Google saved the best announcements for the end of its I/O 2022 developer conference. After the announcement that the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro will arrive later this year, the technology showed for the first time Pixel tabletyour branded hardware tablet, with which will collide with the iPad in 2023.
Rick Osterloh, Google’s vice president of devices and services, said they don’t usually make announcements this far in advance, but “the energy around tablets” needs to be excluded. The Pixel Tablet is a next generation device powered by the Tensor chip.
The Pixel Tablet was designed to be the perfect companion for Pixel smartphones and seamlessly integrates with other devices in the Google ecosystem, Osterlo says. According to the technology, the Pixel Tablet is intended to be “the most useful tablet in the world.”
While Google has withheld specific details of its next device, the message it sends with this first look is interesting. Adventures in the tablet segment have not developed in the best way.
The latest attempt is the Pixel Slate, a 12-inch 2-in-1 device running Chrome OS that could hardly outshine the iPad Pro or the Surface Pro 6. After a failed launch, Google threw in the towel and finally abandoned tablet development in mid-2019.
Unlike the iPad, Android tablets never caught on. Part of the problem is that Google has never given importance to this segment. While Samsung, Lenovo, and other manufacturers have options on the market, none of them are indicative of sales success.
Android 13 will pave the way for the Pixel Tablet
This year is different thanks to android 13. The new operating system Google will appear with better optimization for large screens than a smartphone. In addition, support for styluses, widgets and user profiles will be improved for those who share their device with other family members.
According to Scott Blanksteen, director of product management at Google, Demand for tablets has grown in recent years and that’s why they introduced Android 12L beta.
To take advantage of the new features of Android 13, Google has confirmed that it works with TikTok, Zoom and Canva offer tablet-optimized apps. The technology will have a year to set the stage for the soon-to-be-released Pixel Tablet.
At the moment, the availability or possible price of the next Google tablet is unknown. If the company follows the strategy applied to its smartphones, we may see premium and budget versions of the Pixel Tablet.
Source: Hiper Textual
