At the Made by Google event, Google’s company vice president of product management, Rose Yao, took the stage to give us a sneak peek at the upcoming Pixel Tablet. We say “sneak peek” because, unlike the Pixel 7 smartphone and Pixel Watch, the Pixel Tablet launches sometime in 2023.
Yao states that the foundation of the Pixel Tablet is Android. The device utilizes Material You to customize its color scheme to match your wallpaper and lock screen. She also notes that Google worked hard with developers to ensure that Pixel Tablet could take advantage of large-screen features like split-screen and stylus support. And she promises that the new device would be the best way to experience Android on a tablet.
According to Yao, the Pixel Tablet will also feature the Google Tensor G2 processor. With the chip’s advanced image processing and machine learning, the Pixel Tablet will have “personalized intelligence and understanding.” This intelligence makes tasks like video calling, photo editing, and hands-free help from Google Assistant much easier on a large-screen device.
Yao also explains that Google surveyed tablet users and discovered something unexpected: tablets are homebodies. According to the spokeswoman, tablets are home 80% of the time and only useful during part of the day. So, Google designed the Pixel Tablet to be as helpful as possible even when it’s just sitting around. The result is that the device comes with a charging speaker docking mount.
Yao states that this mount will charge the device, be helpful 24/7, and offer new experiences for users. Yao highlights the enhanced audio/video experience that the speaker mount provides, plus hands-free help from Google Assistant, and the ability to use Pixel Tablet as a smart home hub for your house. This feature seems to be Google’s answer to the Amazon Fire Tablet’s Device Dashboard, a smart home control center that you can activate with a charging dock.
Designed to be both a part of your home and a mobile entertainment device you can take anywhere, Yao calls the Pixel Tablet one of the most “versatile and adaptable tablets ever.” It could transform your tablet from something that sits in your drawer to a device that’s an integral part of your life.
