Google Pixel Tablet is official but isn't quite a Nest Hub

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

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

A tablet that converts 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, though as our full review shows, it’s far from perfect.

Rumours suggest Google will be releasing a new version of the Pixel Tablet in 2024, but it’s not the successor you might have been hoping for.

When is the Pixel Tablet release date? 

The Google Pixel Tablet went on sale pm 20 June 2023. You can buy it now direct from Google, and via some third-party retailers in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, France and Germany.

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

How much does the Pixel Tablet cost? 

Prices for the Pixel Tablet start at $499/£599 and this includes the Charging Speaker Dock. You can buy additional docks if you like at $129/£139 each but it’s not currently possible to buy the tablet on its own. 

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

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

The base price of $499/£599 will get you a 128GB model but there’s also a 256GB option if you need more storage, though it costs an extra $100/£100.

However, if rumoured relaunch of the Pixel Tablet will turn out to be true, leaker Arsène Lupin says that “you need to buy €600+ tablet and then the accessories” which will cost €100 each.

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

What are the Pixel Tablet specs and features?

Since we have reviewed the Pixel Tablet, we can fill you in on all the detailed specs and how the device works with its bundled docking station.

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

Design

Let’s start with the tablet itself which comes in two colours – in the UK at least – with a choice of Porcelain or Hazel.

The provided spec sheet also mentions Rose so I imagine this will be available in selected markets. Note that the front bezel is white for the Porcelain colourway and black for Hazel. 

The main body has a nano-ceramic coating and is made with over 30% recycled materials (based on weight) and the aluminum in the enclosure is 100% recycled. It’s 8.1mm thick and weighs 493g. 

A fingerprint sensor resides in the power button and, as per 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 mics which is unusual for a tablet, but are needed to turn it into a smart display when docked.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Display

It has an 11-inch screen, although it’s technically 10.95-inch due to its rounded corners. It’s an LCD panel (so no OLED of any kind) with a 2560×1600 resolution, 16:10 aspect ratio and an anti-smudge coating. 

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

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

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Performance & cameras

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

Oddly, despite having an 8Mp front-facing camera (and the same at the rear), the Pixel Tablet doesn’t appear to have the Face Match feature found on Google’s Nest Hub Max – its larger smart display. 

This can recognise different users so you get personalised experience (eg your calendar events) and also gestures such as holding up your palm to pause music. The tablet also seems to lack a physical switch to mute the mics and turn the cameras off. 

Back to the cameras briefly and Google says they are optimised for video and Meet with continuous framing, focus, auto lighting adjustments and 360-degree virtual backgrounds.

Battery & connectivity

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

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Software

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

The caveat here is that it does have to be in Hub Mode, though there’s little need for casting when it’s not docked anyway. Note that the Pixel Tablet runs full Android, unlike the Nest Hubs which have a custom Fuchia OS so there will be differences in the way they work.

Charging Speaker Dock

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

Since you can buy additional docks, the tablet can move around the house with you for different situations – eg a bedside clock, 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 helpful home device you can use even 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 which means “four times the bass of the Pixel Tablet alone” and seamless transition of audio when you dock the tablet.

Pixel Tablet key specs

• Android 14
• 5 years of Pixel updates
• 10.95-inch LCD screen, 2560×1600, 16:10
• Tensor G2 chip
• 8GB RAM
• 128/256GB storage
• Quad speakers
• 3 mics far-field
• Fingerprint Unlock with power button
• Wi-Fi 6
• Bluetooth 5.2
• Ultra-Wideband chip for accurate ranging
• Google Cast
• Pogo pin connector for speaker dock
• USB-C
• Dual 8Mp cameras
• 12 hours video streaming
• 8.1mm
• 493g