Google has unveiled its first new tablet since the 2015 Pixel C… except this time it’s not an Android tablet, it’s a Chrome OS tablet (that also happens to run Android apps).

The Google Pixel Slate is a premium tablet with a 3,000 x 2,000 pixel display, support for up to 16GB of RAM, a fingerprint sensor (in the home button), and the ability to work with an optional keyboard cover.

While it’s not the first Chrome OS slate, it’s by far the most impressive… and expensive.

The Pixel Slate is coming later this year for $599 and up.

Up until recently, Google treated Chrome OS as an operating system for notebooks and desktops while Android was aimed at smartphones and tablets. But after Google started bringing Android (and Linux) app support to Chrome OS, it made sense for PC makers including Acer and HP to offer tablets.

Chrome OS itself has also become more touch-friendly in recent months, with a redesigned taskbar, launcher, and split-screen mode, among other changes.

Now Google is launching a first-party Chrome OS tablet that it says offers the productivity of a desktop.

It’s sort of Google’s answer to the Microsoft Surface Pro: a single device you can use as a tablet or notebook thanks to a detachable keyboard and a relatively roomy, high-resolution display (featuring 293 pixels per inch) and a choice of processors ranging from a Celeron 3965Y to a Core i7-8500Y.

While those aren’t Intel’s most powerful chips, the 5 watt Amber Lake-Y processors allowed Google to make the Pixel Slate a fanless device.

It features stereo front-facing speakers, 8MP front-facing and rear cameras with machine learning features for software-enabled portrait mode with blurred backgrounds. The front camera also has a wide-angle lens for making video calls while keeping a group of participants in the shot.

The Pixel Slate has a single USB-Type Type-C port, stereo speakers, and it comes with a digital pen that uses Wacom AES technology for writing or drawing with more precision than you would get from a fingertip alone.

Google says customers who pick up a Pixel Slate will get a free 3-month subscription to YouTube TV, allowing you to watch live TV on the tablet (or other supported devices).

The tablet also has a Titan Security chip built in.

The optional Pixel Slate keyboard is backlit, features rounded keys that are designed to be quiet, and you can connect the keyboard to the pogo pins on the bottom of the tablet without worrying about Bluetooth pairing.

Google says the folio is also “infinitely adjustable,” allowing you to adjust the tilt angle.

If you’re wondering why Google didn’t just offer another Android tablet, the Pixel Slate is designed to offer the best of both worlds. You can run Android apps in a touchscreen environment. But you also get access to the full desktop version of the Chrome web browser. That means you won’t encounter limited mobile versions of web pages and you have access to extensions and other add-ons.

The Google Pixel Slate will be sold as a standalone device for $599 and up. The Pixel Slate Keyboard is priced at $199. And the Pixelbook Pen is $99.

Here’s a run-down of pricing/configuration options:

  • Celeron 3965Y/4GB/32GB for $599
  • Core M3-8100Y/8GB/64GB for $799
  • Core i5-8200Y/8GB/128GB for $999
  • Core i7-8500Y/16GB/256GB for $1599

Google says there will also be a Celeron3965Y/8GB/64GB option, but the company hasn’t unveiled the pricing for that configuration.

Note that the Celeron 3965Y processor is a 7th-gen Intel “Kaby Lake” chip with a 4.5 watt TDP, while the Core M3, i5, and i7 options are 5 watt, 8th-gen “Amber Lake” chips.

 

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11 replies on “Google Pixel Slate coming this year for $599 and up”

  1. They can’t be serious with these RRPs? That Core i5 SKU against MS SP6 base model’s price is a full $100 MORE AND sans the keyboard no o.O???

    1. Keep in mind that 90% of the revenue is from ads. They know ads. The whole retail and customer service aspect of the company is more like a play thing. High prices, fewer sales? Meh. They don’t sweat that. Heck, they have an ad on the Google homepage and that’s viewed by how many billion people on a daily/weekly basis? Don’t look for logic where logic isn’t a requirement for doing business.

  2. Let’s not forget, the more than capable pixelbook is good for landfill now as Google calls it EOL. At least Google just so happens to have something available that’s new and can replace that hunk of junk that is still faster and better than 90%+ of the current Chromebooks. So open your wallets on this because they appreciate it. Also buy it from day 1 because the EOL timer starts right about now.

      1. I think he probably meant the first-gen Chromebook Pixel, which was released in 2013. Compared with Android phones, 5 years of support looks pretty good. But you can still easily use Windows computers that are twice as old, or even older. So ending feature and security updates for a first-party laptop that sold for over $1000 at launch does seem a little silly.

        1. Don’t mention the year of release as being the “go to” argument or point. It’s about the specs. It’s about what is under the hood of that device they deemed EOL. That device is better than most every Chromebook on the market in 2017 and 2018. So the 2013 date is irrelevant and is something that Google might use to justify what they did. It’s about the specs of the thing not the manufacturing date!

          1. Oh, I’m with you… the reason the release date is relevant is that it’s is Google’s official policy is to offer 5 years of support for Chromebooks and that’s it.

            There’s no such restriction on Windows PCs… so if you’re comparing Chromebooks to Android devices, 5 years looks pretty good. If you’re comparing it to PCs, it looks pretty lousy.

            Basically if Google wants to insist that Chromebooks are real PCs, the company should think about offering longer-term updates, at least for models with decent specs. Maybe go ahead and require users to click an “I accept the risks associated with installing new software on older hardware” button or something, but give them the option.

            Otherwise, it does get hard to recommend spending more than a few hundred dollars on a Chromebook if you know it’s going to be useless in a few years.

    1. Google currently guarantees updates for 6.5 years from the time that the CPU arrived on the Chrome OS platform.

      I’d say that’s decent, but nowhere near as good windows

      1. I will repeat my point. It’s not about dates, it’s about the hardware capabilities. The hardware is still more than capable even in that amount of time. Sure Google must hate that fact, but it’s a fact. If car manufacturers had their way like Google does, then the car manufacturers would have a self destruct mechanism. Sure the car still runs and is fine for a lot of people, but car manufacturer can get away with it because nobody is calling them out on it. It’s all about what a company can get away with. It’s shameful to be honest. Third world countries can make use of old hardware but Google doesn’t give a crap about that aspect of this either. Since Google is getting away with this, be assured Microsoft will find a way to do the same. I’m sure they talk behind closed doors about it. Windows XP cost them how many billions of dollars because it just worked, and worked.

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