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RIP Android tablets

Google announces its first tablet in three years, the Pixel Slate

After the death of Android tablets, Google builds a Chrome OS tablet.

Ron Amadeo | 178
Credit: Google
Credit: Google

Following the death of Android tablets, Google has been slowly rebooting its tablet ambitions under the Chrome OS banner. After debuting the concept with the Acer Chromebook Tab 10, Google now has its first-party Chrome OS tablet hardware, the Pixel Slate.

The device has a more-than-passing resemblance to the Microsoft Surface or iPad Pro: there's a tablet, and a keyboard cover, and a pen. The tablet is an Intel-powered device with 4-16GB of RAM and a 3000×2000 display. Single USB-C ports are found on the left and right sides, and a pogo pin connection is on the bottom.

This is the first Chrome OS device to support biometrics—on the top of the device is a power button that doubles as a fingerprint scanner. Inside, Google has a Titan security chip (originally designed for its cloud servers) to protect against various kinds of tampering and provide safe storage for secrets.

The back of the device doesn't do a great job of looking like a "Pixel" device. While the phones and the Pixelbook had a two-tone glass and aluminum design, the Pixel Slate is one solid piece of metal with only a "G" logo in the corner. It's a fetching blue color.

There are 8MP cameras on the front and back, and like a Pixel phone, Google is providing computational photography magic in the Pixel Slate. The company is making the Android Google Camera app work on the Pixel Slate, so you'll get bokeh effects and, hopefully, excellent-looking pictures. The front-facing camera has a wide-angle lens and larger pixels, optimized for video chatting. And for sound there are two front-firing speakers.

The pogo pins on the bottom connect to a keyboard. Google has a first-party keyboard cover with crazy-looking round keys and a trackpad. The keyboard cover supports multiple screen angles and acts as a screen cover when it's closed. If you're looking for a more solid keyboard option, Brydge has an attachable keyboard base with hinges, turning the tablet into a convertible laptop. The pen is actually the exact same Active Electrostatic (AES) stylus the Pixelbook launched with last year. It comes in a new color, but if you have an old Pixelbook pen lying around, it will work with both devices.

With the launch of the Pixel Slate, Google is back in the tablet game after a three-year absence. Compared to Google's last tablet, 2015's Pixel C, a lot has changed. Android tablets are dead, and we now have Chrome OS tablets. The Bluetooth keyboard, with all its connection issues, has been replaced with a physical pogo-pin connection. A mouse is now a primary control method. If tablet apps on Android were a problem, you now have Android apps in a floating window, a full desktop browser, and Linux apps on Chrome OS.

$599 gets you a Celeron with 4GB RAM and 32GB storage. $799 bumps that up to an 8th generation Core m3 with 8GB RAM and 64GB storage, $999 gets an 8th generation Core i5 with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, and $1,599 gets an 8th generation Core i7 with 16GB RAM and 256GB storage. The keyboard is another $199, and the pen is $99. Initial availability will be in the US, Canada, and the UK "later this year."

 

Listing image: Google

Photo of Ron Amadeo
Ron Amadeo Reviews Editor
Ron is the Reviews Editor at Ars Technica, where he specializes in Android OS and Google products. He is always on the hunt for a new gadget and loves to rip things apart to see how they work. He loves to tinker and always seems to be working on a new project.
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