The tech giants presented their developers’ conferences in the first half of the current year. In all cases, they presented some exciting news about their products, upgrades, features, etc. Google would not be left behind and presented a product to be released in 2023.
Just when we thought that Google had stopped building tablets, here they are introducing us to the Pixel Tablet to be released in 2023. Let’s see what it’s about.
The best announcements towards the end
Google saved its most exciting piece of news for the end of its I/O developers’ conference in 2022. After announcing that the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro will be released at the end of this year, the company presented the Pixel Tablet for the first time, a device that’s meant to compete with the iPad.
Google’s vice president of devices and services, Rick Osterloh, stated that they don’t usually announce products with this much advance, but the energy that surrounds tablets is so powerful that they decided to make an exception. Thus, the world was introduced to the Pixel Tablet, a state-of-the-art device driven by the Tensor chip.
According to the experts and tech geeks, Google is creating an ecosystem to compete with Apple, and this new release seems to fit perfectly with this theory. The vice president stated that the Pixel Tablet was designed to be the perfect partner to other Google devices, and it’s geared to be the most purposeful tablet in the world.
Google tablets strike back?
Even though the audience didn’t get many details about it, they were surprised at the announcement as Google’s history with tablets is not, so far, the best. Moreover, the introduction made by Osterloh was quite promising.
Google’s most recent attempt at tablet building was a 2-in-1, 12-inch device called Pixel Slate. But sadly, the product failed in competing with the beloved iPad Pro or even the Surface Pro 6. After this failed attempt we thought that Google had given up on tablet development in 2019, hence, this news comes as a big surprise.
Unlike the iPad, Android-driven tablets have not yet gained popularity, and part of the problem lies in the fact that Google didn’t pay proper attention to this niche. Statistics indicate that during the last quarter of 2021 the leader of this category was Apple with 38%, followed by Samsung with 15.7%. Next, we present a list of the best-selling tablets in 2021:
- iPad mini (2021)
- iPad Pro 12.9 (2021)
- Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+
- Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE
- Xiaomi Pad 5
- Realme Pad
- Huawei MatePad Pro 12.6
Android 13 to be the perfect framework for the Pixel Tablet
So, what changed? What makes Google think that the 2023 release will make a difference? The answer is the Android 13 operating system. This new system will bring better performance on larger screens. Also, it will improve the stylus and widget support and upgrade the users’ profiles, which is great news for those who share the tablets with their family members.
Scott Blanksteen, director of the product management division, the demand for tablets increased in the past few years, creating the perfect opportunity for Google to conquer this niche, that’s why they introduced the Android 12L beta.
All in all, the new features of Android 13 will work with Canva, Zoom, and Tick Tock to offer tablet-optimized apps. Anyway, they have a whole year to set the ground for these expectations to be fulfilled.
So far, we don’t know the price of the new tablet, but if the company follows the same strategy as they do with smartphones, we will possibly be seeing premium and entry versions of the Pixel Tablet.
The tensor chip
Tensor is the first chip designed and built by Google, and it created high expectations. Although this technology is expected to enhance all of Google’s products, it was designed to achieve the company’s AI goals.
According to Monika Gupta, senior director of Google Silicon, the objective is to provide further AI functionalities without sacrificing battery lifetime, in other words, you can take AI to a more personal level and still have your phone running all day long. The models Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro bring interesting features thanks to the Tensor chip. We are talking about high-quality camera features, real-time translations, and more accurate voice transcription.
Monika Gupta stated that they had all the AI technology in place but couldn’t make it available for the Pixel users. But the Tensor chip is bound to change all of this by making these processes much more efficient than before.
Conclusion
Google’s representatives seem to be quite hopeful when it comes to the company’s advancements. After the failed attempt at building a successful tablet, we all thought that Google was out of the game when it comes to this niche. Apparently, we were wrong, or weren’t we? We’ll have to wait and see if the new Tensor chip and the enhanced Android 13 can make the Pixel Tablet a success in 2023.