Google has by now notched a significant history ofhardware just as goodas its namesake lookup railway locomotive , including thePixel 7smartphone and its industry - leading camera . The company ’s hardware endeavor have , however , struggled when it come to pill , takingwhat we ’ve previously described asa “ try , adjudicate again ” approach . The Pixel Tablet , available today , is the company ’s latest endeavor to challenge the iPad by once again putting Android on a magnanimous - concealment peregrine twist . Its most compelling feature , though , is n’t model between its bezel . The Pixel Tablet ’s best feature is a dock that ferment it into a better version of Google ’s smart home hubs .
Back in the zero - teenager , we were cock-a-hoop fans ofGoogle ’s Nexus devices , like theAsus - built Nexus 7 in 2012 , which bring the flexibility of Android oculus sinister to a heavyset tablet machine a bit larger than a smartphone . We were n’t as impressed with theHTC - build Nexus 9two years later , and the last Google tablet to apply Android would end up being 2015’sPixel C , which was positioned as a productiveness tool . Itfailed to deliver much productivity , however , because of the limits of its mobile - focused OS .
Google finally switched gears on its tablet pursuits with theexcellent Pixel Slatein 2018 , which escape Chrome OS , the same operating arrangement that Chromebooks use , which translated perfectly to the tab . regrettably , Google also has a eldritch history of cancelling even successful products , and less than a twelvemonth after the Pixel Slate debuted , Google ’s ironware teamannounced it was abandoningtablets altogether . But ascompanies like Samsung have shown , there ’s still a demand for Android tablet , so three years after the last of the Pixel Slate , Google ’s tablet aspirations have risen from the dead with the Pixel Tablet . Android OS has likewise matured in the meanwhile , adapting to smartphones with ever - growing screens .
Photo: Andrew Liszewski | Gizmodo
Although I have long - preferred Android - based tablets over the iPad , that ’s not why the Pixel Tablet , whichGoogle has been teasing since last twelvemonth , pique my wonder . My class uses Google ’s Nest Hub devices all over our house — as nightstand alarm clock clocks , as desktop digital picture frames , and as an supporter in the kitchen where the expectant Nest Hub Max , the control center , sits perch on the counterpunch . We all bonk it , but when we regain ourselves awkwardly hunched over it while searching for a recipe , we also oftentimes wish the Nest Hub Max was more portable , and that ’s how I think the new Pixel Tablet is going to Trojan Horse its agency into many house .
Google Pixel Tablet
The Pixel Tablet does n’t break any new ground when it comes to tablet pattern or operation , but with its included docking facility , it becomes a welcome upgrade to the Google Nest Hub Max and your smarthome .
The Pixel Tablet (middle) feels roughly the same size as the Google Nest Hub Max (left) but much larger than the Google Nest Hub (right).Photo: Andrew Liszewski | Gizmodo
WHAT IS IT ?
Google ’s first tab since the Pixel Slate , and the company ’s first tablet to black market Android OS since the Pixel C.
Leontyne Price
The Pixel Tablet (middle) feels roughly the same size as the Google Nest Hub Max (left) but much larger than the Google Nest Hub (right).Photo: Andrew Liszewski | Gizmodo
$ 499 for the 128 GB adaptation , or $ 599 for the 256 GB version .
care
Android has ripen enough to make the Pixel Tablet skillful for work and act , while integration with the charging docking facility is more or less seamless .
The Pixel Tablet connects to its dock with strong magnets, while four metal pins provide charging and data transfer connections.Photo: Andrew Liszewski | Gizmodo
DISLIKE
The dock ’s speaker underperforms when compare to the Nest Hub Max and the Nest Audio ’s speakers , and even with strong magnets , docking and undock the Pixel Tablet can sometimes be a challenge .
The Pixel Tablet’s Best Feature: the Dock
The Pixel Tablet is definitely going to appeal to Android users who are looking for a cheaper alternative to Samsung ’s offerings but who still want ironware that feels like corners have n’t been cut . Remember , you’re able to find anAndroid tablet at Walmart for less than $ 100 , but you get what you give for . Where the Pixel Dock could potentially woo drug user away from Apple ’s iPads is with the included dock accessory that expatiate the tablet ’s usefulness when not in hand , so let ’s start there .
When more item about the teased Pixel Tablet were revealed at the Made by Google upshot in Brooklyn last October , everyone wasquick to compare images of it bond to its bob to Google ’s Nest Hub gadget , which is what my menage now assumed it was once I got it up and running . Sitting on its dock , the Pixel Tablet is comparable in size of it to the Google Nest Hub Max , because while its 10.95 - inch screen is an inch larger than the Max , the Pixel Tablet also features smaller bezels . They ’re not as pocket-size as Apple has managed to reduce them on various iPad theoretical account , but they ’re on par with other premium Android tablets .
The Pixel Tablet , see here in the elusive gullible “ Hazel ” option that ’s the only one featuring a grim bezel around the screen door , attaches to the dock the same agency Macs do to MagSafe accessories : through the use of strong attractive feature . Four metal pin make middleman with the Pixel Tablet when attached to the sorrel to facilitate charging and connectivity . When connect , medicine or telecasting will immediately switch to playing through the hub ’s utterer , while also mechanically activate a Hub Mode that emulates some of the functionality of the Nest Hub machine .
When attached, the Pixel Tablet sits quite low on the dock, which sometimes made it a challenge to perfectly align it when docking.Photo: Andrew Liszewski | Gizmodo
Removingthe Pixel Tabletfrom the dock is easy enough ; grab its top edge provides enough leverage to jimmy it out even one - handed , although it would be much easier if the wharfage had more weight to it . But put it back on , and consistently lining up the magnets so they the right way grab the tablet and firmly adjudge onto it , was still a challenge after a week of use . On several occasions , it matte up like the dock ’s magnets had a unattackable enough grasp on the tab that I could let it go , only to have it fall off , resulting in a few scuff marks on the back panel already .
Part of the struggle to attach it has to do with how low the Pixel Tablet sit on the dock , much lower than the Nest Hub screen door come along to . My brain assumes the bottom edge of the tablet demand to align with the bottom edge of the dock ’s matte case , but that ’s not the slip . If the Pixel Tablet survive to a second loop , I conceive a lip or a ledge add together to the dock for the tablet to posture on , in addition to the magnets , would aid make the docking outgrowth much easy and more intuitive . ( And if we ’re talking about wish tilt features for the Pixel Tablet ’s dock , I ’ve long struggled with the fact that the Nest Hub devices do n’t have a root word that swivel . It ’s less of an issue here , since the Pixel Tablet can be physically removed and used separately , but being capable to plainly turn either a Nest Hub or the Pixel Tablet from side - to - side when docked would be another welcome improvement . )
Where I find the Pixel Tablet ’s bobtail most dissatisfactory is with its sound character . The Nest Hub Max has long been the equipment we trust on for play music in our kitchen and dining room . With a duad of stereophonic loudspeaker in the front and a three - in woofer in the back , the Max ’s audio has always been amazingly good for its size of it . By comparison , the Pixel Tablet ’s dock uses just a single 1.7 - inch “ full - range speaker , ” which sounds more on equality with the smallerGoogle Nest minidevices . The audio experience here is disappointing , and the Pixel Tablet will not be replacing the Nest Hub Max as one of the devices we hear to euphony on .
The Google Nest Hub Max’s base (left) is much larger than the Pixel Tablet’s (right), and houses more speakers that pump out much better sound than the docked tablet does.Photo: Andrew Liszewski | Gizmodo
A Streamlined Smart Home Hub When You’re Not Watching Movies
When dock , the Pixel Tabletimmediately starts charge at 15W to 90 % capacity to help extend its assault and battery lifetime , although if you contrive to grab it every morning when you head out the door , you may rather have it charge to full capacitance each clock time . Despite the watery sound , I did really care how the pad of paper would immediately shriek euphony through the dock ’s speakers when attached , and automatically activate Android ’s fresh Hub Mode . The automate switch over was n’t always quick , though , and sometimes take as long as several proceedings , which I ’ve chalked up to some pre - release bugs .
As the name imply , Hub Mode make the Pixel Tablet social function more like Google ’s Nest Hub products while it ’s docked . Users can localize up a screensaver that display art , satellite imagery , or random shots from a Google Photos album , while also display the time , weather , as well as other information like notifications , unless you ’ve locked that info out from prying eye . We mostly use the rest of our Nest Hubs around the house for cause Google Assistant queries , setting timekeeper and alarms , or for controlling impertinent home devices through Google Home . The Pixel Tablet ’s Hub Mode reduplicate all of that functionality , include smart abode control that can be made accessible even while the lozenge is protected with a password . Yes , that means an interloper in the middle of the night could turn off our aviation conditioning using the tablet , but sometimes you have to take a few risk when using engineering science .
Screen, Sound, and Build Quality
Measuring in at 7.62 millimeters heavyset — which is a bit thicker than Apple ’s thin iPads — the Pixel Tablet is powered by the Google Tensor G2 processor paired with the company ’s Titan M2 protection coprocessor , with 8 GB of RAM and either 128 GB or 256 GB of non - expandable entrepot . Unfortunately , there ’s no microSD batting order slot here . At 493 grams , the Pixel Tabletis also heavier than even the 11 - column inch iPad Pro , even with a rearward panel made of credit card . It ’s bulky by comparison .
The Pixel Tablet ’s 10.95 - inch screen has a 2,560×1,600 resolution , which sits somewhere between 2 K and 4 K , and while that gives it a PPI of 276 ( much less than the Pixel 7 ’s 416 PPI presentation ) everything on screen , even minuscule textbook , look precipitous and crispy . Color saturation and black horizontal surface both reckon very estimable , and while it ’s a huge advance over the LCD display Google uses for its Nest Hub products , the Pixel Tablet not using anOLED panelis quite obtrusive . HDR10 content is supported , but in undimmed , blow out out areas , detail are almost all lost . Using an LCD has help keep the price of the Pixel Tablet down , but tablet are , first and foremost , still mass medium consumption devices , and take in movies or boob tube on the Pixel Tablet could be a much full experience .
With four built - in speakers — two on each side when used in landscape painting mode — the sound on the undocked Pixel Tablet is astonishingly o.k. . I expected bad . It ’s more than adequate for piss TV calls with a group of people cower around the tablet , but when find out videos , or listen to music , you ’ll still require to stick with a duad of headphones , as the sound can get occasionally get tinge and over driven with the equipment at full volume .
When docked, the Pixel Tablet goes into a new Android Hub Mode, providing easy access to smart home controls, even if the Tablet is password protected.Photo: Andrew Liszewski | Gizmodo
Camera Quality and Photo Samples
Although smartphones have come very close tocompletely replacing standalone digital cameras , cameras on tablets still feel like an second thought , and you still look zany using them .
The Pixel Tabletfeatures the same 8MP , ƒ/2.0 , fixed - focus camera with a quarter - inch sensing element and an 84 - degree field - of - opinion on the front and back , and while it ’s totally passable for crap telecasting call , snatch a papers you want to digitalize , or feeding an image to Google Lens , that ’s about all you want to do with it . It ’s a useful productivity putz but a dissatisfactory creative one .
Even on a bright sunny mean solar day , the lush green leaf on the tree in our front yard come out disappointingly desaturated through the Pixel Tablet ’s rearward tv camera , and despite ample light and an ƒ/2.0 aperture , a light breeze blowing through the tree diagram resulted in many areas of leaves turning out blurry as a result of their move .
The Pixel Tablet has four speakers of its own, two on each side when used in landscape mode.Photo: Andrew Liszewski | Gizmodo
Close - ups did n’t turn out much better . These white and purple flowers look incredibly vibrant in real liveliness , but through the Pixel Tablet ’s rear camera , they lose all of their saturation and vibrance . And because of the camera ’s fixed focus , this was about as near as I could get to them without the results being completely blur .
If there was one salve grace tothe Pixel Tablet ’s camera , it ’s that it can take advantage of Android 13 ’s AI - power image editing and enhancement tools . Given how poorly it perform on a sunny day , I was n’t optimistic about the Pixel Tablet ’s capabilities in the dark , but using the long exposure Night Sight option , photos of those same flower turned out quite passable after the Dominicus had rig . for certain not results I ’d ever photographic print and inning , but it still delivered a useable image for other purposes .
A Good, But Not Great, User Experience
Even after just a week of use , it ’s clear that Google did n’t set out to make a tablet that would have companies like Samsung or Apple scrambling to up their game . Google ’s Pixel smartphones have acquire into mobile machine that can go header - to - head with the best Android devices on the market , but the Pixel Tablet feels like it ’s currently at the point where the Pixel smartphones start : solid hardware running a refined mobile OS that ’s reasonably price to get out users satisfied , but not wow .
Thanks to a tiresome rise in popularity of close down smartphones that can open to reveal enceinte screenland , Android 13 has ascertain to take good vantage of a large showing ’s extra real estate , which on the Pixel Tablet sometimes feels more spacious , but at other times , a little strangle . Being capable to race two apps side - by - side in split screen fashion makes multi - tasking easier on the Pixel Tablet , including being able to drag some items , like photo , between the two , but it ’s also not an experience that will replace a laptop computer or a rightful background operating arrangement any time soon .
The tablet ’s 10.95 - inch filmdom starts to feel a little crowded with two apps open on screen at once , and I was foiled to find that when adjusting the position of the vertical blind divider , the two apps did n’t line up their layout in real time as they ’re being resize , only after I lifted my finger off the screen . praise to those who ’ve found means to expend a pad as a productiveness tool , but the Pixel Tablet is n’t the gadget that ’s going to convince me to give up my laptop computer .
Colors on the Pixel Tablet’s LCD screen look bright and saturated, but it’s yet another mobile device that could have greatly benefitted from an OLED panel.Photo: Andrew Liszewski | Gizmodo
Although Google does n’t yet have as racy facial recognition software system as Apple ’s Face ID , the Pixel Tablet does have a fingerprint reader build into its ignition lock / power button . It reliably unlocks the tablet with a quick printing press , but register a fingerprint was moderately of an trial by ordeal , requiring over 10 minutes of test and error to make the registration process happy with how I was pressing and adjust my fingerbreadth on the button . I got so frustrated I was very close to abandon it as an unlock option altogether .
Should You Buy thePixel Tablet?
There are three specific types of user who I mean will be well-chosen with the Pixel Tablet , even with all the quirks and issues that total with what is basically a first - generation product . ( Google ’s on - again - off - again pad pursuits notwithstanding . )
1 ) Devoted Android users , intimate with all the in and outs of its late iterations , who have long need Google ’s fluid group O on a bigger screen gimmick without spending a small fortune on a premium Samsung offering . The Pixel Tablet delivers solid ironware for $ 499 , and could be an even good sight if Google ever sells it without the bundled , $ 129 pier .
2 ) iPad users who employ Apple ’s pad of paper as in the first place a medium consumption machine but have struggled with the limits of iPadOS and Apple ’s walled garden . Before streaming apps like Netflix and Disney+ allowed content to be downloaded and watched offline , Android tablets provided some much needed sanity on foresightful road trips for our family line because I could well side - load video content to keep our little one distracted . When it comes to tablets , I prioritise the flexibility to customise and use it exactly as I require . I ’m an avid retro gamer and rely on apps like RetroArch and other emulator . That ’s what Android furnish .
The Pixel Tablet offers just a single, fixed-focus, 8MP camera on the back.Photo: Andrew Liszewski | Gizmodo
3 ) Devoted Google Nest Hub Max users who have always wished the overbold hub was n’t permanently stuck on a side tabular array or kitchen replication . Running back and forth to check a recipe on the Nest Hub Max ’s screen while cooking in the kitchen gets previous fast , but with the Pixel Tablet you may grab the tablet and take it with you as need . It ’s far more convenient , and it makes a big concealment smart home hub twist far more useful around the house .
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Even on a bright sunny day, the Pixel Tablet’s camera didn’t perform great, struggling to capture crisp images with even slight movement in frame.Photo: Andrew Liszewski | Gizmodo
With no ability to zoom (digital doesn’t count) this is about as close as you can get to your subject using the Pixel Tablet’s camera.Photo: Andrew Liszewski | Gizmodo
The Pixel Tablet can take advantage of Google’s many AI-powered camera tricks, including Night Sight, which did an admirable job at capturing flowers after the sun had set.Photo: Andrew Liszewski | Gizmodo
Android 13 feels more spacious on the Pixel Tablet’s 10.95-inch screen, but it can quickly get cramped when using two apps side-by-side.Photo: Andrew Liszewski | Gizmodo
The lock/power button is located on the top edge of the Pixel Tablet (when using it in landscape mode) next to the volume rocker, and features an integrated fingerprint reader.Photo: Andrew Liszewski | Gizmodo
