10 Must-Have Tablet Apps for Seniors in 2026

A tablet earns its keep through its apps — the free programs you download to make the device your own. Whether you’re using an iPad or an Android tablet like the Amazon Fire HD, here are ten genuinely useful apps to start with, all free to download.

1. Zoom or FaceTime

Video calling is, for most people, the single best reason to own a tablet. FaceTime comes built into iPads; Zoom works on any tablet and is what most families, book clubs, and doctor’s offices now default to for virtual visits.

2. Google Maps

Beyond turn-by-turn directions, Google Maps is genuinely fun to explore — zoom into satellite or street view of a childhood home, a grandchild’s college campus, or anywhere in the world. It’s also useful close to home: many people use it simply to remember where they parked.

3. Libby

Libby connects to your local library card and lets you borrow e-books and audiobooks for free, delivered straight to your tablet — no trip to the library required, and nothing to return late.

4. Medisafe

A simple, well-reviewed medication reminder app: enter your prescriptions once, and it alerts you when it’s time to take each one, tracks whether you did, and can share a report with family or a caregiver if you choose.

5. A streaming app (Netflix, YouTube, or your local news station’s app)

Most major streaming services and local news stations have a free or subscription app that plays beautifully on a tablet screen. YouTube alone is worth exploring — everything from full concerts to how-to videos on practically any topic is free.

6. Google Photos

Automatically backs up every photo you take, organizes them by date and even by the people in them, and makes it simple to share an album with family without emailing giant files one at a time.

7. A weather app

The Weather Channel app and Weather.com’s mobile site both offer detailed forecasts, radar maps, and severe weather alerts for any ZIP code — useful for checking conditions before travel or before family visits from out of town.

8. Words With Friends 2 or Sudoku

Both are consistently rated among the most popular games for keeping the mind active, and Words With Friends adds a social element — you can play an ongoing match with a friend or grandchild no matter where they live.

9. A password manager (like LastPass)

As more of daily life moves online — banking, medical portals, shopping — keeping track of passwords becomes its own challenge. A password manager stores them securely and fills them in automatically, so you only need to remember one master password instead of dozens.

10. An AI assistant app (ChatGPT, Google Gemini, or Microsoft Copilot)

Ask it questions the way you’d ask a knowledgeable friend — recipe ideas based on what’s in your fridge, an explanation of a medical term from a doctor’s visit, or help drafting an email — and get a clear, direct answer without hunting through search results.

Getting started

To find any app, open the App Store (iPad) or Play Store (Android/Amazon tablets), type the app’s name into the search bar, and tap “Get” or “Install.” All ten of these are free to download, so there’s no risk in trying one and deciding it’s not for you. If you’re setting up a tablet for the first time, ask a family member to sit with you for the first install or two — after that, it becomes second nature.