Undoubtedly, Google will soon release a brand-new tablet under the Pixel name. On May 11, the business made this announcement during Google I/O. The Google Pixel 6a, Google Pixel Buds Pro, Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, as well as the much anticipated Google Pixel Watch, were all introduced with the Google Pixel Tablet announcement. The hardware ecosystem for Google will consist of these items. The gadgets will all function together without a hitch in line with the company’s “ambient computing” goals.
Google is really leaning in since giving a sneak peek of the Pixel 7 wasn’t enough. The firm said today at I/O that it would reenter the tablet market with a new device scheduled for release in 2023. “Normally we wouldn’t tease a new product before its ready,” said Rick Osterloh, head of hardware at Google, “but there’s so much tremendous excitement surrounding tablets in the developer community that we wanted to put you all in the loop.”
The Pixel Tablet will function as a sort of spiritual successor to the Pixel Slate from 2018, which the firm discreetly abandoned in 2017. Like the Pixel Book, the hardware was good, but Google never quite nailed the “why” in a market where Chromebooks are quite affordable.
The Pixel Tablet differs from previous items in one significant way: it runs Android. The startup is working to resurrect the Android tablet industry in a world where ChromeOS is king. Finding a new home for Google’s unique Tensor processors, which made their debut in the Pixel 6 last year, is probably part of the reasoning behind this move. Utilizing the same processor implies that, at the absolute least, the phones and tablets should work well together as the company gradually develops a hardware ecosystem that also includes Pixel Buds and the upcoming Pixel Watch.
For a gadget that won’t be available for another year, there aren’t many other specifics. We have a rear-facing camera, some side-facing speaker slits, and, I suppose, some buttons, as the image above shows. For Google I/O 2023, come back here, I suppose. The disclosure comes after reports that Google is revamping the Android experience for tablets and releasing more versions of apps specifically designed for the form size. The Google Play Store will have a dedicated tab where those will be accessible.
