What We Know So Far

The last time Google tried to reach the iPad with the Pixel tablet, things didn’t go well. In fact, the lackluster response to the Pixel Slate led the tech giant to pull out of the tablet game altogether.

But, like The Godfather’s Michael Corleone, Google is probably getting back into the fray for the last time, just when you thought it was over.

We don’t know much about the new tablet, as the company has kept an atmosphere of mystery around its announcement. But we’ve gathered all the information we have right now about this exciting futuristic device.

Google teases Pixel tablets at I/O Keynote

Google introduced a new Pixel Tablet at its I/O developer conference in 2022. According to the blog The Keyword, it will be an Android tablet powered by a Tensor processor. Google promises it will be “built to be the perfect companion for your Pixel phone”.

This tablet will run on the same Google Tensor chip inside the latest versions of Google’s Pixel phones. This means it will be able to handle tasks like text-to-speech, real-time language translation, and image processing — even without an internet connection.

In the past, Android tablets have struggled to break through because their apps weren’t optimized for large screens. But this time, Google claims to have learned its lesson and things will be different with the latest Pixel tablet.

“We have TikTok, Zoom and Facebook building new apps for tablets this year,” Trystan Upstill, VP of engineering for Google’s Android team told The Verge, “and many more apps to come.” will come”.

Google is also updating 20 of its own apps for tablets, including Google Maps, Google Messages, and YouTube Music.

Why did Google make tablets?

When Google released its previous tablet, the Pixel Slate, it received rave reviews for its incomplete software. It runs on Chrome OS, isn’t great for tablets, and performance is very slow. Also, the complete version costs a lot around $1,600.

Tech blogger, MKBHD, gave a brutal review of it:

After critics and customers dismissed the product, Google killed off the Pixel Slate in June 2019, after just nine months. Instead, the company announced it will focus on laptops.

What Google didn’t take into account was the pandemic that hit in 2020. As the quarantine measures rolled in, it became clear to the tech industry how important tablets are to home entertainment.

So Google is getting back into the game with a tablet focused on consumer entertainment, gaming, and other use cases like image processing.

The Pixel Slate will use the upgraded Android software while ditching the Chrome OS more suitable for work or school.

“We see it as an important part of how people interact with vehicles and computers at home, especially,” Google’s senior vice president of devices and services, Rick Osterloh, told The Verge on its new tablet philosophy.

Pixel Tablet success is not guaranteed

Samsung is doing a great job with its Galaxy Tab line, and Amazon’s cheap Fire tablet is still on the market. Meanwhile, Apple’s iPad is still the market leader conquering everything.

Google will be hoping it strikes a balance between technology and price at this point. When it launches in 2023, the Pixel Tablet will have to do its job to succeed in a skeptical market.

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