You’ve virtually actually heard of the Amazon Fire Max 11 however in all probability haven’t heard of the Poco Pad earlier than — largely as a result of Poco doesn’t promote its {hardware} within the U.S., but in addition as a result of it hasn’t made a pill earlier than.
In the event you’re searching for a fairly priced, multifunction Android pill, the 2 have quite a bit in frequent. So, can absolutely the newcomer tackle the established champion of budget-friendly Android tablets that comes with a keyboard?
Introducing the Poco Pad
I’ll come again to the Amazon Kindle Fireplace Max 11 shortly however I need to correctly introduce Poco and the Poco Pad. Poco is a part of the Xiaomi household and was as soon as in style for promoting one low-cost, surprisingly good smartphone. Since then, it has remodeled right into a model and sometimes targets younger tech consumers with its flashy, affordable Android phones. The Poco Pad is its first pill, and unexpectedly goes in opposition to its love of vibrant colours and funky designs.
Fabricated from aluminum, the Poco Pad is a hefty beast at 571 grams and a whopping 1.02 kilograms with the keyboard case connected, however a modest 7.5mm thick, so it all the time feels snug to carry. The 12.1-inch LCD display has a 2560-by-1600-pixel decision, a 120Hz refresh fee, help for a stylus, and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 excessive. Inside is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 cell chip with 8GB of RAM, 256GB of space for storing, and microSD card help.
On the again is an 8MP digital camera, which is repeated on the entrance, the place it’s set within the high bezel in case you’re wanting on the display in panorama. The battery has an enormous 10,000mAh capability with 33W wired charging, and the software program is Xiaomi’s HyperOS, which is predicated on Android 14. It’s the identical software program you discover on Poco’s latest F6 and F6 Pro smartphones and the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, too.
What concerning the Fireplace Max 11?
You should purchase the Poco Pad with a keyboard case and a stylus, which is how I’ve been testing it. Meaning it’s the identical package deal as a fully-specced Amazon Fireplace Max 11. Amazon’s re-imagined pill got here out in mid-2023 and I actually favored it on the time, and have additionally loved revisiting it in 2024, the place I discovered it nonetheless has only a few pure rivals. However whenever you test the Poco Pad’s worth, you’ll discover it is rather comparable.
The Fireplace Max 11 has an 11-inch LCD display with a 2000-by-1200-pixel decision and a 60Hz refresh fee, housed in a 490-gram steel physique that’s 7.5mm thick. The package deal with the keyboard case is lighter than the Poco Pad at 907 grams and far more compact, too. It fortunately suits in my crossbody bag and doesn’t really feel as very similar to a mini laptop computer because the Poco Pad.
It has a MediaTek MT8188 processor with 4GB of RAM and both 64GB or 128GB of space for storing, plus a microSD card slot. Just like the Poco Pad, it has a pair of 8MP cameras, once more with the entrance digital camera within the high bezel in panorama orientation. Amazon doesn’t state the battery capability and solely affords 15W wired charging. The software program is Amazon’s Fireplace OS, which is predicated on Android 11.
Display screen and battery life
The Fireplace Max 11 is a good pill for video, however the Poco Pad’s larger, higher-resolution display is a substantial temptation, even when it isn’t a fascinating OLED. There’s no getting away from the Poco Pad’s superior decision and better brightness. Movies look wonderful, and so they expose the Fireplace Max 11’s shortcomings when the 2 are put alongside one another.
The Amazon pill’s display doesn’t look unhealthy, however it isn’t fairly as sharp or vibrant, simply as you’d count on from the specification. Nevertheless, I typically discovered I prefered the tone and distinction ranges on the Fireplace Max 11, which is extra pure and never fairly as washed out because the Poco Pad’s display.
How about battery efficiency whenever you watch movies? Watching a 40-minute YouTube video performed at most decision, 1080p on the Fireplace Max 11 and 2160p on the Poco Pad, and at full brightness noticed the Fireplace Max 11’s effectivity shine via. The Poco Pad used 12% of its battery whereas the Fireplace Max 11 used solely 7%; its effectivity is assisted by its modest specification and lower-resolution playback. In the event you’re planning to make use of your new pill for lengthy durations of time with out charging, the Fireplace Max 11 could swimsuit you higher.
Engaged on the Poco Pad
You may get the Poco Pad with a keyboard case, similar to you possibly can with the Fireplace Max 11. With Google Play installed on the Fire Max 11, it makes a pleasant, handy, however fundamental work machine. For the value, although, it’s surprisingly competent, offered you don’t need far more than Microsoft Workplace or Google’s instruments to get issues achieved. The Poco Pad seems far more like a laptop computer, so does it carry out like one?
The Poco Keyboard is a whole case that clips onto the pill and provides it a strong base for its keys. To prop up the display, it magnetically clips to a slot on the flat keyboard part, holding itself at an angle. The keyboard makes use of Bluetooth to hook up with the pill and needs to be arrange manually, and there’s a bodily on/off swap alongside a USB-C port, which fees the inner 210mAh battery. The Fireplace Max 11’s keyboard has a bodily pogo pin connector linking it to the pill.
What you’re studying now could be being typed on the Poco Keyboard, and the very first thing you discover is how loud it’s. There’s a definite plasticky clatter and a hollowness to the motion. It could look a bit like Apple’s Magic Keyboard, however it actually doesn’t sound like one, though I can sort usually and on the similar velocity I do on my chiclet keyboard of alternative. The journey is excellent, however there’s little or no resistance. It fits me, however in case you’re after a refined and expensive-feeling keyboard to go together with your pill, this isn’t it.
Exterior in overcast daylight, there may be loads of reflection on the display, however it’s nonetheless usable with brightness at most. Nevertheless, the scale of the display is excellent, and it’s a really comparable expertise to engaged on my MacBook Air somewhat than my iPad Professional. It’s handy for me to make use of Google Docs to work, however it does want an web connection to open and edit paperwork. The Poco Pad linked with no drawback to my iPhone 15 Professional Max’s hotspot. All-in-all, the Poco Pad and Keyboard is a strong work companion, however the racket it makes when typing does nothing to cover its relative cheapness.
Engaged on the Fireplace Max 11
The Poco Pad with its Keyboard Case is far more laptop-like than the Fireplace Max 11, which doesn’t sit stably in your lap on account of its kickstand. The keyboard is much extra nice to sort on, although, ideally at a desk, with a quieter and extra satisfying motion. I can sort on it on the similar velocity because the Poco Pad, and the accuracy is identical. There may be one huge distinction between the 2 keyboards: the Fireplace Max 11 has a touchpad.
This isn’t fairly the benefit you might assume it’s, because it’s fairly small, the assorted gestures are laborious to execute, and the button has an inexpensive, disagreeable clicky motion whenever you press all the way down to select. I discover it’s preferable to make use of a mixture of the touchpad and the touchscreen, however skewed towards the display. It’s undoubtedly useful, however I don’t take into account it a motive to purchase the Fireplace Max 11 over the Poco Pad.
Visibility in shaded daylight is sweet on each tablets, so it’s doable to work outdoors offered you’re not in direct solar, however there’s no denying the Poco Pad’s bigger display is fascinating. It feels extra grown-up than the smaller Fireplace Max 11, however the Amazon pill and its textured magnetic case are extra tactile and expensive-feeling. My work calls for are fairly low, and each tablets are capable of deal with them with no drawback.
What about residing with the tablets?
There’s a really huge distinction between the 2 tablets we haven’t spoken about but, and it’s the software program. Amazon’s pill makes use of its personal Fireplace OS based mostly on Android 11 with the Amazon App Retailer on board, whereas the Poco Pad has HyperOS based mostly on Android 14 with the Google Play Retailer. Utilizing the Fireplace Max 11 is a bit like stepping again in time in comparison with the very fashionable Poco Pad.
There are extra apps accessible via the Google Play Retailer than there are within the Amazon App Retailer, making it simpler to seek out what you need and to get work achieved on the Poco Pad. Nevertheless, with some persistence, you can install Google Play on the Fire Max 11 must you really feel like making an attempt it. I haven’t seen quite a lot of distinction in efficiency between the 2, and each play common video games with no drawback however aren’t designed for extra graphically intensive video games or lengthy play periods.
I just like the Poco Pad’s face recognition, which the Fireplace Max 11 doesn’t have, and its 3.5mm headphone jack. The Poco Pad has quad audio system with Dolby Atmos help, plus a helpful graphic equalizer characteristic hidden within the settings. The Fireplace Max 11 makes do with a pair of audio system, however they sound fuller and extra nice than the Poco Pad’s tinny, harsh audio system in any respect volumes, even whenever you fiddle with the equalizer.
What concerning the batteries? The Poco Pad’s large battery will last more, and Poco claims 16 hours of video playback on a single cost, whereas Amazon simply states a extra basic 14 hours of use on a single cost. Nevertheless, as mentioned earlier, the Fireplace Max 11 is surprisingly environment friendly, and relying on what you’re doing, they could equal out to run for comparable quantities of time. But it surely’s recharge time that actually separates the 2. It takes greater than 4 hours to recharge the Fireplace Max 11’s battery utilizing the included charger, which is terrible by fashionable requirements. The Poco Pad comes with a 33W charger, and with it, the battery reaches 50% cost in an hour, and a full cost takes about two hours. It is a main motive why you might select the Poco Pad over the Fireplace Max 11.
Value and availability
The Amazon Fireplace Max 11 is the simplest of the 2 tablets to seek out and buy. The pill, keyboard, and stylus package deal from Amazon at present prices $330. Contemplating you must pay not less than that to get the Tenth-generation Apple iPad alone, it’s nice worth. The Poco Pad is tougher to supply for the time being, however this could change as we transfer farther from its preliminary launch.
Proper now, the Poco Pad could be bought via resellers in China for $300, whereas the keyboard case is predicted to value $80 and the stylus $60. In the event you don’t need the stylus there isn’t a lot distinction in worth, and don’t neglect the Poco Pad has a considerably better specification than the Fireplace Max 11.
In typical Poco and Xiaomi style, the Redmi model has its personal interpretation of the Poco Pad in its vary. It’s referred to as the Redmi Pad Pro, and it prices 250 British kilos, or about $316. The keyboard is 90 kilos, or round $115. The specification seems to be the identical because the Poco Pad. For comparability, within the U.Okay., the Fireplace Max 11 with the keyboard case begins at 340 kilos.
Which one must you purchase?
In an effort to get to an affordable conclusion right here, we have to go away apart the inherent issues with Android on tablets, which applies to each fashions. It’s merely not as nicely optimized and doesn’t have the identical quantity of tablet-ready apps as iOS does. I nonetheless assume an Apple iPad, virtually regardless of which one, can be a wiser long-term buy than an Android pill.
Nevertheless, utilizing the Poco Pad and the Amazon Fireplace Max 11 has been very attention-grabbing. The Fireplace Max 11 is a yr outdated, however it nonetheless holds up rather well, and though the software program is out-of-date, it doesn’t hamper the pill, particularly if you wish to watch movies and skim books. There are not any apparent efficiency drawbacks, the keyboard feels nice to sort on, and the sound is healthier than the Poco Pad’s, too. However the Poco Pad’s quicker charging and doubtlessly longer battery life is a giant profit, and makes the Fireplace Max 11 present its age greater than some other side.
The Fireplace Max 11 is the one to purchase right here, although, particularly in case you’re a frequent Amazon shopper, and it represents excellent worth for cash. The Poco Pad with its keyboard case comes a really shut second, however it trails due to it being tougher to seek out, together with a budget, touchpad-less keyboard and its substandard audio system. I’m not all the time satisfied the display is healthier, even whether it is bigger. Whereas it’s a loss for the Poco Pad, it’s nonetheless nice information for us as a result of it’s a strong, beneficial buy, and the extra fairly priced Android tablets with a keyboard case actually exist, the higher it’s for all of us.
