Technology

Google Pixel Tablet Release Date, Price and Specifications

Published

2 months ago

April 25, 2024

Google released the Pixel Tablet last year, complete with docking station that turned it into a smart display, at Google I/O alongside the Pixel 7a and Pixel Fold.

It was Google’s first own-brand offering in many years (since 2015’s one-off Pixel C) and was highly anticipated, to say the least.

A tablet that can be converted into a smart display has been seen before by the likes of Lenovo, but Google had a unique take on it. The Pixel Tablet is essentially a smart display-tablet hybrid, but as our full review shows, it’s far from perfect.

Rumors suggest that Google will release a new version of the Pixel Tablet in 2024, but this isn’t the successor you might have hoped for.

When is the Pixel Tablet release date?

The Google Pixel Tablet went on sale tonight June 20 2023. You can now buy it directly from Google, and through a number of third-party retailers in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, France and Germany.

However, according to a leaker Arsène Lupine on X, Google will relaunch the Pixel Tablet this year without a dock. It could be unveiled at Google’s I/O developer conference, which is expected to take place May 14, 2024.

It’s purely a coincidence that Apple has delayed the launch of the iPad until three days before Google will relaunch the Pixel Tablet (without dock) along with a pen and Bluetooth keyboard. Both are available for around €100 in hazelnut and porcelain🍊 https://t.co/7ZDT4DpPcd

— Arsène Lupine (@MysteryLupin) April 24, 2024

How much does the Pixel tablet cost?

Prices for the Pixel Tablet start from $499/£599 and this includes the charging speaker dock. You can buy additional docks for $129/£139 each if you wish, but it’s not currently possible to buy the tablet separately.

That’s more expensive than the $449/£499 10th generation iPad, Apple’s current ‘standard’ model.

Accessories include the official Pixel Tablet Case, which is docking station compatible and has a polished metal ring stand (see below). It costs $79/£89.

For the base price of $499/£599 you get a 128GB model, but there’s also a 256GB option if you need more storage, although this costs an extra $100/£100.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

However, if the rumors about the Pixel Tablet relaunch turn out to be true, leaker Arsène Lupine says that “you will have to buy a tablet over €600 and then the accessories”, which will cost €100 each.

Just to be clear: €100 each (Pen and Bluetooth keyboard, not together). There is also no direct “bundle”. You have to buy the €600+ tablet and then the accessories.

— Arsène Lupine (@MysteryLupin) April 24, 2024

The starting price of $499/£599 for the tablet itself is likely to remain.

What are the specifications and features of the Pixel Tablet?

Since we reviewed the Pixel Tablet, we can tell you about all the detailed specs and how the device works with the included docking station.

If the tablet relaunches this year, we don’t expect to see any changes here.

Design

Let’s start with the tablet itself, which comes in two colors – at least in the UK – with the choice of Porcelain or Hazelnut.

The included spec sheet also mentions Rose, so I imagine this will be available in select markets. Please note that the front is white for the Porcelain colorway and black for Hazel.

The main body has a nano-ceramic coating and is made from more than 30% recycled materials (by weight) and the aluminum in the housing is 100% recycled. It is 8.1 mm thick and weighs 493 grams.

A fingerprint sensor is located in the power button and, according to the original teasers, four metal contacts on the back form a Pogo pin connector for use with the docking station. The Pixel Tablet also has three far-field microphones, which is unusual for a tablet but is necessary to turn it into a smart display when docked.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Display

It has an 11-inch screen, although it’s technically 10.95-inches due to the rounded corners. It is an LCD panel (so not any OLED) with a resolution of 2560×1600, an aspect ratio of 16:10 and an anti-smudge coating.

The Pixel Tablet has a typical brightness of 500 nits and, like the Next Hubs, has an ambient light sensor so that it, along with the color, can be automatically adjusted with Ambient EQ.

That’s plenty of room for viewing content and you should be able to hear it loud and clear thanks to four speakers – two on each side in landscape orientation.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Performance and cameras

Under the hood is Google’s own Tensor G2 processor with Titan M2 security chip, as seen in the Pixel 7 phones. There’s 8GB of RAM and a choice of 128 or 256GB of storage. There is no microSD card slot to add your own card.

Strangely, despite an 8MP camera on the front (and the same on the back), the Pixel Tablet doesn’t seem to have the Face Match feature found on Google’s Nest Hub Max – the larger smart display.

This can recognize different users, giving you a personalized experience (for example your calendar events) and also gestures such as holding your palm up to pause the music. It doesn’t appear that the tablet has a physical switch to mute the microphones and disable the cameras either.

Back to the cameras briefly and Google says they’re optimized for video and Meet with continuous framing, focus, automatic lighting adjustments and 360-degree virtual backgrounds.

Battery and connectivity

Rounding out the core specs are 12 hours of battery life (for video streaming), USB-C 3.2 Gen 1, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.2. As rumored, it has an Ultra-Wideband chip, but Google only comments on this as being for “accurate range”.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Software

It’s also worth noting that the device ships with Android 14 and the promise of at least five years of OS updates, so Android 15 is guaranteed, plus a few more years beyond that. The Pixel Tablet is the first Android tablet to come with Google Cast, which means you can cast content to it from your phone or another tablet.

The caveat here is that it must be in Hub mode, although there’s little need to cast if it’s not docked anyway. Keep in mind that the Pixel Tablet runs entirely on Android, unlike the Nest Hubs which have a custom Fuchia operating system, so there will be differences in the way they work.

Charging speaker dock

This leads us to the striking, does what it says on the tin, Charging Speaker Dock. It is a docking station that charges the Pixel Tablet and also has a built-in speaker. When attached (via magnets), the tablet essentially turns into a Nest Hub smart display.

Because you can buy additional docks, the tablet can move around the house with you for different situations – for example, a bedside table, a recipe book in the kitchen, a jukebox in the living room and a calendar in the office.

Google says: “When the tablet is in Hub mode, it turns into a handy home device that you can even use hands-free. Use it as a smart home controller, music and entertainment player, voice-activated helper or digital photo frame.”

The Charging Speaker Dock can charge the tablet at up to 15W and has a 43.5mm full-range driver, meaning “four times the bass of just the Pixel Tablet” and seamless transition of audio when you dock the tablet.