Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
It’s been two years (and a few days) since Google released the Pixel Tablet, and I’ve been using it since that very first day. At the time, I thought Google’s approach to an Android tablet was pretty weird but intriguing. Always-on, always ready, not really a Nest Hub, nor as powerful as the best Android tablets — it felt like a bit of a Frankenstein product that would only win the hearts of a small niche of users.
I was part of that niche, and two years later, I still am. I still love the Pixel Tablet and use it every day in various ways. I’ve looked at the dozens of Samsung Galaxy Tabs, OnePlus Pads, and Xiaomi Pads that have been announced since then (as well as the Apple iPads, obviously), and nothing comes close to the Pixel Tablet for me. Here’s why.
Do you own a Pixel Tablet? 37 votes Yes. I use it all the time and I love it! 49 % Yes, it's fine OR I'm not a big fan. 8 % I did, but I sold it / returned it / donated it. 8 % No, never did, never will. 35 %
My Pixel Tablet is always charged, always ready, always on
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
I’ve had many Android tablets over the years, and regardless of whether or not I liked them, I invariably ran into a situation where I wanted to use that tablet and found its battery completely depleted. By the time I plugged it in and waited for enough charge to have trickled through, I’d already moved on and decided to use my phone or computer instead, and the tablet was left lingering on the charger for a few hours before I remembered why it was there.
For any other tablet, I have to wonder if there's enough juice left or if it's worth waiting for a charge. Not the Pixel Tablet.
The Pixel Tablet changed that for me. It’s always charged. That charging speaker dock idea is absolutely genius because any time I think I may want to use the tablet, it’s ready. I don’t have to pause and wonder if it’s charged or miss out on an excellent situation to use it because the battery’s dead. I just reach out, grab it, unlock, and done. By comparison, my iPad Mini is dead or nearly dead about one time out of five when I reach for it, making me less likely to actually want to use it.
I can’t overstate the importance of this for someone as single-device oriented as me, who has trouble keeping more than one phone updated and in use. It’s the difference between actually using said tablet versus letting it linger in a drawer or gather dust on a stand.
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