If you’re in the market for a Google-branded Chrome OS device, right now you have two choices: the Google Pixelbook laptop or the Google Pixel Slate tablet. But according to a report from ComputerWorld, Google had been working on two new Chrome OS tablets… and according to that same report, Google has scrapped those plans and decided to focus on laptops moving forward.

Update: Google’s hardware chief, Rick Osterloh has confirmed that the company is no longer making its own slates, but will continue to support third-party Chrome OS tablets. 

Since Google hadn’t actually announced plans to release any new tablets, this isn’t really big news… unless you were hoping for a follow-up to the Pixel Slate and/or a smaller model (ComputerWorld says both of the in-development-until-this-week models were smaller than the 12.3 inch Pixel Slate).

The report also makes clear that Google considers devices like the Pixelbook to be laptops — even if they have 360-degree hinges that allow you to hold them like tablets. The key point of differentiation is that you can’t detach the keyboard as you would an optional Pixel Slate keyboard.

Want to keep using a Chrome OS tablet? Google will support the Pixel Slate with OS updates through at least June, 2024. And there are a number of third-party slates on the market from Acer, Asus, and CTL.

Google will reportedly continue to develop Chrome OS touchscreen/tablet features. So the company isn’t giving up on the idea of Chrome OS slates. It’s just not planning to make any more of its own for the foreseeable future.

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14 replies on “Google scraps plans for future Pixel tablets”

  1. I can see a need for Chrome-based laptops. However, I have always thought that basic Android was more suited for tablets. Yes, I can do everything on my phone but having a tablet’s larger screen makes reading eBooks and magazines easier and, honestly, more natural feeling.

    Also, I don’t really get the appeal of having a laptop where the keyboard swings completely around to the back of the device for the user to have “tablet mode”.

  2. To be honest, nothing here is surprising.

    The whole tablet industry is declining, as I expected, since phones have gotten larger and laptops have gotten smaller, and car’s now have a built-in entertainment centre.

    We can see the Chromebooks have dropped in support ever since the release of Android support, and Google practically gave up on tablets after Android 4.1. Even Apple’s not doing so well with their iPads. That includes Microsoft too they’re not interested in selling tablets, but want people to replace their laptops with the Surface Pro.

    1. I guess I am just bucking the trend. I purchased a 10″ Android tablet just a few months ago. Sure, anything I can do on the tablet I can do on my phone, but with so much more screen real estate on the tablet it is much more enjoyable watching a movie or youtube. The sound quality is also far superior. My old eyes don’t have to struggle to read web pages either. I am not a fan of Chrome books/Chrome tablets so this is no loss to me, but I hope somebody (other than Amazon) continues to make quality Android tablets in the future.

      1. The new Walmart brand ONN android tablets are quite good for the price. Android 9 stock. And as low as $65

      2. I find myself a bit stuck trying to choose an Android tablet to replace an old Asus 8″ model. The market for these things have either gotten super low-end or premium. There’s very little in the middle. I really wish Google would extend its Android One program to tablets.

    2. You base success or failure on what Google does? LOL. Google+. Oh, that proves social media is dead according to your logic. Google drops things daily. They know ads, not trends. This story only proves that buying a product of theirs comes at a risk. If you buy into anything Google does service or products wise, it’s becoming less and less wise. What’s their next big thing? You buying into what they are selling?

      1. What? Did you even read what I wrote?

        I said tablets declined ever since phones got more powerful, larger, and capable… whilst laptops became smaller, lighter, more efficient… and the areas where tablets would be most useful became occupied with built-in solutions like Car Entertainment systems, and better “Smart” in Smart-TVs.

        The direction which Google and Microsoft took with tablet support simply added onto the fire. The only company that actively tried to make tablets better and market them has been Apple, and despite that, they’ve been having a tough time with the iPad for a few quarters/years now as well. You could make a case for the Nintendo Switch, but honestly, I’ve been seeing less and less of them out in the wild and people using it moreso at home.

        Honestly, I had the Apple iPad 2 and the RIM PlayBook and they were phenomenal at the time. However, the tablets didn’t get THAT much better since then, but phones did: we went from the iPhone 4 and Samsung Galaxy S era of phones… now we’ve got the Samsung Note and iPhone Plus series, and the rest of the competitors.

        None of this has to do about following any company blindly, its simply the evolution of our content consumption!

        (PS: I think the thing that can/will succeed these Superphones, would be having miniature touchscreen-holograms, and having them placed as two bracelets/bands and project the content directly into your palm, and make sound discreetly to the user via bone conduction. But that’s some next-level tech.)

        1. Kangal,

          “What? Did you even read what I wrote?”

          Did you write this to me? I’m just curious. What I wrote I wrote to Graham, by the way.

          1. No, it was to Graham.
            He seems to think that I was saying tablets stopped selling well because Google pulled support like they did for Google+ and their various other projects. While that certainly made things worse, it was not at all what I wrote.

            The comment system gets broken here sometimes : (

          2. That’s OK. But to answer you, that tablets are now replaced by larger phones, smaller laptops and car entertainment systems… Tablets still hold a dear place in my heart. They are still the best devices to read media such as interactive web pages, colorful magazines and PDFs, watching videos, etc. At least for me.

            https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5446f93de4b0a3452dfaf5b0/t/565c9d5ae4b06b23bf37ce3d/1448910171777/

            Phones may become larger since Steve Jobs introduced the iPad, that’s still not the same experience. Consider a Plus size iPhone 8 and the iPad mini! The mini has about 2.5 times larger screen real estate, a newer processor, while the iPhone 8 Plus maintaining 1.75 times the price. These are just different kinds of animals.

          3. True, but like me a lot of people (the majority) don’t see the want/need in having an “in-between” device.

            It’s just a lot of money to ask for (iPad/Pro) when you combine it with a modern Medium/Large phone and a small Ultrabook/Convertible, especially if they get very little use/covered in dust. But there will always be some people that will need/want to use it, its just not the majority. This is like a course-correction of the market, after the initial bubble of 2010-2014.

    3. Honestly, I’m interested in buying a tablet at the moment, but there aren’t any that entice me enough. All I want is an 8 to 9″ Windows 10 tablet with good build quality. 4:3 would be nice.

  3. And here i was thinking there would be far greater demand for $1800 chromeOS tablets……

Comments are closed.