Best PDF Apps for Android Tablets: Read and Annotate

PDF reading and annotation is one of the strongest use cases for Android tablets. The screen size displays full pages legibly, stylus support enables precise markup, and the portability means you can review documents anywhere. These apps handle everything from casual reading to professional annotation workflows.

How We Selected: We examined options using hands-on testing, benchmark data, and real-world usage. Factors in our assessment included stylus responsiveness, build quality, display quality, processor benchmarks. Brands featured did not pay for or influence their inclusion.

Adobe Acrobat Reader

Adobe Acrobat Reader remains the reference standard for PDF rendering accuracy. If a PDF looks wrong in another app, Acrobat will display it correctly. The free tier includes reading, commenting, highlighting, drawing, filling forms, and signing documents. Text search works across documents, and the reading mode strips away chrome to maximize content display.

Acrobat Pro ($9.99/month) adds PDF editing (change text and images), conversion to and from Word/Excel/PowerPoint, OCR for scanned documents, and redaction tools. For professionals who regularly edit PDFs or need guaranteed rendering accuracy, the subscription pays for itself quickly.

The tablet interface uses a sidebar for page thumbnails, bookmarks, and comments. The S Pen on Samsung tablets provides precise highlighting and drawing over PDF pages.

Xodo PDF Reader and Editor

Xodo combines fast rendering, smooth annotation, and real-time collaboration in a free app. Annotations include highlights, underlines, strikethroughs, text comments, freehand drawing, shapes, and stamps. The annotation toolbar is well-organized and accessible without covering your document.

The standout feature is real-time collaborative annotation. Share a link to a PDF and multiple users can annotate simultaneously, with changes appearing instantly. This works well for group study sessions, document reviews, and remote team collaboration.

Xodo also integrates with Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive for seamless cloud document access. The form filling and signing features handle most business PDF workflows. The app is free with no subscription required for core features.

PDF Expert (by Readdle)

PDF Expert brings a clean, focused interface to PDF reading and annotation. The organization system lets you manage large document collections with folders, favorites, and recent files. Reading is comfortable with adjustable page display modes (single page, continuous scroll, two-page spread).

Annotation tools are fast and precise, with support for stylus pressure sensitivity. The text editing feature lets you modify text directly in PDFs, add images, and insert blank pages. PDF Expert costs a one-time purchase around $9.99, making it affordable for heavy PDF users who want to avoid subscriptions.

Google Drive PDF Viewer

Google Drive’s built-in PDF viewer handles basic reading and commenting for PDFs stored in your Google Drive. Highlighting and commenting are supported, and comments sync across devices through your Google account. The rendering quality is good for standard documents.

The limitation is that Google Drive’s PDF viewer lacks advanced annotation tools like freehand drawing, stamps, or form filling. For users whose PDF needs are limited to reading and occasional highlighting, the built-in viewer avoids installing another app. For anything more, dedicated apps provide a better experience.

Samsung Notes (PDF Import)

Samsung Notes can import PDFs and overlay handwritten annotations with the S Pen. This approach merges the PDF with your handwritten notes in a Samsung Notes document, allowing you to write naturally over printed pages. The low latency S Pen experience makes annotation feel like writing on paper.

The limitation is that annotations become part of the Samsung Notes format rather than standard PDF annotations. Exported PDFs include your handwriting as flattened images, which means recipients cannot interact with your annotations as separate objects. For personal note-taking over PDFs, this works well. For collaborative annotation, Xodo or Acrobat is better.

Tips for PDF Workflows

Use split-screen mode to view a PDF on one side while taking notes in a note-taking app on the other. For long documents, bookmarking key sections speeds up navigation during review. Consider a tablet stand for comfortable extended reading, and adjust screen brightness to reduce eye strain during lengthy PDF review sessions.