2015 has not been a great year for tablets - unless you are Microsoft. But as the year approaches its end, one final entry wants to be considered. The new Pixel C from Google. It was unveiled at Google's Nexus event late in September and a few weeks back became available for purchase.
Instead of giving us a Nexus 9A or some other pure Android tablet, Google took matters into their own hands w/ a Pixel device running Android 6.0. Prior to the C, Pixel devices only ran Chrome OS as a Chromebook. Google is doing something different as this is their flagship Android tablet of 2015 - or what's left of it anyways. So what's the Pixel C all about? We'll tell you all about it below.
Design/Build
Kicking things off officially is the hardware on the latest Pixel. It lives up to the name w/ a well-built & beautifully-crafted tablet & keyboard. Since its a Pixel, it is crafted completely by Google w/o any other manufacturer involved. The slate is completely comprised of adonized aluminum a la the Chromebook Pixels.
Everything about this screams premium.
The construction is super-sturdy, doesn't feel cheap in the build of it at all. It has some heft to it but feels like its worth it the price tag. Since it is a Pixel, you have the lightbar in which you can tap to see how much battery life is left w/ taking it out of standby. While you don't have front-facing speakers, you do have stereo speakers on the sides & quad microphones on the top. They sound great BTW. Not as good as the Nexus 9 but close.
Display
Google put their best foot forward in regards to visuals. This has a 10.2inch LCD display w/ 2560 x 1800 resolution + 308ppi. The screen on this thing is a pure beauty. From watching media to even the colors on the homescreen look simply marvelous. With the nits going up to 500, you won't have to worry about this things being bright enough. FYI: the orientation of the Pixel C's display is that of Samsung's Nexus 10 tablet of 2012: landscape view. We'll get more into that on the software side of things.
Performance/Battery Life
Continuing Google's use of non-Qualcomm chipsets for their tablets, they're still working w/ NVIDIA. This time a 64-bit Tegra X1 CPU w/ desktop-class 256-core Maxwell GPU, 3GB of RAM, & ours has 64GB of storage.
On paper, this should be quite the performer but real-life results warrant different results. Throughout my testing, it has been fine but you do come across the occasional hiccup/stutter that you wouldn't expect from a high-end CPU from NVIDIA. I'm thinking its an optimization issue w/ Android's implementation. Hopefully, an update can rectify this in the near future.
Moving onto the battery side of things, it has a battery inside quoted at lasting over 10 hours. I've zero issues w/ it at all. Whether using it consistently for the likes of typing up this review on Google Keep, YouTube, Hulu, and Asphalt 8: Airborne. I can get around close to 7 hours but using it sparingly, it can last for days at a time on a single charge.
Keyboard
Let's get straight to the point, the keyboard to the Pixel C is amazing. Super strong magnets for hold the tablet, well-built keyboard that feels good to type on, connects via Bluetooth, and charges when connected to the tablet. It does get a little cramp w/ the smaller Enter + Backspace keys, but you can adapt to this easily after a while.
Software
This Pixel, while originally presumed to run Chrome OS, runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. Sounds like it should be Android business as usual but this is where things get a bit weird.
For starters, the Home, Back, & Recent Apps buttons are split apart. You got the Home & Back on the bottom left corner & the Recent Apps on the bottom right corner. Definitely takes some getting used to. Next up, some of the apps don't respond properly on this tablet. Some of the apps like Facebook, Instagram, and more show up in Portrait mode on a Landscape-based tablet.
And lastly, the lack of multi-window support is surely missed here. All of these issues combined, the software is assuredly the root of the Its definitely a bit silly that this occurs, but I'm sure the fix is only an update away - hopefully.
Amazing tablet & beautiful keyboard that due to software woes, don't work as well as they should together.
TG 2 Cents
The Pixel C is a great tablet - by itself. The keyboard is amazing but currently not enough support to justify picking up the premium accessory. For your standard purposes of requiring a tablet like watching movies while traveling, use as a second screen for you or your children; this will suit your needs just fine. The keyboard can be used for Keep, Evernote, Docs, Office, etc but at $650; you'll have to see if spending that kind of $$$ justifies this or put it towards a Surface 3.
Now that Google has taken the Pixel line from Chromebook to Android tablet, I think next year or in the near future; we'll see a Pixel smartphone. Maybe this is what the whole Android silver line turned into? Or not.
To Buy Or Not To Buy
If you're in need of a great Android tablet for traveling or other needs, go for the Pixel C w/o a keyboard or a Nexus 9 will suit you better. When the Pixel C gets a software update to add multi-window abilities, then it will be worth it.
