brick for any tablet. Expect it to take hours to power up using that charger, though it'll accept 15W of power if you have the hardware lying around (and you probably do). Even at those higher speeds, the Fire Max 11 is something you'll want to power up overnight.

A quick word on the keyboard case and the stylus, the two accessories included in Amazon's productivity bundle. The keyboard case is fascinating; unlike most competitors, Amazon chose to split it into two pieces. The result is a protective back case that can still function as a stand with or without the actual keyboard attached. I basically only used the Fire Max 11 with this fabric cover magnetically stuck to the back, no matter the task at hand. I'd love to see companies like Samsung take this idea for future devices.

As for the keyboard itself, it's fine. At $90, it's a mighty expensive accessory compared to Amazon's usual products; it's more expensive than half of its tablet lineup. The keys feel pretty shallow to the touch and completely lack backlighting, and the thin fabric connector at the tablet's base wobbles a bit too much for my liking, but you could do worse. The touchpad, however, is cramped and sports the most awful texture; touching it is like nails on a chalkboard to me. Your mileage may vary, but I didn't enjoy using it.

The $35 USI 2.0 stylus is more in line with what I'd expect from a Fire accessory. It uses a single AAAA battery — not a typo — and seems perfectly capable of jotting down notes at a moment's notice. It even has a couple of more advanced features, like erasing words by crossing them out. I don't love the button on the stylus, though, as it rattles whenever something shakes the pen. It attaches to the side of the tablet magnetically, but expect to find it at the bottom of your bag whenever you pull your slate out.

The best cheap tablet competition these days comes from Samsung and Lenovo, and frankly, both offer excellent alternatives for around the same price as the Fire Max 11.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 from 2022 is an obvious choice, considering its similar design and near-identical 10.5" 1920x1200 display. The Unisoc-branded SoC powering this thing is nothing to write home about, but it's capable enough to run whatever apps or casual games you find on the Google Play Store — which, to be clear, comes preloaded out of the box. It starts at the same $230 MSRP as the Fire Max 11 for a 32GB model, but it hasn't been priced more than $210 on Amazon over the last three months.

Slightly more expensive, the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite is a fantastic option if you can spot it on sale. Sure, its $350 MSRP might sound like a massive jump in price, but it routinely drops to just $250 on Amazon for weeks on end. The Snapdragon 720G powering the S6 Lite isn't cutting edge, but it's leaps and bounds ahead of the MediaTek chip here, and you'll even find an S Pen included in the box — no productivity bundle required. It's even running Android 13, something the Fire Max 11 is unlikely to ever see. If you spot the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite at $250, there's no reason to choose Amazon's slate over it.

The prices of Lenovo's tablets jump all over the map, even months after launch, which can make using them as a comparison point tricky. Still, you'd be silly not to check the current listings for both the Lenovo P11 Pro Gen 2 and Tab M10 Plus before picking the Fire Max 11. The former has dipped as low as $260 on Amazon in the past — a steal, considering its high-res OLED panel — while the latter maintains a cheaper price on average than this particular model.

I find the Fire tablet lineup — and particularly this model — so difficult to review, in part because throwing the Play Store on any of these slates makes the device ten times as capable. But from my perspective, if you're unwilling to jump through the (relatively minor) hurdles of getting Google Play Services up and running on the Fire Max 11, or you find the overall Fire OS experience frustrating to a fault, you should take your $230 and look through the ever-growing lineup of cheap budget slates, as you're bound to find one that suits you.

If you're willing to tinker, there is some merit to this device. It's by far the most powerful tablet Amazon has ever made. That's a low bar to clear, but it does mean that everything — including running those Google apps you aren't supposed to have — feels pretty snappy compared to previous models. For the most part, though, I still think the average buyer is better off looking at Samsung or Lenovo's offerings to find something that runs the software they crave right out of the box. The $200 tablet space is more competitive than ever, and Amazon's subpar software experience just can't survive at this price — sideloading or otherwise.

Amazon's Fire Max 11 is its most powerful yet. With a decent display, excellent battery life, and a handful of accessories, the only thing missing is a usable app store.

Will is the Phones Editor at Android Police, which means he usually has a dozen different smartphones on his desk at any given time. He covers everything from leaks of your next phone to the components that'll power it. He's got plenty of opinions about the current state of Android phones — thoughts you'll read in his reviews, editorials, and more. You'll also find him writing up our buyer's guides, where he hopes to help shoppers make the right choice in their next phone. Will appears on the Android Police podcast, where he occasionally taunts his co-hosts with bad opinions about smartwatches and charging cables, and writes AP's weekend polls. In his spare time, he produces podcasts, rewatches the same 37 films, and pretends not to have a never-ending backlog of video games. He lives in Buffalo, NY and is willing to give you chicken wing recommendations at any time. Just ask.