A long time ago in a galaxy far far away, Google used to make Android tablets. Some of them quite good. Some of us even remember Nexus! However, then the forces of the dark side (Apple) grew too strong, and the iPad snuffed out any ray of hope for consumers everywhere. For years, people have been drawn to the dark side, enchanted by the powers within. However, in 2023, Google has found a new hero to back in this unequivocal battle of good and evil, and this year it is the Google Pixel Tablet.
All nerdy Star Wars references aside, Google has come out of the gate in a run rather than a trot with their latest Pixel tablet, offering all the goodness of the Android OS in a stunning form factor blended with the convenience and smarts of their brilliant home hubs. With its stunning 11-inch LCD screen paired with a curvy soft touch back, 8-megapixel selfie camera, four decent speakers, and the ability to attach to a magnetic docking station (included in the box) and turn this into a nest speaker/hub; there is a lot to like here.
Powering the Pixel Tablet is the same Google-made Tensor G2 processor found in the Pixel 7 line of phones, which is no slouch when it comes to productivity and performance. It is also paired with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage in the base configuration. Whether it is gaming, reading, or navigating your favorite streaming or social media apps, everything is buttery smooth with near a stutter to be found. It can get somewhat warm at times under heavy multitasking but nothing to be concerned about. Google advertises 12 hours on a single charge but in real use, for us anyway, it was closer to 8 hours, so basically all-day battery which is no different to my current-gen iPad.
The real magic of the tablet though comes from the included dock. When you drop it conveniently onto the compact, fabric-covered, and color-matched speaker dock it flawlessly transfers whatever you were watching/listening to the dock speaker and that is nothing short of magical. I love the ability to listen to music, a podcast, or an audiobook on a much better-sounding and louder speaker when moving about my home. Best of all, docking it also automatically charges the tablet, so you have the convenience of having it always ready for whatever you throw at it when you do pick it up again.
Also, when on the dock, it serves as a smart speaker. Three powerful far-field microphones can pick up “Hey Google” voice commands to the Google Assistant from anywhere in the room and the device will display relevant answers to common queries on screen in all its glory. You can control other smart home appliances in the home app, and it can even display your favorite Google Photos or clock when it’s not in use. As mentioned earlier, it can play music through voice commands from a variety of services. You can ask it to set timers, add things to your grocery list, and more. It is simply brilliant.
To sum up, The Google Pixel tablet brings the best of Android and all your favorite apps plus the convenience of a brilliant dock that doubles as a charger and turns this tablet a Nest Hub Max-a-million and all the smarts it brings. Android tablets are back, because remember… Hope is all we have.
BUY yours here – https://store.google.com/product/pixel_tablet?hl=en-US&pli=1
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