TheGoogle Pixel Tabletcomes bundled with a charging dock that addresses a couple of common tablet problems. While other tablets might sit in a drawer or collect dust on an end table when they’re not in use, the Pixel Tablet, perched on its Charging Speaker Dock, acts as a smart display and digital photo frame. That dock also means the Pixel Tablet won’t ever have a dead battery when you reach for it. It’s a really neat idea, and forBlack Friday, it’s down to a very appealing price: $400, a full $100 off MSRP.
Google Pixel Tablet
The Google Pixel Tablet offers strong performance and bonus smart display functionality thanks to the bundled Charging Speaker Dock. At $100 off on Black Friday, it’s an excellent value.
The tablet, part of the Pixel Tablet experience, is pretty by the numbers. It’s got a 10.95-inch, 60Hz LCD (that deserves ascreen protector), an unremarkable design, and a pair of veryokayeight-megapixel cameras. Performance is strong for a midrange tablet, though, thanks to Google’s Tensor G2 chipset — the same one that powers Pixel 7-series phones. It’s also the only tablet Google offers, so it’s the only place you can get the Pixel experience on a screen this large. The Pixel Tablet launched with Android 13, but it’s since been updated to the latest Android 14.
What makes the Pixel Tablet interesting is the dock it’s bundled with. Attached to the dock, the Pixel Tablet activates a feature Google calls Hub Mode, which lets it act sort of like a Nest Hub smart display. It’ll show a screensaver of your choice: you can pick from various options like clocks, different types of art, or your own pictures from Google Photos. The tablet is also a Chromecast target when in Hub Mode, and audio is routed through the dock’s speaker. The speaker isn’tgreat, but it certainly sounds better than the tablet’s built-in stereo speakers.
When I reviewed the Pixel Tablet, I was pleased with its performance and the general concept of a two-in-one tablet/smart display, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that the whole package was a bit more expensive than it should be. On the tablet front, the Pixel Tablet competes with the likes of the10th-gen iPadand the Galaxy Tab S9 FE — both of which offer better hardware for a retail price of $450. Google’s Tablet might look like a better deal when you factor in the added convenience of Hub Mode features, but dedicated smart displays and smart speakers are already ubiquitous, and many are very affordable. For anyone but Google superfans, the Pixel Tablet is a questionable value at MSRP.
But $100 off does a lot for the value proposition here. At $400, the Pixel Tablet would be a competitive midranger without any bundled accessories. Factoring in the Charging Speaker Dock (which is inexplicably expensive on its own at $129), this is a really excellent deal. Given all the Pixel Tablet can do, you’re getting a device that can handle all the web browsing and mobile gaming you can throw at it, plus a very nice digital photo frame and a pretty decent smart display, all for less than the price of an entry-level iPad. If you’ve been curious about the Pixel Tablet but turned off by its price, now’s the time to pull the trigger. But if the Pixel Tablet doesn’t satisfy, there are several othertablet deals this Black Friday.
