The 17 Best Android Tablet Apps of 2024

Get the most out of your new device

With over 3.5 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. 

01
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Read Magazines on Your Android: Zinio

Zinio app on Android
What We Like
  • 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.

What We Don't Like
  • 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.

02
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Borrow Library Books: Libby by Overdrive

Libby app for Android
What We Like
  • Content is free with a library card.

  • Can read previews of books without downloading the whole thing.

What We Don't Like
  • 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. 

03
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Best RSS Feed Reader: Feedly

Feedly app on Android
What We Like
  • 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.

What We Don't Like
  • 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.

04
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Make a Personalized News Feed: Pocket

Pocket app on Android
What We Like
  • App is free.

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

  • Syncs between desktop and mobile versions.

What We Don't Like
  • 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.

05
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Read Newspapers All Over the World: PressReader

PressReader app for Android
What We Like
  • Good search functionality to find relevant magazines or topics.

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

What We Don't Like
  • 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.

06
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Flipboard app for Android
What We Like
  • 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.

What We Don't Like
  • 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 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. 

07
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Most Underrated E-Reader: Moon+ Reader

Moon+ Reader app for Android
What We Like
  • 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.

What We Don't Like
  • 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.

08
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Buy and Read Books: Amazon Kindle

Amazon Kindle app for Android
What We Like
  • Many free books to download.

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

  • Many font size options.

What We Don't Like
  • 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.

09
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Stream Movies and TV Shows: Netflix

Netflix app for Android
What We Like
  • Wide variety of content available.

  • Easy to use on any tablet.

What We Don't Like
  • 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.

10
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Get Free Books: Google Play Books

Google Play Books on Android
What We Like
  • App is free.

  • Has a good selection of available books.

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

What We Don't Like
  • Not as many mainstream books as some services.

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.

11
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Plan a Vacation: Tripadvisor

TripAdvisor app for Android
What We Like
  • Has a ton of great info on cities to plan your trip.

  • Uncover new ways to explore cities.

What We Don't Like
  • 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.

12
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Draw on Your Mobile Device: Autodesk Sketchbook

AutoDesk Sketchbook for Android
What We Like
  • UI is clean and easy to use.

  • Works well with both touch input or stylus.

  • Offers good discounts for longer subscription lengths.

What We Don't Like
  • 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. 

13
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Best Free Photo Editor: SnapSeed

Snapseed app for Android
What We Like
  • Full edit history.

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

What We Don't Like
  • No auto-save.

  • 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. 

14
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Pixlr app for Android
What We Like
  • Easy-to-use collage tool.

  • Editing controls are easy to understand and use.

What We Don't Like
  • 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 X (formerly Twitter), or you can simply save it locally on your tablet. 

15
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Decide What's For Dinner: Allrecipes

Dinner Spinner app on Android
What We Like
  • Features thousands of recipes.

  • Great pictures and videos.

What We Don't Like
  • Need to sign in to save recipes.

Discover new recipes to try with Allrecipes. Featuring nice pictures, reviews, and clear instructions, using this app on your tablet makes meal time a breeze. Bookmark recipes to try them out later or share them via email, Pinterest, or Facebook. You can even check out videos of the recipes, to learn new techniques or just see how others make them.

Sadly, the Dinner Spinner feature isn't included on the tablet version of the app, which lets you randomize a recipe based on an ingredient or meal type, but it's still a great app for browsing recipes.

16
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Watch Videos and Listen to Music: VLC for Android

VLC app for Android
What We Like
  • Plays any kind of audio or video file.

  • Completely free with no in-app ads.

What We Don't Like
  • UI is a little plain in comparison to others.

  • Only plays local video or audio files.

VLC for Android is for those of you that have a lot of audio or video files that you want to watch on your tablet. The audio player has equalizers and filters that let you dial in your music just the way you want it. The video player supports all formats, including MVK, PM4, AVI, MOV, and more. You can even watch movies or shows with subtitles or closed captions through VLC for Android.

17
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Best Cooking App: Kitchen Stories

Kitchen Stories app on Android
What We Like
  • High-quality videos are posted on the site.

  • Simple explanations for complex cooking techniques.

What We Don't Like
  • How-To section isn't organized into categories. 

  • Comments are repetitive and not always helpful.

Kitchen Stories is another free recipe app, but it features videos of executive chefs creating the recipes instead of just the text for it. Every day there's a featured video recipe, along with an inspiration video to expand your cooking repertoire. It's perfect for home chefs who want a little more instruction on new recipes than just reading a recipe.

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