I need another tablet so the question is, Used iPad, Amazon Fire or other Android Tablet.
If Amazon Fire, what do you need to do to install?
I havenât used Amazon Fire Tablets for a few years. While their inexpensive price may be very attractive, Amazon is effectively subsidizing the cost because the âAmazon Ecosystemâ is effectively baked into every part of the device. Now back in the day you could actually remove a lot of this âAmazonâ ecosystem/bloat, but the newer firmwares are pretty secure and prevent these types of modifications. My understanding is that you are pretty much stuck with the Amazon app launcher (which is horrible) and excessive âbloat" when you use any recent Fire Tablet.
If you want to know specifically what can and canât be done with the Fire Tablets, I suggest you check out this thread on XDA Developers about the Fire Toolbox app. This is the app I used to remove all of the Amazon bloat and install the missing Google services. While I havenât kept up with it recently you should be able to quickly find out what is and isnât possible now. https://xdaforums.com/t/windows-linux-tool-fire-toolbox-v41-1.3889604/
Honestly even when I removed a lot of the Amazon bloat, the Fire Tablets were still a pretty âclunkyâ tablet to use. I stopped using the Fire Tablets and moved to more ânormalâ Android tablets when Amazon started really locking down their firmware. My current âgo toâ tablet is actually Googleâs âPixel Tabletâ (without the base station). I love the fact that it is as âvanilla Androidâ as you can get right now. Most other Android tablets have âextraâ crap installed on them by the manufacturer and the Pixel Tablet doesnât have any extra bloat installed. The Pixel Tablet is certainly not âclunkyâ to use in any way and I am much happier using it than I ever was using a Fire Tablet.
That being said, I am biased towards Android products because I personally hate using Apple products. Iâm not familiar with them at all, and I hate the way they over simplify and lock down everything down. However if you like Apple products, I think even the cheapest iPad product would work great for use with any of the A&H consoles.
Amazon Fire tablets suck. The only use Iâve found for them is their text to speech reader which lets me listen to books while I drive without having to spend extra money on audiobooks.
My recommendation is an iPad. Go on ebay and look for refurbished ones. I found a refurb 3-year old model for right around $150. The nice thing about having an iPad is that most live audio and recording software is made for MacOS and iOS platforms so if you end up needing a tablet for something else audio-related, the iPad will work in 99% of cases.
Thanks guys. I have to say I already use an iPad and I do prefer them so I will look for one.
My partner has an Android Tablet(Lenovo) and I do find it laggy with the CQ20, especially compared to my 2021 iPad.
Decision made.
Relatively new CQ-12 user here - discovered shortly after I got my mixer, than (in my case) the android-based tablet that I bought apparently needs to meet some sort of hardware & software spec. I have this 8â Lenovo bare-bones Android tab - I use it to remote control the clubâs Electro-Voice EVOLVE 50Mâs built-in digital mixers (via BT). Iâm unable to install CQ Mixpad on this Lenovo device. I guess what Iâm trying to say is that, simply going for the cheapest tab (iOS or Android) may be problematic. FYI, hereâs the tab that I have & Google Play tells me that is not compatible:
PS - I used to work in L&D for Samsung Electronics America, but recently came back to the Apple ecosystem, so I no longer have those devices you see in the screen grab to use instead. 
Good luck!!
âB
A quick google search leads me to believe that particular tablet runs Android âGo Editionâ which is a streamlined version of Android designed for low-end devices. Honestly I didnât even Android had a âcut downâ version, but obviously it is a thing. Android (Go edition) | Android
If you stick to products that runs the regular Android OS, you shouldnât have a problem.
PS - looking at that tablet specifically, it seems Lenovo released both a âGo Verionâ and a normal version. I have no idea if you can really do it, but perhaps it would be possible to install the regular Android OS on it. https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/ht501098
@sic0048 - Thanks VERY much for the extra digging & sharing your discoveries. Like you, I had no idea there was a âskinnyâ version of Android. When I was working @ Samsung, I always carried flagship tablets & phones and so this would never have crossed my mind.
I did see a couple other product pages on Amazon for that 4th Gen M8 that did not say âGo Editionâ in any of the âup-topâ descriptions. But when you look at the more detailed product info, Android Go Edition is listed as a baseline under âOperating System.â They appear to be $20-ish dollars more, so Iâm a little suspect in giving those a try. Having said thatâŚ
I did find this device - it appears to have been launched in 2025, and apparently has enough horsepower to run full-blown Android (if Iâm reading correctly). Iâm thinking about pulling the trigger & giving it a test-drive. Since itâd be coming from Amazon, Iâm sure Iâll have 30 days to decide if itâll do the trick. Thoughts? THX!! âBill
Follow-up (19Aug): Received this Lenovo Tab One and it works great in my initial testing. Heading to a gig in a little while & Iâll try to give it a bit more use. But if youâre looking for a small-ish footprint (aka iPad Mini size) but donât want to break the bank (and donât mind Android OS), this is shaping up to be a nice option IMHO. Cheers!
Just purchased my 3rd I-Pad when my 8th gen pad died. Last years model new was less than $300. on amazon and truth told is is a bullet proof controller for my CQ20b. Why try anything else?
Hugh
Because Apple products are terribly restrictive IMHOâŚ..
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But unfortunately, the audio world is still predominantly Apple based. I have an Android tablet that I can use with my CQ but I bought an iPad because there are more audio apps available for the Apple ecosystem.
Perhaps Brian will identify the specific function an I-Pad is missing to efficiently operate a CQ.
Ancillarry digital activity is not particularly relevant to the OPâs question.
Hugh
Well if you want to go that route, your answer is not relevant to the OPs question either since they specifically asked about several tablet models - none of which are Apple products.
Meanwhile I had previously provided useful, first hand, information about some of the specific tablets that the OP asked about. How about you???
His first choice was a Used I-Pad then amazon fire & android! My support of the I-Pad in this question was with out qualification.
Hugh
Alright, I am an idiotâŚ. 
The problem with Apple is that the hardware and software is proprietary. However it is good and it is reliable. In my experience Android hardware and software are a lottery.
I have a Lenovo Tablet and it is laggy. Now another tablet ma work better but it is a lottery.