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Google has launched its first Pixel tablet, which is called, sensibly, the Pixel Tablet.
The idea behind the Pixel Tablet is a simple and rather encouraging one: Google wants to make tablets genuinely useful – and used – at home. The point made during the unveiling last year was that most tablets remain uncharged and, consequently, unused when purchased for personal use.
I’m sure that’s not the case for every tablet owner, but it’s hard to argue against the fact that, if you have an iPad at home, it probably spends most of its life in need of a charger and playing second fiddle to your smartphone. That’s why Google has created a device that is designed to spend most of its life on a charging speaker dock, thus turning it into a home assistant (complete with a large display) and an always-charged tablet.
Can the Pixel Tablet tempt people away from much cheaper Alexa devices? Is it a viable alternative to an iPad? Will it become the first tablet I use regularly at home?
These are my first impressions of a very important Google product.
Pricing, specs, and hardware
The Pixel Tablet is powered by the Tensor G2 chip and has 8GB of RAM on board, all of which is driving Android 13. The 10.95-inch display offers 500nits of brightness and is capped at 60Hz, which means there’s no high refresh rate on offer.
You can expect up to 12 hours of life from a fully charged battery, and biometrics are taken care of via a fingerprint sensor on the power button. Camera duties are undertaken via an 8MP rear camera and 1080P video calling camera on the front.
There are two colours to choose from (porcelain and hazel) and pricing for the Pixel Tablet is based on the storage option you choose – £599 for 128GB, and £699 for 256GB. The charging speaker dock is an extra £139, and the entire package is available to order today.
The Pixel Tablet hardware is pretty good. It’s not as premium feeling as an iPad, but it feels nice in the hand and looks the part. Sure, there are some pretty big bezels around the display, but that has always bothered me far less with tablets, which feel more comfortable to hold when there’s a bit more non-display space to grab. And that display is great; it’s sharp and plenty bright enough, given its intended use case.
If you’ve got kids, I’d seriously recommend getting a dock-compatible hard shell case for this thing, though – particularly if it’s within reaching distance for the whole family. Google has some options for this, but there will surely be a raft of third-party options hitting the market soon.
Pixel Tablet as a home assistant
I’ve booted Siri out of our house for the Pixel Tablet. Regular readers will know that, as a household, we’ve had enough of Apple’s home assistant. It remains so comically far behind the competition that it’s practically unusable.
I’ve never used Google Assistant in anger, but my first experience of “Hey Google” at home has been nothing but positive. It responds quickly, understands both myself and my girlfriend without fail, and delivers answers that don’t rely heavily on Google searches. Ironically.
However, what makes the experience with the Pixel Tablet even more impressive is the inclusion of the display. This isn’t the only home assistant with that feature, but it’s my first experience of such a setup and it makes utter sense.
When you attach the Pixel Tablet to the speaker dock for the first time, you have the option of setting it to Hub Mode, which provides features you’d expect from a smart home display. These include a digital photo frame, smart home controls, and, of course, hands-free help from Google Assistant.
The display adds a whole new dimension to the digital home assistant experience. Every answer is accompanied by graphical detail on the right-hand side of the display, be it driving directions via Google Maps, the weather outlook or more detailed information on the famous person about whom you’ve enquired is still alive. This enables you to dive more deeply into the answers and encourages you to use the Pixel Tablet as a… tablet far more often.
I also love the fact you can easily interact with the timers you set – one of the most common reasons we use these devices in our house (I suspect we’re not alone here). The same goes for glanceability – you can far more easily find out how long is left on your timer simply by looking at the damn thing.
We’re enjoying the digital photo frame, too. Hooked up to Google Photos, the Pixel Tablet displays a random selection of photos I’ve taken with my Android devices and unearths some lovely memories as a result.
Playing back music is a lot of fun on the Pixel Tablet, too. Mercifully, it’s compatible with a wide range of radio stations (you just have to install the corresponding app) and you can choose your default music streaming service – including Apple Music. Again, seeing the music you’re playing on that big display and interacting with it is far more convenient than continually issuing voice commands, and I loved having Glastonbury on this weekend – and actually being able to see it.
On the subject of audio performance, the speaker dock won’t knock your socks off, and it’s not as beefy or as loud as the HomePod, but it’s still room-filling and detailed enough to be a pleasant listening experience.
I haven’t dug into the smart home integration yet with Nest products, but will at some stage.
Pixel Tablet as a… tablet
Let’s not forget that the Pixel Tablet is, as the name suggests, an Android tablet, and the first to carry the Pixel name. It’s also a direct competitor for the iPad, which is a topic I’ll be digging into soon.
Thanks to the Tensor G2 chip, the Pixel Tablet is as fast and smooth as it needs to be – yes, even without the presence of a high refresh rate display. I’ve been really impressed with the performance in day-to-day usage. I have no idea what happens when you push it beyond that, but this isn’t a tablet that’s designed for heavy gaming use or pro apps.
Regardless, Android 13 remains a joy to use and is as functional as it is playful. The fact we’re getting the purest tablet version of Google’s operating system on the Pixel Tablet seals the deal.
The question I have is whether or not the Pixel Tablet will turn our household into more consistent tablet users. As noted, the ability to dig into those Google Assistant results will help in this regard but Google’s ambitions for the Pixel Tablet reach further than that. They want this to be the device you choose over your smartphone while at home.
There’s one practical challenge with this, which is the process of removing the Pixel Tablet from the speaker dock. There’s definitely a knack to it, which I haven’t quite mastered. The magnet is nice and strong, which is encouraging, but equally frustrating as you try and detach the Pixel Tablet. Grabbing the top of the device and swinging the bottom of it away from the dock appears to work best, but there’s still a fair bit of resistance. It’s certainly not as simple as it appears to be in Google’s demonstrations, and it would be aided if the dock could be in some way ‘stuck’ to the surface on which it is placed.
While the Pixel Tablet isn’t quite as refined as the iPad from a hardware perspective, Android 13 makes it feel every bit a premium device, and it’s a fun tablet to use for content consumption and web surfing at home.
Conclusion (for now)
I need longer with the Pixel Tablet, but first impressions are very positive. This isn’t a cheap setup at all, but one must remember what you’re getting for the money: this is an impressive tablet experience and a display-enabled home assistant in a smart package.
Apple needs to do this. There have been lukewarm rumours circulating about a new Siri device complete with an interactive display, and having spent just a few days with the Pixel Tablet and its speaker dock, I can see why; it makes total sense. Apple just needs to fix Siri, fast.
But who is the Pixel Tablet for? I think buyers will fall into two categories. The first is those who are already embedded within the Google ecosystem – it’s a no-brainer for anyone in that position who has a decent budget for a pure Android tablet that doubles as a home assistant.
The second is people who either don’t have an iPad or who are disillusioned with its inability to work its way into their personal lives. If you fall into that bracket and, once again, have a decent budget, the Pixel Tablet is a tantalising proposition.
There are very few devices on the market that combine tablet operation with brilliant home assistance (and smart home control). It makes the price of the Pixel Tablet far more digestible, but the catch is that you need to experience its utility to realise the value it offers. The question is how many people will be prepared to take that punt?
I’ll be reporting back with further thoughts soon – stay tuned.
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