Google Pixel Tablet review

Google Pixel Tablet review: It’s all about the dock

Google has finally returned to the tablet market with the Pixel Tablet, a device that focuses on media consumption and smart home control. The Pixel Tablet comes with a unique feature: a Charging Speaker Dock that turns it into a smart display when not in use. But is this enough to make it stand out from the competition? Let’s find out.

Design and display

The Pixel Tablet has a simple and elegant design, with an 11-inch LCD screen surrounded by a half-inch bezel on all sides. The back has a soft-touch matte finish on its aluminum body, which feels nice to hold and doesn’t attract fingerprints. The tablet is available in three colors: off-white, soft pink, or dark green. The two lighter colors have a white bezel around the screen, while the green model has a black bezel.

The screen itself is sharp and bright, with good colors and viewing angles. It has a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels, which translates to a pixel density of 212 ppi. The aspect ratio is 16:10, which works well for watching videos, but not so much for reading or browsing the web in portrait mode. The screen also supports USI 2.0 styluses, but Google doesn’t make one for the Pixel Tablet.

The tablet has an 8-megapixel webcam on the long edge of the screen, which is fine for video calls or selfies. There is no rear camera, which is not a big deal since most people don’t use tablets for photography anyway. The tablet also lacks a headphone jack, which is disappointing for a media-focused device. You’ll have to use Bluetooth headphones or a USB-C adapter to listen to audio privately.

Performance and battery life

The Pixel Tablet is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G processor, which is a mid-range chip that can handle most tasks smoothly. The tablet has 6GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of internal storage, which is not expandable. The tablet runs Android 12 with Google’s Pixel experience, which means it has features like Now Playing, Adaptive Battery, and Live Caption. The tablet also gets regular software updates and security patches from Google.

The Pixel Tablet can run most apps and games without any issues, but it’s not ideal for serious gaming or multitasking. Some Android apps still struggle with scaling to the big screen or supporting split-screen mode. The tablet also doesn’t have any keyboard or mouse support, so you can’t use it as a laptop replacement.

The battery life of the Pixel Tablet is below average for a tablet of this size. The tablet has a 7,000 mAh battery, which can last for about 7 hours of mixed-use on a single charge. That’s less than what you can get from an iPad or a Samsung Galaxy Tab. The tablet supports 18W fast charging via USB-C, but it doesn’t support wireless charging.

Charging Speaker Dock

The standout feature of the Pixel Tablet is the Charging Speaker Dock that comes with it in the box. The dock is a cylindrical speaker that has a magnetic connector on top to attach the tablet. The dock charges the tablet wirelessly and also acts as a stand for the tablet. The dock also has two microphones and two buttons: one for muting the microphones and one for pairing Bluetooth devices.

The dock is more than just a charger and a stand. It also turns the Pixel Tablet into a smart display when it’s attached. The tablet switches to a special mode that shows the time, weather, notifications, and smart home controls on the screen. You can also use voice commands to interact with Google Assistant, play music, watch videos, or control your smart home devices. The dock has decent sound quality, with clear highs and mids and some bass. It can get loud enough to fill a small room, but it won’t rival a dedicated speaker.

The dock is a clever and useful accessory that adds value to the Pixel Tablet. It gives you a place to store and charge the tablet when you’re not using it, and it also makes the tablet more versatile and functional. It’s like having two devices in one: a tablet and a smart display.

The verdict

The Pixel Tablet is a great tablet for media consumption and smart home control. It has a nice screen, good audio, responsive performance, and a speaker dock that makes it more than just a tablet. It’s not perfect, though. It has some drawbacks, such as the lack of a headphone jack, below-average battery life, and limited multitasking features. It’s also not very good for productivity or gaming, as it doesn’t have any keyboard or mouse support.

If you’re looking for a tablet that can do everything, the Pixel Tablet is not for you. But if you’re looking for a tablet that can do most things well, and also double as a smart display when you need it, the Pixel Tablet is worth considering. It costs $499 for the 128GB model and $599 for the 256GB model, which is reasonable for what it offers.