All android tablets software

10 best Android tablet apps that all tablet owners should have

Still, tablets are a bit of a niche product in the grand scheme so there aren’t a ton of apps that work better on a tablet than on a phone. Plus, Android’s native scaling capabilities make almost all apps more than usable on a tablet. So there are only a few apps that truly work better on tablets than they do on smartphones. Here are the best Android tablet apps.

Adobe apps

Price: Free / Up to $52.99 per month

Adobe has made a big move in the Android world the last couple of years. They have a ton of apps and most of them work better on tablets. You can edit photos with apps like Photoshop Express, draw stuff like Illustrator Draw, read PDFs with the popular Adobe Reader, and even edit videos with Premier Clip. Of course, the flagship product on Android is the venerable Lightroom for editing photography. There are well over a dozen other apps that can do various things. Most of them work well with their desktop counterparts. That means you can take your work with you. They’re not as powerful as the desktop apps but we didn’t expect them to be. These are easily among the best tablet apps.

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The Best Android Tablets for 2021

Looking for a tablet that will be used primarily for media consumption? Android offers the most flexibility in hardware choices. Here’s what to look for in an Android tablet, along with our top choices.

Our 10 Top Picks

Best Media Tablet for Amazon Fans

Amazon Fire HD 10 (2021)

Best 5G Android Tablet

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+

Inexpensive 4G Connectivity

Alcatel Joy Tab 2

Best Smart Display Alternative

Lenovo Yoga Tab 13

Best for Large-Format E Ink Reading

Onyx Boox Note Air 2

Best for Video Playback and Zoom Calls

Amazon Fire HD 8 (2020)

Lowest-Cost Model

onn. 8-Inch Tablet

Best for E Ink Computing

Onyx Boox Max Lumi 2

Best Low-Cost Model With Google Play

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0

Best for Taking Notes

Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite

You might think that Apple’s iPad has won the tablet wars, but think again. High-end iPads and Windows tablets dominate the top of the field with impressive tools for productivity, but Google’s Android operating system is very popular at lower price points. The least expensive new iPad will set you back $329. The range of Android tablets is much broader, with an option for every budget. Android tablets also sometimes show up with interesting and unusual features, such as E Ink screens.

In 2021, most Android tablet options fall in the budget category. You can find an endless array of no-name, plasticky sub-$100 slates sold at your local CVS or through mysterious «fulfilled by Amazon» drop-shippers. Acer, Asus, Lenovo, and Samsung used to deliver solid iPad competitors, but they’ve all slowed down their tablet production. The top name-brand Android tablet is the Galaxy Tab S7+.

Start With Software

Android tablet manufacturers rarely use the latest version of the OS, and software upgrades are even less common. Though most Android smartphones ship with Android 11, you’ll be hard pressed to find tablets running it. We recommend skipping over tablets running anything older than Android 10, with the exception of Amazon’s Fire lineup.

Speaking of Amazon, it and other large manufacturers like Samsung like to put their own spin on Google’s OS, adding a bevy of features, new app stores, and completely revamped user interfaces. It’s not for everyone, but those who are familiar with Amazon’s Fire OS or Samsung’s One UI should give the latest devices from each company a try. And if you’re already heavily invested in Amazon’s ecosystem, you might want to stick with one of the latest Fire tablets.

The Best Christmas Android Tablet Deals This Week*

*Deals are selected by our partner, TechBargains

Even if you don’t have the most recent OS iteration, Android continues to be the most configurable tablet operating system you’ll find. It’s a master multitasker, with an excellent notification system and top-notch integration with Google services like Gmail, Meet, and Google Maps.

Android is home to plenty of great apps, though there are far fewer tablet-specific versions than you’ll find on Apple’s App Store, and they tend to be updated less frequently.

Should You Buy a Cellular or Wi-Fi Tablet?

All of the major carriers offer a small selection of cellular-enabled tablets. It’s easy to find them on promotion when you’re upgrading your plan or bundled with a new smartphone purchase. Tablet data plans tend to run around $10 a month, although some carriers offer daily plans.

T-Mobile sells unlocked tablets, but some have very limited band support if you decide to switch carriers. AT&T and Verizon tablets are locked by default, but Verizon will unlock tablets 60 days after purchase, provided they’re paid off. If you’re thinking of switching to a different carrier in the near future, you’ll want to check out LTE band support to make sure your tablet will work without any hiccups.

Frequent travelers and car commuters will find cellular connectivity to be a must. If you’re the type who primarily uses your tablet for streaming at home, Wi-Fi connectivity will save you some money. Most carriers allow you to use your phone as a hotspot for those times when you’re not close to Wi-Fi, and many newer cars have LTE connectivity built in for road trips or keeping your child occupied while sitting in traffic. Of course, hotspotting will quickly burn through your phone battery, but that’s where power banks come in. You’ll want to check out your phone plan before making any decisions, though, because carriers limit the amount of data that can be used with a mobile hotspot.

Don’t Forget About Design

Performance on even the least expensive tablets is typically fine for media streaming or surfing the web. There’s also a slim chance you’ll see a software upgrade that offers a performance boost as well. What won’t change, however, is the build, so think twice before buying a tablet with a flimsy plastic body.

Low-cost tablets also tend to have dull 1,024-by-600 or 1,280-by-800 screens that can look grainy even to those who own budget phones. Higher-quality tablets are often in the 2,048-by-1,536 range, which is notably sharper.

There are plenty of bargain bin options out there promising the same Android experience as big names. Many of these off-label tabs are perfectly serviceable, but we recommend choosing a brand you can count on for software support and hardware quality control. For more, see our favorite budget-friendly models.

These are the best Android tablets we’ve tested. If you’re looking for a great phone to complement your new tablet, head over to our roundup of the best Android phones. Or if you want to look beyond the realm of Android, check out our roundups of the best tablets overall, which includes our favorite Apple options.

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The 17 Best Android Tablet Apps of 2021

Get the most out of your new device

With over 2.5 million apps in Google Play, it can be a challenge to find the best ones for your Android tablet. A tablet is great for watching movies and TV shows, editing photos, reading books, discovering new recipes, and more.

Sure, we could’ve just rounded up the usual tablet apps, but this time we thought we’d gather some of the more interesting and creative ones for you.

Feedly

Offers suggestions of feeds based on topics you’re interested in.

Easy to add the RSS feed from external sites.

Syncs between desktop and mobile versions.

No way to search feeds for Feedly Free users (only Pro and Team plans can do this).

Not as aesthetically pleasing as other reader apps.

Feedly is an RSS reader app that automatically downloads the latest articles and posts from sites with an RSS feed. The interface is easy to use, it syncs between devices, and you can follow as many topics and feeds as you want.

Follow a few topics or RSS feeds and then when you log in, your news feed automatically refreshes.

Pocket

Offers suggestions of feeds based on topics you’re interested in.

Syncs between desktop and mobile versions.

Searching in the free version of the app only looks at titles and URLs.

Bulk tagging of articles must be done manually (you cannot select all articles at once).

Pocket is a free save-for-later online reading app that lets you curate your own news feed. Save stories, articles, news, videos, and more, from any publisher or app on your tablet. Use the tablet app to read all the articles you didn’t have time to read previously.

Zinio

The individual magazine subscriptions, rather than an all-in-one subscription.

Access to Marvel comics, which is normally not part of these kinds of services.

The individual magazine subscriptions, as it can get pricey if you want to read from a lot of magazines.

Not many interactive elements while reading.

ZINIO is a digital newsstand app, giving you access to magazines from around the world. Use your tablet’s larger screen to enjoy a traditional magazine layout experience or use the innovative text mode for a more modern reading experience. Selected articles are free, while others require a subscription to the magazine.

PressReader

Good search functionality to find relevant magazines or topics.

HotSpots give free users instant complimentary access to the entire catalog.

More expensive subscription than other options (starting at $29.99/month)

Can only share/sync content with five devices.

PressReader is an online magazine and newspaper reader. For a monthly subscription, readers get access to over 7,000 magazines and newspapers from around the world. Even without a subscription, PressReader gives complimentary access to their entire catalog when you’re at one of their HotSpots; you can search for them easily from their site or through the app.

Libby by Overdrive

Content is free with a library card.

Can read previews of books without downloading the whole thing.

Need a library card to use it.

No way to control the lighting setting of the app.

Libby by Overdrive is an ebook and audiobook platform tied to libraries around the world. Simply open the app, connect it to your local library, and you can borrow eBooks and audiobooks with your library card for free. Download books to read offline, send books to your Kindle app, and keep track of your reading history in the Activity tab of the app.

Moon+ Reader

Many different themes for the app, allowing users to customize it as they like.

Supports gesture controls while reading.

Read in landscape mode with dual-page functionality.

Need a Dropbox account to sync content between devices.

No built-in store to download content from.

Only supports local content files.

Moon+ Reader is another eReader app for those looking for a no-frills, basic reader for their tablets. It supports a wide range of eBook formats, has 10+ themes, gesture controls, auto-scrolling, and multiple device syncing via Dropbox. Get access to even more settings and ditch the ads by going pro for $4.99.

Flipboard

Smooth, modern interface makes reading a breeze.

Content partnerships with major publishers.

Offline reading modes.

Mute publications, topics, and hashtags from appearing in your feedd.

Articles behind a paywall trigger the paywall option only after clicking the article to read it.

Coverage of trending stories may be repetitive.

Ads appear between stories and is hard to discern.

Flipboard is a news reader app where you can create your own virtual magazine. Simply choose interests to have it find related articles for you or add in your favorite site RSS and social media feeds to it. Flipboard displays everything in an easy to read manner while making it easy to share the stories back on your social media feeds too. While it’s great on a smartphone, it’s even better on a tablet as you can take advantage of the larger screen size.

Amazon Kindle

Many free books to download.

Upload your own documents and books to read through the app.

Many font size options.

Requires an Amazon account to use the app, even if you’re not buying any books through it.

Requires a credit card to download anything, including free books.

The Amazon Kindle is a free app you can use buy and download books. Tablets make good ebook readers because of their larger screens. The Kindle app has a variety of reading options and settings, including downloading books for offline reading. The app is flexible enough to let you import non-Amazon books or documents too, including PDF and TXT files.

Google Play Books

Has a good selection of available books.

Syncs across all apps to keep track of where you are in a book.

No bookmarking feature.

Taking notes or highlighting depends on the book having the Flowing Text option available.

The Google Play Books app is another good free ebook reader. Like the Kindle app, you can purchase books from the Google Play store or upload your own PDF or EPUB files to read. It also has a good free books list that you can download to your app.

Netflix

Wide variety of content available.

Easy to use on any tablet.

Netflix increases their prices frequently.

Categories can be hard to find through the app.

The granddaddy of all the streaming services, Netflix is great to use on your tablet to take advantage of the larger screen. It has a huge selection of shows, movies, and documentaries and streams videos in HDR10 and Dolby Vision videos. Use the app to enjoy your shows on the larger tablet screen instead of your smartphone.

Autodesk Sketchbook

UI is clean and easy to use.

Works well with both touch input or stylus.

Offers good discounts for longer subscription lengths.

Free version has a limited amount of tools available.

Free trial isn’t long enough to understand how to use the app fully.

Autodesk Sketchbook app is a digital drawing and painting app for tablets. Whether you’re a casual drawer or a professional artist, you can use Sketchbook to capture any idea you may have. Snap a picture of a drawing and import it into the app to finish it off with colors and effects. Draw with pencils, inks, markers, or one of the 190 customizable brushes available in the app to help you incorporate textures and shapes into your drawings.

SnapSeed

Full edit history.

Portrait and Head Pose options to make people pictures stand out.

Some touch gestures needed to use features are not obvious to casual users.

Snapseed is a free photo editing app and offers serious tools usually only found in higher priced apps. Use the edit brushes or film-related filters to give your pictures a professional touch. The Portrait and Head Pose modes give you the ultimate control on selfies and other pictures with people in them, so you can highlight eyes, smooth skin, change the background focus, and more. The Undo and Redo options make it easy to try out changes to your photos without committing to them, and with a full edit history, you can remove or re-apply earlier effects easily.

Pixlr

Easy-to-use collage tool.

Editing controls are easy to understand and use.

UI is cluttered.

No help feature in the app.

Pixlr is a free photo editing app with a wide selection of tools and filters you can add to any picture. Edit your pictures with traditional photography tools like contrast, crop, and brightness, or adjust it with fun tools like color splash (turning all but one color to grayscale) or doodle (freestyle drawing on top of the picture). Pixlr lets you share your edited pictures directly to Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, or you can simply save it locally on your tablet.

Guides by Lonely Planet

Over 200+ cities available in the app.

Travellers suggest new cities to add, so it’s not just the usual cities on there.

Need to Know section is perfect for trip planning or daydreaming.

No Home button in the app, so it’s not obvious how to get back to the start after downloading a guide.

City names are only searchable in English, not in the local language.

For those of you who like to travel, Lonely Planet’s Guide app is for you. It bundles maps, recommendations, and budget guides for over 100 cities around the world. Discover where to stay and eat, what attractions to see, and uncover the hidden gems of these cities from Lonely Planet’s expert writers. You can even start learning some key phrases in different languages, so you’ll be prepared for your trip.

TripAdvisor

Has a ton of great info on cities to plan your trip.

Uncover new ways to explore cities.

Can’t always trust the info in the app.

Advanced booking isn’t always available on the app.

A veteran of the travel app market, TripAdvisor is good for finding reviews about places to go and stay. On a tablet, it’s great to explore the photos and videos of cities, attractions, restaurants, and hotels. Customer feedback and ratings are one of the top features of the app, letting you sort through cities, attractions, hotels, and more based on the ratings.

Bookmark your favorites and come back to them to plan your next trip (or to simply view the pictures again). When you sign up for a profile on the app, you can see all of your favorite places, ratings, and more. You can also follow people through the app, which is especially handy if you find someone with similar tastes as you, making it easier to find new places to go and see.

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