These 5 free apps give old and slow Android tablets a reason to exist

Published Aug 4, 2026, 1:45 PM EDT Ever since he got his first smartphone, the legendary Nokia 6600, back in 2005, Goran became obsessed with technology. This obsession had only gotten worse after he received his first gaming PC a couple of months later. He fell in love with video games in the early '90s, shortly after embarking on his gaming journey with the Sega Master System II and SNES. Since then, he has built dozens of PCs, played thousands of games, and authored hundreds of articles about PC hardware, gaming hardware, and video games. He knows everything there is to know about the PC gaming and PC hardware space, and while his console gaming knowledge isn't as comprehensive, he considers himself a console veteran. Goran has almost a decade of experience writing about tech and video games for numerous web publications including TechSpot, TechPowerUp, and EsportsHeadlines. He has been writing for How-To Geek since December 2022. When he isn't gaming or deciding which component of his PC to upgrade next, you can find him strolling around Novi Sad while listening to music and contemplating what to play next. If you've got an old Android tablet, and you don't know what to do with it, there are plenty of apps out there that can make it almost as useful as it was when it was fresh out of the box. All the apps featured below are free (or have free versions that retain most of the features of their paid counterparts), work on older versions of Android (every app supports at least Android 8.0 Oreo), and are very lightweight. Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Lite Brand Samsung Storage 128 or 256GB The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Lite delivers a solid Android tablet experience without the premium price tag. It features a 10.9-inch 90Hz display, an included S Pen for note-taking and sketching, an Exynos 1380 processor, and an 8,000mAh battery, making it a great choice for students, casual creatives, and everyday media consumption. Librera Reader The best universal reading app on Android Librera Reader is one of the best free reading apps on Android. It's open source, supports Android versions as old as Android 7.0, runs quite well on older devices, and supports a gigantic number of e-book formats, including EPUB, MOBI, AZW, PDF, TXT, CBZ, CBR, and more. You can use the app for reading books, sure, but Librera Reader's biggest strength is that it also supports the most popular comic and manga formats, allowing you to turn your dated tablet into a universal Android eReader capable of devouring virtually every file you throw at it. The app also comes with an extremely customizable interface, allowing you to set it up just the way you like it. Along with support for TTS (text-to-speech), a lightweight footprint, offline Calibre libraries, online book catalogs, and office document formats such as ODT and RTF, Librera Reader is probably the best way to turn your dusty tablet into an eReader. Just note that if you want to use the app's pure open-source version, you'll need to download it from F-Droid since the Play Store version includes certain proprietary components. ReadEra is another fantastic reading app that works on Android 4.1 and newer, making it even more suitable for older Android tablets than Librera. On the flip side, ReadEra doesn't support as many eBook formats as Librera and is a better fit for people who only want to read books, making it a less compelling option if you're looking for a single app that can handle both books and comics. Squid A lightweight note-taking app that works well on older Android tablets Similarly to Librera, Squid is a lightweight app that runs fluidly on modest hardware and older versions of Android (Android 5.0 and up), with its free version supporting many of the features found in the paid Pro version. On the surface, Squid is a simple note-taking app that works great with any stylus. But start digging, and you'll discover a ton of useful features along with a massive number of customization options. For instance, you can use Squid as a presentation tool since it supports casting your notes to a TV or projector. The app can also work in multi-window mode, allowing you to take notes while doing something else on the tablet. There's also support for powerful PDF markup tools, and much more. In a nutshell, Squid is an excellent choice for any old tablet, whether you just want an app for quick note-taking or doodling or a powerful tool for annotating PDFs and photos, filling out forms, signing documents, and more. Best of all, you don't need an account or anything like that—every note you take is stored offline on your device. NOVA Video Player A great VLC alternative for older tablets While VLC Player is the default choice when it comes to a universal Android media player that can play virtually every video file you throw at it, I think NOVA Video Player is a better choice for older and less capable tablets because it has a lighter interface than VLC while being just as capable. With it, you can turn your tablet into a universal video player. The app works on Android 6.0 and newer, can play all kinds of video files, supports downloading subtitles from within the app, and can play local videos, videos from external USB storage, as well as videos stored on devices on your local network thanks to support for FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, SMB, and UPnP. Now, if you have a truly ancient Android tablet, I recommend opting for VLC Player instead. While the F-Droid version of the app supports Android 4.2 and newer, you can also browse the project's archive, which contains every released version of VLC for Android to date, with older releases supporting Android versions as old as Android 2.1. Goodtime: Pomodoro Timer Turn your dusty tablet into a Pomodoro timer Repurposing your old Android tablet into an always-on information display is a great way to breathe new life into it. One way you can use it is with a Pomodoro timer app, which can improve your productivity while also helping you take regular breaks. Goodtime: Pomodoro Timer is one of the best choices out there because the app is very lightweight, works on Android 8.0 and up, is ad-free, features a slick-looking UI, and includes detailed statistics that let you track your progress and productivity over time. If your Android tablet runs Android 7, you can try Fomodoro instead. FeedMe Feeder is probably the best-known open-source feed reader, but it requires Android 10. While it isn't heavy on resources, it's still more demanding than the app I recommend for older tablets: FeedMe. That's because FeedMe works on devices running Android 8.0 and newer, and it's super lightweight, capable of running on a potato. Being light on resources doesn't mean FeedMe isn't capable. It supports offline reading, is ad-free, supports podcasts as well as text-based RSS feeds, comes with multiple themes to choose from, and includes a number of tools for power users. If you've got a tablet running Android 10 or later, feel free to try Feeder as well, since both apps are excellent, and I recommend testing them both to find your personal favorite. Your vintage Android tablet still has life left in it, with the right apps Not all Android apps require a bunch of RAM, a powerful CPU, and the latest version of Android. Many will run on decade-old hardware without a hitch, even if your tablet wasn't a performance champ when it was brand new. Before I wrap up, I'd also like to recommend Markor, a super lightweight Markdown app that can turn your tablet into a distraction-free writing terminal. All you need is a Bluetooth keyboard, and you're off to the races.