You Need the Play Store on Your Fire Tablet to Get These 10 Popular Apps

Key Takeaways

• Big apps like WhatsApp and Instagram are on Fire Tablets, but others may require installing the Google Play Store.
• Missing are popular apps like Telegram, Gmail, Chrome, Snapchat, Tasker, Cash App, Fitbit, and more.

Amazon Fire Tablets are some of the most accessible gadgets on the market. For around the same price as dinner and drinks for two, you get a full-blown tablet. However, they’re stuck with the Amazon App Store. If you want some of the most popular apps, you’ll need to install the Google Play Store.

Big name apps like WhatsApp, Netflix, Spotify, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and more are available on Fire Tablets. However, when scrolling through the Play Store charts, there are a few notable apps I noticed that are not available in the Amazon App Store. To get them, you’ll need to follow our guide for installing the Play Store on Fire Tablets.

۱ Telegram

While the App Store does have WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, it does not have another hugely popular messaging app: Telegram. It’s ranked 7th for free apps in the Play Store. You could try to use Telegram in the Silk Browser, but a dedicated app would work much better.

۲ Gmail

Unsurpsiginly, there aren’t a lot of Google apps available in Amazon’s competing App Store—YouTube and YouTube TV are the only ones. You can use Gmail on Fire Tablets with the stock Email client or through the Silk Browser, but the expirience is severely lacking.

۳ Chrome

Chrome is an even worse situation than Gmail. Fire Tablets are restricted to Amazon’s Silk Browser or Opera (which you should not use), both of which are not great browsers. You’ll need to install something else if you want to do some serious browsing, and Chrome is the most popular browser.

۴ Cash App

I was surprised by a few apps that appeared in the Play Store’s Top Charts. One such app was Cash App, which came in at number 10. Cash App is an easy way to send and recieve money, and it’s been downloaded over 100 million times on Android. The Amazon App Store is filled with spammy Cash App clones, but not the real thing.

۵ Snapchat

You’ve probably heard about Snapchat. While it may not be the darling child of social media that it used to be, it is still an immensly popular app with over 1 billion (yes, billion) downloads on Android. If you want to keep your streaks alive from your Fire Tablet, you’ll need to install the Play Store.

۶ Tasker

Let’s talk about a fan favorite in the Android community: Tasker. This classic app is ranked 13th in the Play Store’s Top Paid chart, and it (or an equivalent) are nowhere to be found on Fire Tablets. If you love automating repetive tasks and doing some truly nerdy things with your devices, Tasker is a must-have.

۷ Life360

Life360 is a popular app for families that like to keep track of each other. The company has gotten in trouble for selling precise location data on its users in the past, but it’s still a popular service. The Amazon App Store has very few options for live location sharing apps.

۸ Fitbit

Fitbit is owned by Google, so it’s no surprise that you won’t find it in the Amazon App Store. That’s a shame because it’s a popular service for health and fitness tracking, and a tablet would be a nice device to use to review your activities and exercise programs.

۹ Dropbox

Cloud storage apps are a common thing to have on smartphones and tablets. However, your options are limited from the Amazon App Store. Dropbox is still a very popular option, but it’s not available for Fire Tablets. You’re stick with Amazon’s own service or Microsoft OneDrive.

۱۰ Canva

Another app I was surprised to find on the charts is Canva—it’s 38th on the Top Grossing Chart. Canva has become of the most popular apps for image and video editing on mobile devices. People use it a lot for posting to Instagram and TikTok. If you like editing on a touch screen, you’ll need to Play Store for Canva.

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There you have it! While the heavy hitters are mostly available on the Amazon App Store, there are a few key players that haven’t joined the party. If you don’t want to go through the hassle of installing the Play Store to get these apps, sideloading is another option.