The Google Pixel Tablet is an 11 inch Android tablet with a 2560 x 1600 pixel display, the same Tensor G2 processor that powers the Pixel 7 smartphone series, and support for a Charging Speaker Dock that lets you use the tablet like a smart display.
Google first revealed it was working on the tablet a year ago, and the company has spent much of the past year bringing better tablet support to Android and updating many of its Android apps to support larger screens. Now the Pixel Tablet is almost here – it’s up for pre-order today for $499 and up, and it will begin shipping in June.
The starting price gets you a Pixel Tablet with 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage, but you can also pay extra for a model with 256GB of storage space.
What’s interesting is that Google is positioning the Pixel Tablet as both a handheld device and a smart home gadget, because every version of the tablet comes with the speaker dock. Place the tablet on the dock for charging, and it will also become a smart speaker/display that answers questions posed by voice or works like a digital photo frame or entertainment device. It also has Chromecast functionality built in, allowing you to send media to the tablet from a mobile device.
You can also tap your fingertip to the fingerprint sensor to switch to a more traditional Android user interface so you can run any app on the tablet.
While the Pixel Tablet comes with the Charging Speaker dock, it also has a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port that can be used for charging or data.
Other features include support for a USI 2.0 stylus, a 27 Wh battery that Google says lasts for up to 12 hours of video playback time, support for WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and ultra-wideband.
The Pixel Tablet has an aluminum body, 8MP front and rear cameras, quad speakers, and three far-field microphones. It measures 258 x 169 x 8mm (10.2″ x 6.7″ x 0.3″) and comes in three color options: “porcelain,” “hazel,” and “rose.”
Google says the Pixel Tablet will receive security updates for at least five years after launch.
Why does this tablet seem so boring…
It checks off some basic features but seems to fail on so many others:
1.5lbs (heavy for a 11″ tablet), 12 hrs video streaming (standard), minimal sensors (just 5), minimal ports (not even a microSD slot or headphone jack), needs external speakers to get some BOOM!, tablet colors (yuck).
It feels like a showcase product for the Tensor G2 and ML (feeling like a beta-tester).
5 year security updates – this should never have been a feature! No thank you given.
It’s a tablet that focuses on making basic features high end. Meh…
no usb 4 with dp 2.0 (or 2.1)? Bye
Question……
Given that the EU has passed the ‘USB Law’ and this charge dock speaker seems to have a pin style charger, does that point to a short product lifespan with a V2 coming in the next 12 months? Sort of makes this a redundant product out of the box really.
It has a USB port too. You can see in on the right in the views from behind.
Maybe it’s because I don’t like Smart speakers, but I don’t really see the appeal to this tablet. $500 is a high price for an unremarkable tablet. I guess you’d really want a flashy smart speaker to buy this.
Do people who use tablet-style smart speakers really want to integrate their accounts and apps into them? It seems like too much of a privacy issue for most people. $500 would be a lot to spend on a tablet that you don’t really feel comfortable integrating into all of your stuff.
I feel the same way about smartphone integrations in cars. I don’t connect my iPhone to Apple Carplay in my car when other people are in the car, because my notifications are nobody else’s business.
Well, the nest hub max is like 200 dollars. The specs are not bad at all (compare it with other tablets on the market) and as for your privacy concerns. I assume from what brad wrote about the fingerprint scanner is that if docked it works just like a normal smart screen and if you scan your fingerprint then it switches to tablet mode with all your app notifications and (more) personal information. Plus it has stylus support (though who knows how good that is). This could potentially be a great value proposition for some people, good for smart speaker and video conferencing in docked mode, tablet use and even school companion with the stylus.
Well, there are certainly people who bought those “smart displays”, which I’ve mocked and seen mocked for being a tablet but immobile and worse. And I don’t think I’ve heard of one that didn’t basically require you to link it with an account with the vendor (except the mycroft 2, which is…well it basically only existed briefly). Unfortunately, I just don’t think privacy is a concern for most people anymore. Maybe for most people who can actually understand computers, but everyone I’ve mentioned my custom ROM to in person has told me that “that ship has sailed” or “there’s nothing we can do about it”.
I think $500 is a reasonable price. The tablet has at least 5 years of support, fingerprint scanner, and stylus support. The only other current Android tablet that has this set of features is Galaxy Tab S8 and its quite a bit more expensive.
I do wish there was an option to purchase for a lower price without the bundled speaker dock. But even $500 seems reasonable to me.