What is the best tablet for use with Roon?

No, unfortunately UAPP is a standalone app. It has plugins for Qobuz and Tidal, but AFAIK does not serve as a Roon endpoint.
iOS is a safer bet for now for audio duties

I only own one Apple device and it is this IPad 5. I got it cheap as a factory refurb from Apple. I got it because it can function as a remote for a mixing console that has no such android app. I have an Android and a Win10 tablet. The IPad is better than either, both as a Roon controller and for general use. For some the reason the apps I use look and work better on the IPad than the Android versions.

Iā€™m also on Tab A (2016). I am not a fan of Samsung devices, generally, but the alternatives were way too costly for my usage profile. (I own no i-devices.)

It does force landscape mode, which is irritating.

Once Samsung gives up on security updates, Iā€™ll root it and put Lineage on it to get a little more mileage out of it.

I have tried the Fire devices and hiding the UI, but the device was miserably slow and still too locked down to be useful for me

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When using a tablet with Roon, the bigger the better in my opinion in order to properly view the album art, liner notes, etc - or the ā€œsearchable surfable magazineā€ as Roon calls it. I therefore went for the iPad pro 12.9". The latest couple of iterations are light enough to be comfortable to hold when browsing. Itā€™s relatively expensive but that can in part be justified if you use the device for other purposes also.

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As far as current-production tablets go, discounting any platform loyalties you may have, itā€™s hard to go wrong with any current model iPad. Even the current base (6th Gen) model has an excellent CPU and GPU, high memory bandwidth, and a high-density display. Roon should look great, be consistently responsive and maintain high frame rates while running on these devices. For similar performance on an Android tablet, I would look for something that pulls down similar CPU/GPU benchmark numbers (there arenā€™t a lot of devices in this category).

While we spend a lot of time in development testing and optimizing for popular Android tablets, itā€™s because these devices are among the weakest devices that you can run a remote on; almost all of the performance gains we make on these devices from release to release also serve to make Roon run better on more capable devices where Roon was already running well. That being said, I think the current model Fire HD 10 tablet is a decent performer and excellent value. At least in the US market, there arenā€™t any commercially-available 8" or smaller Android tablets that Iā€™m completely happy with our performance on. I would love to get Roon Remote running up to my personal standards on Fire HD 8 or Galaxy Tab A 8 class hardware, but I see this more as an aspirational goal than something that we will achieve in the short-term.

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I picked up a Kindle fire for the purpose - the app is now available on the Amazon store and it works very well. Possibly the least expensive option.

David_Mathias - Nice insight, thanks. I have a Samsung also, am annoyed by the landscape only mode, and am looking down the road what to replace it with. Maybe Iā€™ll also root it. Iā€™m only using it for Roon now when sitting on the couch if Iā€™m not using it on my Android phone or Windows 10 laptop.
I need to pick up another tablet for another Roon Core Iā€™m setting up for my in-laws, and it comes down to user-friendliness or they wonā€™t use it. Iā€™ll skip a Fire device for now unless new model is much better.

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Went to purchase Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 when my S2 battery started dying. Walked out with a Tab S5e. Lower price, same excellent display, same basic features. Performance is great and battery life is amazing. Have not had the wi-fi issue reported by others. Roon only works in landscape mode, though, like S2.

Yeah, I had really hoped for the Huawei devices as a less expensive alternative to the Samsungs, but you canā€™t unlock, root and put Lineage on MediaTek. As long as Samsung uses Qualcomm, thereā€™s hope. Itā€™s been a while since I hung out on XDA, but Exynos was always a crapshoot.

@jacobacci ā€œAndroid devices can only stream from the Roon app to the device itself, not to the USB OTG port. Streaming out to the USB OTG port requires a special player (UAPPro ) that streams directly to the hardware, going around the Android Audio Stack.ā€

Hmmā€¦is that a limitation of older devices? Ones with Micro USB? I am able to send digital audio out from my 2019 Kindle Fire HD 10 to my iFi iDSD Micro BL DAC/Headamp. This works from any app including Roon treating the tablet itself as an endpoint.

Possibly that issue has been resolved in newer devices. Unfortunately I canā€™t shed any light on this.

USB-C can send audio stream from every app, even notification sounds, but itā€™s not an exclusive mode (as with UAPP or HF Player - initial USB Device), so I think itā€™s just only 48kHz throughout Android mixer.

Blockquote *Went to purchase Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 when my S2 battery started dying. Walked out with a Tab S5e. Lower price, same excellent display, same basic features. Performance is great and battery life is amazing. Have not had the wi-fi issue reported by others. Roon only works in landscape mode, though, like S2.

I am also currently looking to (potentially) buy a Tab S6 or S5eā€¦ also evaluating a couple of other similarly-priced Windows Convertible (Surface Pro, etc) optionsā€¦

Can you or anyone else confirm that USB APP works and bit-perferct output out the USB port to an external DAC (like a Dragonfly Red) when Iā€™m on-the-go and donā€™t have access to my Roon core, is supported via either or both of these two new Galaxy Tablets?

They donā€™t appear to be listed as ā€œsupported devicesā€ on ExtremeSDā€™s website, which could just be an oversight, as several other Galaxy Tab S tablets are? Including mine, a very-old-in-the-tooth 1st Gen Tab S 10.5ā€¦ which Iā€™d like to upgrade.

Sorry, donā€™t know, havenā€™t tried it. But, if you are thinking about an S6 thereā€™s talk of a less expensive ā€œliteā€ version about to be released ā€œany day now.ā€ Might be worth a look. Might also put the S5e on clearance pricing.

As a long time Android user (I use a Pixel 4XL), I was using a Fire HD8 and Galaxy Tab A8. Both had limitations, the battery started going on the Galaxy and the HD8 was a chore to setup with Android and keep it running. I went looking for the best value tablet and came away surprised.

The new 10.2 iPad is the best value, even including cheap tablets from China. Certainly better than the equivalent Tab A that is more expensive. Very happy with it, even able to maintain my Google ecosystem. The new HD10 was still very good value, but I didnā€™t want to go through the chore of skinning it with an an Android launcher. The iPad just works.

Oh and the headphone output is surprisingly good as well.

My iPad Mini 4 works very well with Roon.

I agree. Please stay on topic people.
Some of us are vested in Android for whatever reason and are looking for good Android hardware to run the Room Control app. Thanks in advance for any an all helpful tips.

I run a Huawei Mediapad M5 10". It used to be really stable and pretty responsive. But the since the Roon Core 1.6 release things have started degrading. I have done a factory reset on the Mediapad, but without improvement. Maybe Roon remote does not like Android 10?

Roon Remote reboots when you bring back to the foreground. So it needs to reconnect to the core and reload the current album or playlist. It takes between 10-20 seconds before you are up and running to do typical things you use a remote for; pause, skip or like a track. So it is pretty useless for those tasks. I have the same problem on my Pixel2 phone. And (for Apple fans) I tested an iPad mini 3rd gen with the same result.

Any ideas, or similar or better experience on Android anyone?
Thanks - and stay healthy.

Same here on my One Plus 5 and Samsung TabS2. It reboots it seems if there are a lot of apps in use. If not it stays on and connected even in the background. So it looks like Roons a ram hog and if not enough it seems to restart.

Iā€™ve tried with both latest models iPad and Samsung. Iā€™m an Android guy but have to admit iPad feels much smoother.

Hi Allan, have you tested the latest Fire HD8+ tablet?
Many thanks