Android speaker dock clock9/21/2023 ![]() You cannot use the speakers on the tablet and dock simultaneously. Speaking of audio, the audio transfer between tablet and dock is quite neat, with those pogo pins playing a role. It’s unfortunate that the Charging Speaker Dock cannot be used as a standalone Cast target when the Pixel Tablet is not connected, especially when you find out that buying a separate stand to place in different rooms around your Google Home costs $129. Meanwhile, unlike any past Nest Hub, you can long-press on the power button to activate Assistant without the hotword. There’s no privacy switch, despite leaked near-final renders featuring it, but you can go into Quick Settings and enable/disable Camera and Mic access even without unlocking the device. There’s a Home Panel that’s basically the Favorites tab of the Google Home app, which is also entering general availability today. The Pixel Tablet takes everything that’s useful with Smart Displays and simply turns it into a layer on top of Android called “Hub Mode.” Besides the Google Photos slideshow, you get some fullscreen clocks as well as Froggy. I have long looked at the Nest Hub Max near my desk and wished it could do more. Speaking of the dock, the included accessory is what will encourage you to get more use out of your tablet, and this thoughtfulness/play to increase usage on Google’s part should not be dismissed. Google says this has no impact on durability. This is more of an issue when the tablet is laid flat on a table and less of a noticeable issue when it’s attached to the Charging Speaker Dock. Meanwhile, the Gorilla Glass 3 does not seem thick enough, and anything but the lightest taps can depress the screen. One upside is that the Pixel Tablet is rather light and that greatly contributes – even with the bezels – to it feeling just like a floating screen. It mostly comes off as plastic, and not at all like the coating of the Pixel 5, which was something I enjoyed and was hoping would return. Google’s proprietary nano-ceramic coating that covers the aluminum chassis does not feel very premium. The Pixel Tablet’s design might be utilitarian and functional all around, but it doesn’t feel very substantial or solid. Personally, I don’t mind that soft, curved corners look and think bezels play an important role on tablets as it gives you somewhere to place your thumb. When Google first showed off the Pixel Tablet in May of 2022, everyone said it looked like the screen portion of the Nest Hub Max. ![]() ![]() That restart is very obvious when you hold the Pixel Tablet. Hands-on: Pixel Tablet Case goes for whimsy and a versatile briefcase look.Rather, it’s a brand new start heavily inspired by the Nest Hub, and it of course runs Android rather than ChromeOS and is powered by Tensor G2 with 8GB of RAM. While the 2018 Pixel Slate was well within the “Made by Google” hardware era, I wouldn’t really say the Pixel Tablet continues in that lineage. Both are first-generation products, but one - surprisingly - ends up feeling less so than the other. Ahead of Google I/O 2023, we went hands-on with the Pixel Fold and Tablet. ![]()
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