The tablet space has been largely dominated by the iPad over the last number of years, with Apple seemingly having a product fit for every single category in this space. I really didn’t know how this space would continue to be innovated, but Google’s brand new Google Pixel Tablet, really pushes the tablet category forward in ways that I don’t know I could live without going forward.
Let’s get the basics out of the way, looking at the tablet itself, this is a fairly by the books tablet. it has an 11-inch, 2650 x 1600, 60z hz display, so it’s not going to blow your socks off on paper, but it’s the entire package that really blew me away.
Every Pixel Tablet comes with a speaker dock in the box, and it really is the best selling point for this tablet and a genius idea that I can’t believe we haven’t seen before. The tablet seamlessly snaps to the dock using four magnetic pics.
Firstly, just from the point of keeping tablet charged is a game-changer. I know this is on me, but my biggest gripe with tablets is keeping them charged. Whilst I use my phone all day, every day, my tablet I might only go and grab once or twice a week, and it always seem to be dead when I need it, and Google’s new dock changes that.
Keeping the tablet charged is only just the beginning of this integration. When you snap your tablet to the dock any music that you have playing on the tablet is seamlessly transferred to the speaker dock, with immediately louder audio with more clarity and better bass. It’s not the best sounding speaker on the market, but it’s definitely an improvement on the already decent four speakers on the tablet itself.
I was consistently impressed with how seamless both the charging and also the hand-off of audio to speaker dock and back to the tablet was. This had to work 100% of the time to be useful, and it’s clear that a lot of work has gone into it because it absolutely does.
When the tablet is docked, it enters a hub mode which is similar to the Google Nest Hub experience. You can set a Google Photos album to play through a slideshow (and it’s still a fantastic experience), but you can also cast to the display from your Pixel phone, or quickly access your Google Home accessories via a button that stays on the screen whilst in this mode.
It all works together to really get the most out of your tablet, even when you’re not using it. Google also sells extra docks so that if you’re wanting to move the tablet between the kitchen and your bedroom for instance you can do that. I will say that I do wish that you could cast to the speaker dock (or use it as Google assistant) when the tablet isn’t connected, but I do understand that this may jeopardise how well the experience works in its current state. I also wish that you could use the tablet as a Nest camera (like you can the Hub Max) but hopefully we see these improvements with system updates.
This tablet is clearly designed to be used by the whole family, which leads to another fantastic feature that Google has introduced that just elevates the whole experience – multiple user accounts. You can easily add multiple user accounts to the Google Pixel Tablet, and swap between them as you take the tablet off the dock. This will allow each member of the family to have their own user account with their own wallpapers, apps, photos and data all locked behind their own passcode or to be accessed using the fingerprint unlock.
Again, it really just shows the Google wants this to be a tablet for the whole family, and makes the $899 (for both the tablet and dock) much more better priced to other alternatives on the market, as it can actually be used by multiple people without it feeling clunky or hampering the experience at all.
The Google Pixel tablet uses the same Tensor G2 processor as found in the Google Pixel 7 Pro and it’s extremely capable. The tablet never stuttered and can run two apps side-by-side in split screen. It’s worth mentioning though that this is definitely a tablet that is aimed at entertainment and general use, and I think it really excels at that.
If you’re a Google Pixel user, the whole experience will feel familiar with widgets and your entire suite of Google apps available at the tap of your fingers. It’s a really great experience for general web browsing and having the information that you want right in front of you.
All of Google’s apps have been optimised for the Pixel Tablet’s screen and they’ve never looked better. Similar third-party apps such as Netflix, Twitch, TikTok and others have also been updated, and hopefully this does open the floodgates for other apps, as iPad still has Android tablets beat in this area, just based on the sheer amount of apps alone.
When it comes to battery life, I was getting about 8-12 hours of use, which is a little below some other tablets on the market, but again, the fact that you can keep it charged at all times by seamlessly placing it on the dock really makes all the difference. With Google battery saver options as well, you can extend this out further if need be.
There’s 8MP front and rear cameras which you won’t be using to shoot content on the regular, but are great for video calls through Google Meet and stuff, with Google having a number of different virtual backgrounds ready out of the box.
Similarly on the photo editing side, you can expect to see the likes of Magic Eraser and Photo Unblur make its way to the big screen, and obviously editing photos on the bigger screen is an absolute joy with the Google Photos app providing a seamless sync.
All-in-all, I really do think that the Google Pixel Tablet has elevated itself to be one of the best tablets on the market for everyday use across the whole family, especially if you’re a smart home user that wants quick access to your whole home. I’m excited to see where Google take this category in the future.
