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My latest video takes a look at the new Google Pixel tablet. Unique to this product is the included speaker charging dock that turns it into a Google / Nest Home assistant when the tablet is attached.

The tablet comes in three different color options and sells for $499 for the 128GB storage variant with a 256GB version available for $100 more. All models come with the speaker dock so there is not a tablet only SKU available at the moment.

The tablet’s 11-inch display, while not OLED, offers a very crisp image with a decent contrast ratio. It comes in at a resolution of 2560 by 1600 which translates out to a 16:10 aspect ratio. This makes it a little wider and narrower vs. an iPad display. It’s adequately bright at 500 nits.

The tablet is powered by the Google Tensor G2 chip, the same chip found in Pixel 7 phones, and comes with 8GB of DDR5 RAM. This combination ensures a responsive performance for various tasks and applications. It’s also great for Android games and emulators as detailed in the video. The interface feels just as polished as Google’s Pixel Phones do.

The Pixel Tablet supports USI 2.0 stylus pens, which can be used for note-taking or sketching. It also offers a multi-user feature, allowing different users to have their own profiles and experiences on the tablet. In the video I demo’ed the kid interface that is easier for children to navigate and gives parents more control over what they can do on the device.

But there are some limitations. It lacks a headphone jack and only has a USB-C port, meaning users will need to use Bluetooth headphones or connect a dongle. It also lacks an SD card slot for expanding its onboard storage. Additionally, Google’s commitment to only three years of OS updates (from 2023) and five years of security updates means that they’re not all that committed to this platform. Apple supports even its entry level iPads for longer.

All in the new Pixel tablet is the nicest Android tablet I have tested to date. I would have preferred Google offer a version without the speaker dock at a lower price for those that just need a tablet.

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