After a full year of teases and leaks, theGoogle Pixel Tabletis finally, fully, officially official. At itsI/O eventtoday in Mountain View, Google took the remaining wraps off its new tablet-meets-smart display combo, largely confirming details we already knew: the tablet comes bundled with a charging dock that doubles as a speaker, allowing it to function in largely the same way as a Nest Hub device while docked. The company also confirmed pricing: the Pixel Tablet, bundled with its Charging Speaker Dock, will retail for $499.
Google Pixel Tablet
The Google Pixel Tablet is Google’s first self-branded tablet in years. Powered by the Tensor G2 chipset and bundled with a wireless charging dock/speaker combo, the $499 device isn’t quite like anything else on the market today.
Coming on the heels of such a long and thoroughly leaky wait after the device’s initial unveil way back at I/O 2022, Google’s full announcement of the Pixel Tablet didn’t offer many surprises. The device runs Android 13 and is powered by the same Tensor G2 chipset Google used in the Pixel 7 series paired with eight gigs of RAM — a combination that should mean it’s plenty capable of anything you might want to do on a general-use tablet.
The Pixel Tablet is available in three colors: a soft white Porcelain, a peachy pink Rose, and greenish-gray Hazel. The first two feature white bezels around the display; Hazel’s are black. The tablet’s backside is made of aluminum, but it’s topped with Google’s “unique nano-ceramic coating,” which the company says makes it easier to grip than bare metal.
When placed on its accompanying Charging Speaker Dock, the tablet enters what Google calls Hub Mode, mimicking many of the functions of Google’s dedicated Nest Hub smart displays. While docked, the tablet can show slideshows of your Google Photos pics, take voice commands, control smart home devices, and even act as a Cast target for video and audio.
The Pixel Tablet is compatible with the Android apps you already know, so you may fire up Netflix or Disney+ to use the device as a makeshift kitchen TV. Google says it’s “also worked closely with our developer partners to optimize the apps you love,” including big names like Spotify and Minecraft. There’s also a large-screen optimized Google TV app that strongly resembles the Google TV interface you may be familiar with from the Chromecast with Google TV or other recent Android TV devices.
Google did offer a fresh look at previously unseen accessories, including a $79 kickstand case that’s made to work with the Pixel Tablet’s dock — no popping the case off to charge. you’re able to also snag additional charging docks for $129 apiece to use Hub Mode in multiple rooms, but the tablet does always come with a dock — there’s no way to buyjustthe slate.
The spendy Pixel Tablet Case comes in colors that match the tablet itself.
In the US, the Pixel Tablet bundled with its Charging Speaker Dock costs $499. It’s available for pre-order starting today in 11 territories: the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. It’ll be available to purchase in-store beginning on June 20.
