Without being high-end, the Google Pixel Tablet is an agile, well-designed device that meets the needs of the daily user. It’s its charger coupled with a speaker that sets it apart, even if it is rather expensive and we would have liked the idea to be taken further.
Before we talk speed and calibration, let’s note what’s most striking about the Pixel Tablet: its base, which acts as a charger and auxiliary speaker.
The tablet sticks magnetically to the base and, thanks to the connector on its back, transmits sound to this speaker. The connection is instantaneous, does not require lengthy adjustments and the installation is intuitive. The Pixel Tablet then becomes almost the equivalent of an Amazon Echo Show or a Google Nest Hub, a large 11-inch screen with a powerful speaker.
Once on its base, the Pixel Tablet offers a few standby display modes. In particular, with Console mode, you can control your home automation devices, transform it into a digital frame, display the weather or the screen saver of your choice. She remains on the lookout for any command starting with Ok Google.
Released this summer, it is Google’s first tablet in a long time and the only one to be equipped with the in-house Tensor G2 chip, with 8 GB of RAM for 128 GB of storage. Our Geekbench 6 benchmarks give it slightly less CPU power than a Galaxy Tab 7 and an iPad 9, high-end devices that are three and two years old, respectively. The Pixel Tablet is therefore not an entry-level device and you quickly see this when handling it. The applications are displayed smoothly, browsing the internet takes place without any noticeable delay and it is agile when playing video content.
A good tablet, without doubt, perfect for everyday use without being the best. Less demanding video games are perfectly playable, the more demanding ones occasionally giving jolts.
The Pixel Tablet is equipped with dual 8MP cameras, front and rear. This is obviously not their main selling point, but the quality of what they deliver, in photos or videos, is very honest. The colors are rather bland, but its contrast and focus capacity is appreciable.
The 1600 by 2560 pixel screen, with a density of 276 ppi, is bright at 500 nits and very sharp. Its viewing angle is very limited, however, so you lose clarity when looking at it at an angle of more than 30 degrees.
For authentication, in addition to the PIN, there is a fingerprint reader hidden in the power button at the top right.
Like any Pixel device, the operating system is pampered and we have the first Android updates for five years. The content or tasks performed are automatically transferred from a Pixel phone, the Pixel Buds headphones connect to it as soon as they are turned on and you have Magic Erase, instant transcription and translation.
The Pixel Tablet is not quite an Echo Show or a Nest Hub. Its standby console is less complete; for example, you cannot control a set of functions or see at a glance the dozens of pieces of information offered by these intelligent screens. Do not believe, therefore, that the Pixel Tablet will adequately replace them.
For $699, you’re not getting a tablet of the same quality as the best offerings from Apple or Samsung. We pay the price of the base, obviously.
No facial recognition for unlocking, and no 3.5mm jack that would have allowed the Pixel Tablet to be plugged into a stereo, for example.
A recent survey from the firm DesignRush confirms our experience: Google’s customer service is not up to par. This is its great weakness, according to this ranking.
A good tablet, which transforms on command into an audio streaming device clearly superior from this point of view to its competitors, this is what the Pixel Tablet offers. However, its price is a little too high for a user who would not be attracted by its speaker charger.
The purchase is still recommended.
