Google isn’t abandoning Pixel tablets (again)

New rumors on chip designs that would allow Google tablets to work with external displays has me hopeful that Android tab fans won't get left behind.

I am an unabashed Android fanboy, and I’ve bought a lot of Android tablets, mostly from Google. The Nexus 7 (both generations), Nexus 9, even the ill-fated Pixel C and Pixel Slate. But I resisted the urge to buy the generically-named Pixel Tablet, and you would too if the last two high-end Google tablets you bought turned out to be one-off duds. Fortunately, it looks like Google has a little more faith in its latest iteration.

Android Authority quotes a leak on an upcoming Google-designed Tensor G6 chip that will enable double USB-C ports, one of which is specifically designed for external displays on tablets. They’re calling it the “Pixel Tablet 3,” but I don’t have a lot of faith in that being close to the official moniker for whatever device uses this chip, if only because we haven’t seen any indication of a Pixel Tablet 2. But it does indicate that Google is working on new first-party tablet hardware, and working on making it interesting and distinct in a sea of iPad clones.

Despite my hesitance to buy it, I have to admit that the Pixel Tablet is pretty good. It sidesteps the errors for the Pixel C (not enough software support) and Pixel Slate (way too expensive for ChromeOS), and carves out a specific niche and selling point with its cool dock accessory. Leveraging Google’s solid market position as a smart home vendor into more interest for a new tablet was a smart move, and expanding it into more fleshed-out support for external displays would be another one.

I could see the next Pixel Tablet marketed as a device that lives next to your TV as an entertainment hub in addition to a smarthome controller. Why not? It’s far more powerful and capable than any Roku or Apple TV. You could even take another swing at expanding Android gaming to the TV…though if even Nvidia couldn’t land that one and had to rebrand the Shield as a premium media machine, I could see why Google might be hesitant. Still, doubling as a tablet and an Android TV/Google TV provider would be yet another way to make a value play for consumers.

We’ve been hearing rumblings about Google expanding both folding phones and tablets with an alternate interface for more laptop/desktop-style use, something very akin to Samsung’s DeX and various other tools. This isn’t a rumor, the code has been spotted in non-public builds, though this alternate UI hasn’t shown up in the final version of Android 15. Still, it’s worth keeping that in the back of your mind as we hear about chip designs that might not arrive for two or three years. Android Authority guesses the Tensor G6 is on track for 2027 — the Pixel 9 for this year uses a Tensor G4.

Both of these tidbits indicate to me that Google isn’t going to drop its first-party tablets like a hot potato, as it has in the past. Which gets me excited to see new and interesting tablet hardware for the first time in a long time. I miss the days when Android tablets went all-in on experimentation, like the Asus Transformer line, or Lenovo’s often ridiculous setups with built-in handles and pico projectors.

True, these were often dead ends in terms of design, but they were definitely worth exploring. Lenovo’s dedicated dock-slash-speaker for the Smart Tab was a very obvious inspiration for Google and the Pixel Tablet.

There’s cool tablet stuff coming from Google, and I haven’t been able to say that for a while. It feels nice. Maybe next time I’ll actually buy one.