5 Beginner-Friendly Apps Every Galaxy Tablet Owner Should Try

There are plenty of articles out there telling readers all the cool and extraordinary things they can do with their shiny new Samsung Galaxy Tab, and I’m terribly tempted to go all out after using a Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra. The problem is, this kind of content doesn’t really show how useful Galaxy Tabs can be during day-to-day use.

For example, I can use my Tab S10 Ultra as a full-blown graphics tablet for drawing, painting, animation, and 3D sculpting — but how does that help someone who needs to make a note of their shopping list for later? There are plenty of apps that come baked in when purchasing, but not many truly showcase a Galaxy Tab’s big screen, One UI, and the often-included S Pen, which is one of those essential Galaxy Tab accessories.

Below, I’ll take you through five beginner-friendly apps every Galaxy Tab owner should try, which include productivity, note-taking, reading, and design picks. Most of the apps in this article will be more useful for the silent majority than the techie crowd, but a couple of the picks have everything you need to go from beginner to pro. The approach I took in selecting these apps was simple: I thought to myself, if I handed a Galaxy Tab to a family member or friend, which apps would I tell them to download first? 

Samsung Notes is a highly recommended app, and it’s free with zero ads or in-app purchases. It’s a handy application that allows users to write notes either with their S Pen, the touchscreen, or a physical keyboard. It comes preinstalled on all new Samsung Galaxy Tabs and sticks around even when they’re factory reset. Getting started is as simple as opening the app and tapping the + (new note) icon.

Handwriting with the S Pen can be converted to text, and speech recognition for dictation is also supported. To convert S Pen input, open a handwritten note, tap the S Pen icon in the toolbar, then select Convert to text. For dictation, tap the microphone icon in the toolbar and speak. I’ve found these tools great for when the kids are doing their homework, since they can dictate the steps they need to take to work out their math problems, for example, then easily reference those steps throughout their task.

There are nearly endless note formats to choose from, alongside folders, subfolders, color-coding, and reminders. Users can change note formats from the format menu, choosing from templates like checkboxes and calendars. To organize your library, simply long-press a note, then choose Move to folder or Create a new folder — folders even come with color-coding options. Notes can also be exported into PDF, JPG, or MS Word formats — just tap the share button, choose Export as, then pick the desired format.

Good Lock is Samsung’s own customization suite that unlocks settings that One UI hides by default. It can help users carry out per-app sleep controls, give games an extra boost, or tweak home screen layouts, icons, and widgets. It reminds me of jailbreaking my original iPad and installing a custom launcher so I could do more with the product I owned — except this is supported by the manufacturer.

Proprietary Samsung apps don’t always make their way to the Google Play Store, but you can easily install Good Lock from the Galaxy Store. Once you’ve installed the main app, you’ll notice individual modules available to install from inside the Good Lock app, which is usually one per feature. While third-party launchers such as Nova Launcher are great for basic home screen customization, Good Lock is built for Samsung devices, simpler to use (while having the potential to be more powerful), and stays within the One UI ecosystem.

Some of the more useful modules I’ve found include Sound Assistant for unlocking per-app volume controls and Keys Cafe for personalizing keyboard details. Just tap the install button next to the Sound Assistant module in Good Lock’s main menu, then open it from the same location to selectively change app volume and mute settings. The same goes for Keys Cafe — install the module, open it, then design a keyboard layout that works and hit Save to apply it. In all honesty, I think One UI already does a great job on its own, but it’s even better to have an officially supported app that makes the operating system truly fit the user.

Tablets have been connected to ebooks since the form factor was popularized by the iPad back in 2010. Kindle debuted an iPad app the day before launch on April 2, 2010, and the rest is history. Of course, there’s the Amazon Kindle tablet, but Galaxy Tab owners can simply download the Kindle app from the Google Play Store and enjoy the same content on bigger and brighter displays. Users can log into their existing Amazon account and access their Kindle library with no issues and more time to read.

There are millions of books, magazines, newspapers, and audiobooks with adjustable text sizes, fonts, and background colors, and the app features a night mode to boot. Curious? Change these features by tapping the center of the page, then select the Aa button to access a menu with the aforementioned features alongside a toggle for a sepia theme.

Whisper Sync keeps a user’s last-read page, bookmarks, and annotations intact across devices. You’ll also find the X-Ray and Word Wise features, with the former allowing users to tap on a character name or book location for more information, and the latter allowing users to tap challenging words for better context. X-Ray just works, but Word Wise needs to be toggled on from the Aa menu and isn’t available in some books. You’ll also find a selection of free books available — just choose one from the “Free” section — and paid offerings can be sampled before purchase by tapping Read sample on any paid book to try before buying.

Concepts is a free and feature-packed vector sketchpad that works perfectly with the S Pen — however, note that some of the features below, including stroke editing, shape guides, and PDF export, require a paid upgrade. It’s beginner-friendly thanks to its vector-based design, which means you can edit work without redrawing it. Concepts is available to download from the Play Store. Once it’s installed, tap the New canvas icon or pick a template, and the rest is up to a user’s imagination.

Draw with the S Pen, then you can tap a line with the select tool to nudge, resize, or tweak it. Artists are treated to an unlimited canvas for sketching, doodles, mind maps, and designing, and it all comes complete with shape guides, live snaps, and measurement tools. These features can be activated by selecting the shape tools and snap guides to line up elements, after which you can use the measurement tool to set dimensions live on the canvas.

Concepts also takes advantage of the pressure-sensitive tech built into the S Pen’s input, while using a layer system with automatic sorting and adjustable opacity alongside a full-color selection that covers the Copic spectrum along with RGB and HSL wheels. Simply tap the Layers button to add, reorder, and change the opacity on layers. Open the color wheel to switch between the three color grading systems, and just press harder with the S Pen for thicker strokes. Work can be exported in JPEG and PDF formats, with drag-and-drop image reference support in-app, which can also be imported via the toolbar. Use a paper-like screen protector for an authentic feeling with your drawing experience.

Canva is a service I’ve used extensively in the past for how quick and easy it makes editing photos, and it’s a community pick for making presentations on a Galaxy Tablet thanks to large screens and a simple learning curve. Users can kick things off by downloading the Canva app from the Google Play Store, signing up, and then selecting a template type from the home screen, such as presentations, posters, social graphics, and more.

Drag-and-drop templates make Canva one of the best free video editing apps and a solid alternative for people who wish Samsung shipped the Galaxy Tab line with dedicated presentation software. Users only need to pick a template, tap elements and text to edit, and drag images or layout blocks onto the canvas to get a solid design in minutes. A resize tool is also on hand to tweak image dimensions for the right look.

The free tier covers the essentials, with the Pro plan unlocking premium templates, a larger asset library, and a few other tools and extras if needed. It’s a clear example of an app feeling its best on a large screen when compared to a smartphone, as the canvas is big enough to work on. I’ve tried it on my Tab S10 Ultra and it does feel more natural, but thanks to my Photoshop mouse-and-keyboard muscle memory, I prefer the desktop experience.

The five apps above were chosen based on my own experience with my Samsung Galaxy S10 Ultra after sifting through community threads from r/GalaxyTab asking which apps every Galaxy Tab owner should have. I particularly favored apps that showcased the tablet’s strengths, specifically the large screen, S Pen, and One UI.

The community consensus can be a legitimate signal, but it’s also a minefield, as everyone’s opinion will be slightly different — plus a lot of upvoted apps sit in a legally grey area or are flat-out against various terms of service. The apps in this list are official, reliable, free or cheap apps. The end result was picks that work wonderfully on all recent Samsung Galaxy Tabs, so the list isn’t locked to the latest and most expensive model.

Finally, I wanted to make sure there was an app in this article for everyone. Want to draw with the S Pen? Covered. Don’t like the One UI layout and want to turn it into a boutique operating system? That’s possible. I’ll admit it was a risk opening with a notepad app, but it’s one of the most-used apps on Galaxy Tabs, and it showcases the S Pen better than most other apps.