I’m an unabashed Android fanboy, and I’ve purchased quite a lot of Android tablets, principally from Google. The Nexus 7 (each generations), Nexus 9, even the ill-fated Pixel C and Pixel Slate. However I resisted the urge to purchase the generically-named Pixel Pill, and you’ll too if the final two high-end Google tablets you acquire turned out to be one-off duds. Happily, it seems like Google has just a little extra religion in its newest iteration.
Android Authority quotes a leak on an upcoming Google-designed Tensor G6 chip that may allow double USB-C ports, one in every of which is particularly designed for exterior shows on tablets. They’re calling it the “Pixel Pill 3,” however I don’t have quite a lot of religion in that being near the official moniker for no matter machine makes use of this chip, if solely as a result of we haven’t seen any indication of a Pixel Pill 2. Nevertheless it does point out that Google is engaged on new first-party pill {hardware}, and dealing on making it attention-grabbing and distinct in a sea of iPad clones.
Regardless of my hesitance to purchase it, I’ve to confess that the Pixel Pill is fairly good. It sidesteps the errors for the Pixel C (not sufficient software program help) and Pixel Slate (manner too costly for ChromeOS), and carves out a selected area of interest and promoting level with its cool dock accent. Leveraging Google’s stable market place as a wise dwelling vendor into extra curiosity for a brand new pill was a wise transfer, and increasing it into extra fleshed-out help for exterior shows can be one other one.
Google Pixel Pill with Charging Speaker Dock
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
I may see the following Pixel Pill marketed as a tool that lives subsequent to your TV as an leisure hub along with a smarthome controller. Why not? It’s much more highly effective and succesful than any Roku or Apple TV. You possibly can even take one other swing at increasing Android gaming to the TV…although if even Nvidia couldn’t land that one and needed to rebrand the Defend as a premium media machine, I may see why Google may be hesitant. Nonetheless, doubling as a pill and an Android TV/Google TV supplier can be one more strategy to make a worth play for shoppers.
We’ve been listening to rumblings about Google increasing each folding telephones and tablets with an alternate interface for extra laptop computer/desktop-style use, one thing very akin to Samsung’s DeX and varied different instruments. This isn’t a rumor, the code has been noticed in personal builds, although this alternate UI hasn’t proven up within the last model of Android 15. Nonetheless, it’s price conserving that behind your thoughts as we hear about chip designs which may not arrive for 2 or three years. Android Authority guesses the Tensor G6 is on observe for 2027 — the Pixel 9 for this yr makes use of a Tensor G4.
Each of those tidbits point out to me that Google isn’t going to drop its first-party tablets like a scorching potato, because it has previously. Which will get me excited to see new and attention-grabbing pill {hardware} for the primary time in a very long time. I miss the times when Android tablets went all-in on experimentation, just like the Asus Transformer line, or Lenovo’s usually ridiculous setups with built-in handles and pico projectors.
True, these had been usually lifeless ends when it comes to design, however they had been positively price exploring. Lenovo’s devoted dock-slash-speaker for the Sensible Tab was a really apparent inspiration for Google and the Pixel Pill.
There’s cool pill stuff coming from Google, and I haven’t been in a position to say that for some time. It feels good. Perhaps subsequent time I’ll truly purchase one.
