5 ways to make the most of an Android tablet for the holidays

Anyone else been glued to their tablet lately? You’re not alone. People around the world are spending 70 percent more time on their Android tablets since the beginning of the year, and in the U.S., Samsung, Lenovo and Walmart (Onn) tablet purchases have been up 30 percent. If you’re looking to get into the tablet game (or if you’re already right here with us), here are five ways you can make the most of your Android tablet: 

1. Up your productivity game

Tablets can help boost your productivity in your work-from-home routine. Because Android supports multi-window and split-screen modes, you can use up to three apps at once on the large tablet screen on devices like the Galaxy Tab S7 and S7+.  

Say you’re planning a virtual holiday party—you can browse for party ideas on Chrome, watch baking videos on YouTube and set up a Calendar invite for party attendees all at the same time. If you’re feeling creative, use a stylus to plan out your holiday decorations in a popular drawing app like Tayasui Sketches, or check out Clip Studio Paint on Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 and S7+ (it’ll be available to all Android and Chrome OS users in mid-December).

2. Watch holiday classics, or find something new

Wrapped in a blanket with your favorite holiday beverage in hand, your Android tablet is the perfect screen for enjoying TV and movies. Your tablet’s Google TV app can help you easily find and watch classic holiday movies or catch up on your favorite shows from across your streaming apps. If you want to save it for later or watch with family and friends on the TV (via Chromecast with Google TV), add titles to your Watchlist. Your purchased shows and movies will always be available in your Library tab. 

3. Choose from one million tablet-ready apps on the Play Store

Apps and games are what makes your tablet so useful and fun. Once you’ve unboxed your new Android tablet, you can browse the Play Store and choose from more than one million apps for tablets, with more coming every day. With higher resolution and larger screens, your favorite shows and games will look and play better on a tablet. Whether it's staying in touch with your friends on Facebook or trying to find the impostor in Among Us, your new Android tablet has what you need to stay connected, entertained and productive.

4. Browse enriching content for kids

To find the right apps for your kids, head to the Kids tab on Google Play, which features high-quality “Teacher approved” apps for kids, or Google Kids Space, which recommends quality content based on interests kids choose. Kids Space nurtures kids’ curiosity, with a library of teacher-approved apps and handpicked books from Google Play, and videos that spark creativity and offline play from YouTube Kids. Kids Space is available on select Android tablets including the new Lenovo Smart Tab M10 HD Gen 2, and will be coming to more models soon. And with the Family Link app, you’ll always be able to manage your kid’s experiences, from setting screen time limits to content safety filters, privacy controls and more. 

5. Stay connected even while social distancing

When you’re social distancing, there are still great ways to keep in touch that go beyond the standard phone call. With features like Family mode, AR effects and screen sharing, Google Duo offers simple and reliable video calling. Since the beginning of March, call minutes on Duo almost doubled on tablet devices. That virtual holiday party you’re planning? It will be full of good cheer with Duo, which lets you video chat up to 32 friends at a time.