I’ve always used my laptop on Zwift. It works fine, is generally reliable, has a 17″ screen & the ability to plug into an external monitor via HDMI if I ever get round to mounting it on the wall. I use an ANT+ dongle plugged into an extension lead.

But – I’m currently in the market for a new Android tablet as the screen on my current one is becoming un-responsive & getting steadily worse.
I’ve been trying to decide between the Lenovo M10 Plus (currently reduced to £149 for the 64Gb/4Gb RAM version) and the new Samsung A7, which I think is 32Gb & 3Gb RAM for £219. Samsung edging it at the moment.

I then had the thought that I could perhaps use the new tablet to run Zwift & if I did so, it would probably be better to get something with a bit more oomph than those budget ones. The Samsung S6 Lite would be about £100 more, but if it gave better performance & longevity (due to not becoming obsolete so quickly) then it might be worth spending the extra cash….?

So – I am getting a tablet anyway; it really comes down to whether I get one to use for Zwift, or just stick to the laptop for Zwift and get a cheaper tablet.
My trainer is bluetooth compatible, so that should be OK & if I do decide to run an external monitor, I think that I can get a USB C to HDMI cable which will allow that.
The only thing that won’t work will be my ant+ HRM, but I can get a bluetooth one if needed.

I generally use the companion app for messages etc. although change kit/bike etc. with the laptop keyboard & camera angles too. How easy is it to do all of that through the Android/Companion app?

How does Zwift perform on an Android tablet? My current laptop is ~8years old & when below the min Zwift spec but still runs OK. Graphics are turned right down & I suspect frame rates aren’t great, but I don’t really care about that – the main thing is reliability of the app in use. Any issues I have seem to stem around wi-fi stability rather than the laptop itself.

I’d be interested to hear the view of anyone using Zwift on Android to get a feel for whether it’s worth bothering with, or not. Ta.

works well… but you’ll have issues getting it to work for your HRM on Ant+. Which means you can’t race at the pointy end of ZP. Podiums require HRM.

Of course if you have a bluetooth HRM you’ll be fine.

Zwift has been rock steady on Apple and Android when I’ve used either. The GUI is just as awful. I was disappointed when I went from the Apple app to a laptop that it was the same.

Can’t comment on the graphics on Android as I have used my phone (Motorola g7) when I was having computer issues, so it was usable but obviously difficult to read on a tiny screen.

The Apple phone I plugged into a TV, Android I’d have needed a newer TV I think.

I’ve ran zwift on an ipad via BT connections – works fine, companion app is ‘the same’ as it is when i use it on the laptop..

Graphics are better on the laptop as it’s a gaming PC, and the screen is bigger..

I guess with a tablet you COULD have it mounted closer, nagating the need fora big screen?

DrP

I’ve got an oldish Lenovo tablet that I usually run the companion app on. I’ve occasionally used it to run Zwift itself on when the PC has had a CPU fart.

It’s worked very well all in all. Possibly not as easy to use the menus as a PC keyboard though. The graphics are also a bit plain but that isn’t as noticeable on a small screen and it doesn’t sound like an issue you would be concerned about anyway.

Oh, you should be able to cast the screen to a smart tv, hardware allowing negating the need for a lead.

Been using my ~6″ Xiaomi Mi A2 mobile a few times recently for Zwift with a handlebar mobile holder, not as nice as using the Microsoft Surface laptop or the lounge PC, but it works.

The Huawei tablets are supposed to have good Zwift/gaming performance, while they don’t come supplied with direct access to Google Play, it’s supposed to be easy to workaround.

Cheers All.

I’ve done a bit of digging & it looks like it’s more complicated than I thought. Apparently Zwift requires a certain level chipset (Arm64-v8a ABI (Arm64 architecture)) & GPU capability (OpenGL ES 3.0 or higher) to run – lots of cases of people on the Zwift forums buying new tablets & finding that they don’t work with Zwift – Zwift not even being available in the Play Store.

So, I just checked on my Wife’s Galaxy Tab A, which was only bought last year & sure enough – no Zwift available to download.
Doing some digging, it looks like :
– the S6 Lite is supported & from looking at various spec sheets it seems to have the required processor & GPU.
the Tab A7 seems to be supported
– the Lenovo M10 Plus also seems to be supported….

Hmmm. Might have to ask some people on Amazon if the Zwift app is available in the Play Store for these tablets…

If you are only buying the tablet to run Zwift o(I know the OP isn’t), then maybe consider buying an Apple TV box, instead.

Especially if you can set your trainer up near a decent size TV.

belugabob
Free Member
If you are only buying the tablet to run Zwift o(I know the OP isn’t), then maybe consider buying an Apple TV box, instead.

Yeah, if I was looking for just a Zwift solution I’d consider an Apple TV as it looks like a relatively cheap & convenient way of sorting Zwift out.

Yup, not many tablets work with it.

Weirdly, tonnes of phones do.

weeksy
Full Member
Yup, not many tablets work with it.

Weirdly, tonnes of phones do.

I think the Android tablet market is a bit dead, to be honest.
They probably stick the cheapest components in that they can get away with & so at the lower-end of the market there are loads of tablets that aren’t man enough for stuff like the graphics requirements of Zwift.

Well, I’ve just bought a Samsung Tab S6 Lite. A few people on the Zwift forum seemed to confirm it worked OK & so I thought I’d risk it.
It’s arriving on Sunday, so I’ll update this thread once I’ve had the chance to try it out.
I’ll probably wait until after the next RobboRace.

Nice one mate, should run Zwift no worries then. Might be worth being a little cautious when Samsung do an update on the firmware though. I have a vague recollection of people reporting that previously working tablets (I can’t remember the brand) not working after a firmware update on Zwift. That said, I’m guessing you can roll the firmware back?

Anyway, I’m being overly pessimistic and I’m sure all will be good.👍

The S6 should be fine. I run Zwift on a Huawei Mediapad M5 and it works pretty well. Certainly better than on my old laptop, which struggles to the extent that lots of the bikes have no riders.

I thought I’d update this in case anyone stumbles across it with a similar question.

I went out to the garage and eventually got it working.  The Tacx software is flakey at the best of times and connectivity has always seemed hit and miss.

I initially got nothing when trying to pair.  I used the Tacx utility on my phone to update the firmware – I was reluctant to do this as when I first got the trainer it bricked itself twice during firmware updates. It was fine though.

I then got the trainer to connect to the tablet but although it was showing it was all connected,  Zwift was reporting “no signal”.

At this point I fired up the laptop and that connected straight away over ANT+ which gave me some confidence that the firmware update hadn’t messed something up.

I then tried the tablet again and after a minute or so of 1rpm cadence followed by 176rpm (!) it settled down and worked fine for the 5 mins or so that I cruised around.

The graphics were much better than I expected. Better than my old laptop in fact,  and the frame rate seemed good. The screen is a bit small,  but OK at a pinch and does give the option of casting to a smart TV or Chromecast, I suppose.

I’ll try it again for a full ride at some point and see how it does over an hour or so.

Glad you got is sorted matey.👍

The crunch will be it not losing signal during a ride/race but you won’t know that till you give it a good caning.😁

The fps will drop in big groups of riders but it shouldn’t affect things too much and its to be expected anyway.