While a lot of people might be on board with the iPad train, I’ve always been a fan of Android tablets. I’ve amassed quite a few over the years, and that means I have some older ones in the repertoire that I don’t have many uses for. I’ve actually gotten a lot better at replacing my old tablets, and I’ve found that I can stretch these out quite a bit. I’m currently using a Galaxy Tab S6, a tablet that’s roughly seven years old at this point. What might surprise you is that I’m still using it daily, and there’s nothing wrong with it.
I’ve learned that you don’t need to upgrade to the newest tablet, especially if you just use it to watch YouTube and browse social media as I do. I don’t imagine a lot of people are using tablets as old as mine for daily use, but I’m a shining example that it can be done. I probably would’ve been using an old Samsung Galaxy Tab A if I hadn’t dropped it on the ground and cracked the screen. Fortunately, that hasn’t happened with my Tab S6, so I don’t need to upgrade.
If you’re looking for new ways to give your older Android tablet a new life, let me be your guide. You’ll find that your old tablet is capable of a lot more than you thought. You don’t have to take all of this advice, but hopefully I can convince you to dig out that old tablet that’s stuck in a drawer.
Android launchers
Trivia challenge
From stock to custom — how well do you know the apps that power your Android home screen?
LaunchersHistoryCustomizationFeaturesBrands
Which launcher comes pre-installed as the default on stock Android devices made by Google, such as the Pixel series?
Correct! The Pixel Launcher is Google’s own home screen experience, shipped as the default on Pixel devices. It features tight integration with Google Search, At a Glance widgets, and the Discover feed.
Not quite — the answer is Pixel Launcher. Google developed it specifically for its Pixel hardware lineup, offering deep integration with Google Assistant, search, and Android’s latest design language.
Nova Launcher is widely regarded as one of the most popular third-party Android launchers. Which company originally developed it?
Correct! Nova Launcher was created by TeslaCoil Software and became one of the most downloaded launchers on the Play Store thanks to its deep customization options and reliable performance.
Not quite — Nova Launcher was built by TeslaCoil Software. The team built a reputation for fast updates and extensive personalization features, making it a long-standing favourite in the Android community.
Which Android launcher introduced the concept of ‘covers’ — a feature that lets app icons expand into mini widgets when tapped?
Correct! Action Launcher introduced Covers, a clever feature where an app icon acts as a flap that opens to reveal a widget underneath. It gave users widget functionality without cluttering the home screen.
Not quite — the answer is Action Launcher. Developer Chris Lacy created the Covers feature as a unique way to merge app shortcuts and widgets into a single home screen element.
Microsoft released its own Android launcher primarily aimed at productivity. What is it called?
Correct! Microsoft Launcher (formerly known as Arrow Launcher) is Microsoft’s Android home screen replacement, designed to integrate with Microsoft 365, Cortana, and Windows 10/11 for a connected experience.
Not quite — it’s called Microsoft Launcher, though it started life as Arrow Launcher. Microsoft rebranded it to reflect its deeper integration with the Microsoft ecosystem, including OneDrive, To Do, and Office apps.
Lawnchair Launcher is notable for being open-source. On which platform is its source code publicly hosted?
Correct! Lawnchair Launcher’s source code is hosted on GitHub, allowing developers and enthusiasts to contribute, fork, and modify the project freely. It aims to bring Pixel Launcher features to any Android device.
Not quite — Lawnchair is hosted on GitHub. Its open-source nature has helped it gain a strong community following, as developers can inspect and contribute to the codebase without restrictions.
Which launcher is specifically designed around an AI-powered app drawer that automatically categorises apps into groups without manual input?
Correct! Smart Launcher 6 uses an AI-based system to automatically sort apps into categories like Social, Media, and Tools, making app discovery easier without the user having to organise anything manually.
Not quite — the answer is Smart Launcher 6. Its standout feature is intelligent automatic categorisation, which analyses what each app does and groups them accordingly, saving users the hassle of manual organisation.
Niagara Launcher is known for its minimalist design philosophy. What is its primary navigation feature that sets it apart from traditional launchers?
Correct! Niagara Launcher features an alphabetical app list that runs down the side of the screen, letting users quickly jump to any app by sliding their thumb along the alphabet. It’s a clean, one-handed-friendly approach.
Not quite — Niagara Launcher uses an alphabetical side-scroll list for quick app access. This vertical alphabet strip is its signature design feature, making it extremely fast and easy to navigate with one hand.
Which long-running third-party launcher was one of the first to offer icon pack support and gesture controls on Android, predating many modern competitors?
Correct! ADW Launcher, developed by AnderWeb, was a pioneer in the third-party launcher space and one of the earliest to support icon packs and gesture-based navigation. It laid the groundwork for many launchers that followed.
Not quite — ADW Launcher was the trailblazer here. Released in the very early days of Android customisation, it introduced concepts like icon packs and gesture shortcuts that became standard features in launchers for years to come.
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Treat it as a hand-me-down
Old for you, but new to someone else
Something I like to do with my old tech is find out if somebody else wants to use it. I gave my neighbor a PS4 Pro that’d been sitting in my closet for five years for them to use as a Blu-ray player. I’m glad to see old tech get a new life like that, and you can probably do that same thing with a tablet. Something you should do if you’re planning on this is to give your tablet a factory reset. You never want to give away something that has all your personal information on it.
You should probably give some caveats as well if you’re giving away a tablet that has had some heavy use over the years. For starters, I would explain that the tablet won’t perform as well as something new. There will probably be some slowdowns and issues, but for a free tablet, it’s hard to complain too much. Somebody who’s never had a tablet would surely appreciate getting one for free. My Galaxy Tab S6 would still hold up quite well as a daily driver, but I can’t imagine my older Galaxy Tab A would fare the same. However, lightweight use like social media and YouTube would probably be fine for quite a while.
Use it as a streamer of sorts
They can always cast
If you have an old Android tablet, remember that it can be used to cast things to your TV. Even in the case of my Galaxy Tab A with a cracked screen, it can bypass that by streaming to a TV. Of course, most TVs these days have built-in apps, so I don’t know how much mileage you can get out of this, but there are some apps that aren’t available — although the number of unavailable apps is shrinking more and more as time goes by.
I know it can be easier to cast a YouTube video from a tablet you’re already using instead of searching for it on the TV app, so there’s some time saving to be found there, but it’s not much. Streaming sticks aren’t very expensive at all, so you this isn’t an option you have to fully commit to if you don’t want to. I remember when I first got a Chromecast, I cast to it a lot, but I haven’t looked back since smart TVs became mainstream.
Some make an excellent game emulator
A lot of horsepower under the hood
My Galaxy Tab S6 boasts a Snapdragon 855 CPU, which is old in terms of phones and tablets, but you’ll find that it handles game emulation very well. It’s not going to handle a bunch of high-end consoles, but if you’re looking to stick with the PS2 and GameCube generation, then it handles it very well. Getting emulation set up is a breeze, and the only thing left to do from there is to source your ROMs. My Tab S6 has a large screen that makes any game look great, and there’s enough power to upscale most games to at least a 2x scale. RetroArch is a good app to get started with, but there are other options too. In the above picture, I have melonDS running on my Tab S6.
Of course, the Galaxy Tab S6 was a high-end tablet once upon a time, so your budget tablets of the world won’t work as well as this one. Pretty much everything from the SNES era and lower is covered by a potato at this point, so that’s nothing to worry about. I know more and more people are getting interested in the PS2 generation, probably due to the unending passage of time, so the Galaxy Tab S6 is a good option for that.
Download Libby and use it as a free e-reader
No added cost here at all
I love my Kindle, but it’s not always around. When I travel, I typically take my tablet instead of my Kindle, just so I don’t have to take both. Sure, Android tablets don’t have the e-ink display, but that doesn’t mean they can’t read Kindle books all the same. Another thing you can do is download Libby and load up your old Android tablet with e-books.
At no point in all my years of using an Android tablet have I come even remotely close to filling up the storage, so you can fit dozens and dozens of books on one without having to worry. You don’t need a lot of performance to run the Libby app, but you do need a library card. If you have that out of the way, there’s really no reason to not try out Libby. Keep in mind that while these are digital rentals, you might have to wait in line for a book you want to become available again as strange as that sounds.
