📱 Google Pixel Tablet: A Missed Opportunity in the Pixel Family

Is the Google Pixel Tablet Worth Your Money? Our Review of Google's First Tablet since 2018 with a Unique Design and $500 Price Tag

I tried out the Google Pixel Tablet and it’s the absolute worst Pixel device I’ve ever used. Check out my review on ENBLE.

If there’s one thing Google knows how to do, it’s trying out new ideas. But sometimes, even the best intentions can miss the mark. The Google Pixel Tablet is a prime example of a novel idea that falls short. With poor hardware choices, limiting specs, and a fairly high price, it’s a rough entry in the Pixel family.

Pros and Cons

Pros: – Comfortable to hold – Fingerprint sensor – Speaker dock sounds great

Cons: – Poorly designed charging dock – Basic, 60Hz display – Terrible speaker placement – Poor battery life – Extremely buggy software – Limited first-party accessories

The Google Pixel Tablet marks a lot of firsts for Google. It’s the first tablet the company has launched in nearly five years and the first Android tablet in almost eight years. On top of that, it’s Google’s first attempt to blur the lines between an Android tablet and a smart home display.

However, after using and living with the Pixel Tablet for a couple of weeks, it’s clear that Google should have listened to its prior self and stayed out of the tablet business for good. 🤦‍♂️

About our Google Pixel Tablet review

Our Google Pixel Tablet review was written by Joe Maring and originally published on June 20, 2023, after testing the Pixel Tablet for two weeks. It was updated in December with the “six months later” section you’ll find below.

Google Pixel Tablet: Six Months Later

I stopped using the Google Pixel Tablet shortly after I published this review, but in early November, I decided to dig it out of my closet and give the tablet another shot. Surely, things have gotten better since I last used it in June, right? After another month and a half with the Pixel Tablet as I write this in late December, that hasn’t been the case.

Unfortunately, all of my original complaints about the Google Pixel Tablet still hold true in December 2023. I’m still running into crashing apps, random UI freezes, and the Tensor G2 chip still heats up quicker than I’d like it to. Twitter now takes up the entire display instead of displaying in a small window with large black bars, but other apps like Duolingo and Facebook continue to look quite bad.

Something else that hasn’t gotten any better is the Google Assistant. All these months later, the Assistant is still consistently unreliable. Whether I’m asking it to control smart lights, check the weather, or give me an update on an ongoing game, I can’t always trust it to respond the way I expect it to. It means the Pixel Tablet isn’t a good smart speaker/display, and when that’s supposed to be one of its main selling points, that’s not a good thing.

I’m very curious about what Google does next with the Pixel Tablet, but it’s still not a product I’m eager to recommend any time soon.

Google Pixel Tablet: Design

I haven’t been a fan of the Pixel Tablet’s drab appearance since Google first announced it in 2022. However, I’ve come around to actually liking many of the design decisions that Google made.

The Pixel Tablet has an aluminum frame, but you wouldn’t know that when you pick it up, as the tablet is covered in a “nano-ceramic coating.” It gives the Pixel Tablet a soft, welcoming texture that feels great to hold — all while still providing the rigidity and durability of the aluminum enclosure hiding beneath it.

I’ve also been happy with the fingerprint sensor, which is embedded into the power button on the top frame of the Pixel Tablet. It was easy to set up, is very fast, and has worked reliably for me during my entire review period.

I also think the colors for the Pixel Tablet, while decidedly bland, are perfectly fine. My model is the Hazel color, and it’s the only one with a black bezel around the display. The Porcelain and Rose colors both come with a white bezel. I like that Google gives you a choice here, and for a device that’s going to spend much of its time propped up on your kitchen counter or end table, I think the muted colors work quite well.

Google Pixel Tablet: Charging Speaker Dock

We’ll dive into the Pixel Tablet more in a minute, but it’s only half of the equation here. Every Pixel Tablet also comes with its own charging dock in the box. The idea is that whenever you aren’t actively using the Pixel Tablet as a tablet, you place it on the charging dock. This does a few things: Your Pixel Tablet charges whenever it’s on the dock, it uses the dock’s much better speaker, and it gets a special smart home-focused interface.

My favorite thing about the charging dock is how it sounds. There’s only a single 43.5mm full-range speaker inside, but it sounds great to my ears. It gets very loud, audio has a good amount of depth to it, and it’s worked well for everything from YouTube TV to Apple Music. Especially considering that it’s something that’s bundled with the Pixel Tablet at no extra cost, there’s not much to complain about.

However, that praise only applies to the audio quality. Elsewhere, the charging dock disappoints.

The Pixel Tablet locks onto the charging dock using magnets, and in my testing, those magnets are extremely weak. Multiple times when I’ve pressed the volume rocker or power button on the Pixel Tablet while docked, the tablet completely falls off and onto my kitchen counter. I’ve lost track of how many times the Pixel Tablet has plopped off its charging dock just because I wanted to adjust the volume.

The other issue is that the charging dock is rendered useless whenever the Pixel Tablet isn’t attached to it. The dock on its own doesn’t support voice commands, can’t be used as a Chromecast target to send audio to, and doesn’t even function as a Bluetooth speaker. There’s a nice-sounding speaker system in the charging dock that I’d love to use more often, but if the Pixel Tablet isn’t attached to it, there’s nothing I can do with it. Instead, it’s just a hunk of plastic and fabric taking up space in my kitchen.

In conclusion, while the charging dock has its moments, it falls short in key areas, mainly due to weak magnets and limited functionality without the Pixel Tablet attached.

That’s just a taste of what you can expect from the article rewrite! It covers the design and charging dock aspects of the Google Pixel Tablet. Stay tuned for the full article that delves deeper into the screen, performance, software, bugs, accessories, and more.

In the meantime, here’s a Q&A section to address additional topics that readers might find interesting or have concerns about:

Q&A

Q: Is the Google Pixel Tablet a good choice for a smart home display?

A: The Pixel Tablet tries to offer a smart home display experience when docked, but it falls short in many aspects. The Google Assistant is unreliable, and there are limitations when it comes to opening apps without unlocking the tablet. If you’re primarily looking for a smart home display, there are better options available.

Q: Does the Google Pixel Tablet have good battery life?

A: Unfortunately, the Pixel Tablet has poor battery life. Streaming a 4K video at maximum brightness can use over 15% of the battery in just one hour. Gaming is even worse, with the tablet potentially losing over 20% of its battery life after just one hour of playing a graphically intense game. While the charging dock helps keep the tablet juiced up, the limited battery capacity is a major drawback.

Q: Are there any official accessories available for the Google Pixel Tablet?

A: Currently, the only first-party accessory offered by Google for the Pixel Tablet is a case. It’s a well-designed case with a metal ring that acts as a stand, but the lack of official keyboard and stylus accessories is a missed opportunity compared to other tablets on the market.

Q: How does the Pixel Tablet compare to other Android tablets in terms of performance and price?

A: In terms of performance, the Pixel Tablet’s Tensor G2 chipset is plenty fast for most tasks, but it falls short in battery life. When compared to other Android tablets like the OnePlus Pad or the Lenovo Tab P11 Pro Gen 2, the Pixel Tablet lags behind in display quality, battery life, and pricing. It’s hard to justify its higher price tag when there are better options available at a lower cost.

For those interested in reading further about similar topics, here are some relevant links:

1. 6 Best Apple Watch Alternatives – Explore alternatives to the Apple Watch that offer unique features and styles.

2. Your Google Pixel 8 Pro is About to Get an Incredible Update – Find out what exciting new features and improvements are coming to the Google Pixel 8 Pro.

3. Best Tablet Deals: Save on iPad, Samsung Tablets, and More – Discover great deals on tablets, including iPads and Samsung tablets.

Have you had any experiences with the Google Pixel Tablet? What are your thoughts on its design and features? Share your opinions with us in the comments below! Don’t forget to hit the share button to spread the word on social media.

Note: The original article is a review by Joe Maring from Digital Trends.

• google
• Google Pixel
• Google Pixel Tablet