The Google Pixel Tablet is an 11-inch Android slab with a charging dock that doubles as a speaker. When you set the tablet on the dock to charge, it switches into a customizable smart display, like an iPhone during Standby Mode or a Fire tablet in Show Mode. Charging your Pixel Tablet is like the Nest Hub Max experience, but not quite there.
As a smart home user, I decided to give this tablet’s smart display feature a try. I love smart panels more than I love tablets. I don’t reach for my tablet for entertainment often — I rely on my phone for that — so I use a smart display or the smart home apps on my phone more and for longer than a tablet.
The Pixel Tablet is an entertainment device that allows you to check the latest game scores or scroll TikTok while taking a break from writing in a Word document.
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That said, it’s a tablet that delivers a clean Android experience, and you can forget whether you’re team iOS or Android. As a loyal iOS user for six years, I sometimes feel disoriented when using an Android device; the weird navigation bugs and lags remind me of why I ditched Android years ago.
These bugs are few and far between on the Google Pixel Tablet. While the Pixel Tablet did have some bugs during navigation and daily use, they were far fewer than the ones I experienced with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9, though far more frequent than what I experience on my iPad.
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Also, unlike smart displays like the Google Nest Hub and Echo Hub, the Pixel Tablet is a portable device. You can grab it to read the news or play a game almost anywhere. I’ve taken mine to my kids’ after-school activities to play or watch something while I wait. Having a multipurpose display at the center of a smart home is like having two tablets in one.
Maria Diaz/ZDNET
Here’s what Pixel Tablet could do better
The Pixel Tablet is buggy. All smart displays have their bugs, but after testing several Echo Show devices and using the Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, and Google Home app on iPhones, iPads, and Android devices, I expected more from the Pixel Tablet’s smart home control capabilities.
Google is reportedly working on a new Nest speaker and a Nest Hub Max to launch later this year, so we don’t believe the company will discontinue these smart devices in favor of the Pixel Tablet.
Maria Diaz/ZDNET
The far-field mic experience also left me wanting, especially since I’m surrounded by far too many Echo devices and a HomePod mini. The Pixel Tablet could hear me well enough from across the room, the farthest I would use it most of the time. But — unlike my Echo devices — the Pixel Tablet couldn’t understand me in our open floor plan when I was in the kitchen, which suggests that it would work best in a bedroom or smaller living room. (My HomePod mini can hear me from a story away.)
ZDNET’s buying advice
Should you choose a Pixel Tablet or Google Nest Hub Max
The Echo Hub is specifically designed as a smart home display for Amazon Alexa. If you prefer the Alexa voice assistant and already have other Echo devices, a $180 Echo Hub would likely be a better addition to your smart home than a Pixel Tablet.
When will this deal expire?