Forget Samsung, Amazon's got a tablet deal the whole family will love

(Image credit: Amazon / Future)

published 30 November 2024

We're now well into the weekend of the best Black Friday deals and there are plenty of good ones out there. It was when adding to my live report on the best TV deals of the sale that I actually stumbled upon this Amazon Fire Max 11 tablet deal (Amazon's odd categorisation rather than mine!) – but it's a corker.

View the Amazon Fire tablet deal here

So much so that it'd be enough for me to forget about that Samsung Galaxy Tab – although the best Currys deals does feature a Tab A9+ on sale for a decent price too, which is worth checking out – because this tablet offers most of what you could need, is a cut of the price compared to, say, the best iPads.

I've been reviewing the best tablets for years, and Amazon's offering is "a stellar starter tablet" – as was said in our review of the Max 11. It's the kind of tablet that the whole family could use, popped on top of the table for browsing, streaming, and a bit of light gaming.

However, you need to know what Amazon's tablet can and can't do. It runs on FireOS, you see, which is a fork of Google's Android operating system – but is altogether simpler. It means there's no Google Play Store, so you don't get access to a full suite of downloads, but that's exactly why I think it's the perfect locked-down starter tablet for the whole family.

If you want an altogether more personal tablet with more apps and games then, of course, my headline here would be quite the opposite – definitely go and look at the Samsung Galaxy Tab 9 or Google Pixel Tablet instead, as both offer full Google Play services. Still, different products for different means – and this Amazon one certainly earns its place, especially at a price point so low.

Mike is T3's Tech Editor. He's been writing about consumer technology for 15 years and his beat covers phones – of which he's seen hundreds of handsets over the years – laptops, gaming, TV & audio, and more. There's little consumer tech he's not had a hand at trying, and with extensive commissioning and editing experience, he knows the industry inside out. As the former Reviews Editor at Pocket-lint for 10 years where he furthered his knowledge and expertise, whilst writing about literally thousands of products, he's also provided work for publications such as Wired, The Guardian, Metro, and more.

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