On Amazon, the 128GB Google Pixel Tablet is $150 off for Prime Day, bringing the price down to a more accessible $250.
Google's Pixel Tablet marked the company's return to the tablet market after some years (previous efforts included the Pixel C and Pixel Slate). While it was highly praised as a near-perfect Android tablet, its reception was underwhelming.
Also: I replaced my Kindle and iPad within hours of testing this tablet - and didn't regret it
The Google Pixel Tablet is an 11-inch Android slab with a charging dock that doubles as a speaker. When you set the tablet on the dock to charge, it switches into a customizable smart display, like an iPhone during Standby Mode or a Fire tablet in Show Mode. Charging your Pixel Tablet is like the Nest Hub Max experience, but not quite there.
As a smart home user, I decided to give this tablet's smart display feature a try. I love smart panels more than I love tablets. I don't reach for my tablet for entertainment often -- I rely on my phone for that -- so I use a smart display or the smart home apps on my phone more and for longer than a tablet.
Also: I test tablets for a living and this is the Samsung tablet I recommend the most
The problem many reviewers have with the Pixel Tablet is that it's a simpleton among its peers -- and not in a bad way. Google didn't design this tablet to be the next iPad Pro, capable of handling intense video editing sessions and being an occasional replacement for your laptop.
The Pixel Tablet is an entertainment device that allows you to check the latest game scores or scroll through TikTok while taking a break from writing in a Word document.
Maria Diaz/ZDNET
That said, it's a tablet that delivers a clean Android experience, and you can forget whether you're on team iOS or Android. As a loyal iOS user for six years, I sometimes feel disoriented when using an Android device; the weird navigation bugs and lag remind me of why I ditched Android years ago.
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