If the Pixelbook demonstrated Google could make a compelling laptop, the Google Pixel Slate is its attempt to do the same for tablets. Like the latest iPad Pro,
If the Pixelbook demonstrated Google could make a compelling laptop, the Google Pixel Slate is its attempt to do the same for tablets. Like the latest iPad Pro, it’s a confident claim that what was once considered a pared-back, mobile OS can now wear Big Boy Pants and be everything you need to do “real work” on the go. In the process, though, Google finds itself bumping up against some of the same challenges that Apple did with its tablet, and the Pixel Slate doesn’t always have the best answers either.
With its midnight blue anodized aluminum casing, curved edges, and rounded 2.5D Gorilla Glass 5 cover glass, the Pixel Slate is a handsome tablet. It’s also thin, too, at just 7mm thick, though there’s no flex when you hold it. The 12.3-inch “Molecular Display” is a delicious 3000 x 2000 resolution LCD panel, with bright and bold colors, though its bezels look positively thick compared to those of the latest iPad Pro.
Although its display falls in-between the iPad Pro’s 11- and 12.9-inch panels, the Pixel Slate is actually heavier than both. 1.6 pounds is on the hefty side for a tablet, though it’s weight is nicely balanced. Like Apple, Google has opted to ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack, which will undoubtedly continue to frustrate many. At least it gives you a second USB-C port, either of which can be used for charging, 4K display output, or data.
There’s a volume key and a Pixel Imprint fingerprint sensor, integrated into the power button. Press that and you can be automatically logged into Chrome OS, or authorized Google Pay transactions. Personally, I prefer how Face ID on the iPad Pro works day to day, but the Pixel Slate has the advantage with Chrome OS’ multi-user support, which iOS currently lacks.
Google has a wide range of processors for the Pixel Slate, spanning Intel’s Celeron through its 8th Gen Core m3, i5, and i7 chips. You can have 4GB, 8GB, or 16GB of memory, and from 32GB to 256GB of storage. As you might expect, then, the price varies significantly: $599 for the entry-level Celeron/4GB/32GB tablet, up through to $1,599 for the Core i7/16GB/256GB version.
How you feel about that degree of choice – there are five configurations in the line-up – will depend on whether you see the Pixel Slate as a laptop replacement or as an iPad Pro alternative, I suspect. Certainly Google’s cheapest tablet undercuts the iPad Pro significantly, though its performance won’t match it. The Core i5 model, with 8GB of memory and 128GB of storage, that Google provided for review is $999, however, what you’d pay for an iPad Pro 12.9 3rd Gen with half the storage.
Whichever Pixel Slate you get, there’s WiFi 802.11ac 2×2 MIMO, Bluetooth 4.2, dual front-firing speakers that sound reasonably for their size, and twin microphones. 8-megapixel cameras are front and rear. Sadly there’s no cellular option for integrated LTE: Google tells me that it expects Pixel Slate owners to be happy with tethering, though I think there’s nothing quite like the convenience of getting online with built-in cellular.
A month after Apple’s iPad Pro event, and the discussion around whether you can get “real work” done on a tablet – and, indeed, just what “real work” actually consists of – is still raging. The Pixel Slate wades into that discussion with Chrome OS, the ability to run Android apps, and two UIs. Some aspects of that arsenal works better than others.
It’s fair to say that Chrome OS has made huge strides since its early days. With the Pixel Slate it takes another step forward, with both a desktop mode and a tablet mode.
