Ladies and gentlemen, the biggest names in the industry are doing everything in their power to revive the tablet format while strengthening their current position. The rise of hybrids is remarkable, and the same can be said for premium models like the iPad Pro and the Surface Book. Now Google wants to join the party with the new Pixel C, an original design from the company, built around Nvidia hardware and running Android 6.0.
A Changing Landscape
When the first numbers indicated that the tablet market was cooling off, manufacturers quickly responded with new models and variants to keep the flames alive. Tablets in general have become extremely competitive, and these days it's possible to find generic models with a fairly decent price-to-performance ratio. Another important detail is that many companies decided to bring their flagship devices into the hybrid format, which definitely makes us think about a shared future for tablets and laptops. The latest example of this trend comes from Mountain View. In the past, Google relied on external manufacturers to sell its Nexus tablets, but this time we have the Pixel C, developed by the same team responsible for creating the Chromebooks belonging to that same family.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/iYxXmIOaf8wPixel C Specifications
The Pixel C features a 10.2-inch screen with a resolution of 2,560 by 1,800 pixels, giving a pixel density of 308 ppi. The only two storage options are 32 and 64 gigabytes, while its SoC is an Nvidia Tegra X1, equipped with a video module based on the Maxwell architecture. With 3 GB of LPDDR4 RAM, the Pixel C doesn't need any immediate upgrades, and it also includes two cameras (8 and 2 megapixels), four microphones (so that nothing escapes Google Now), a USB Type-C port, stereo speakers, and the whole array of connectivity options and sensors. The Bluetooth keyboard shown in the presentation is an optional accessory, with magnetic attachment and a solid key travel.
Software Troubles
Unfortunately, the Pixel C has some sharp edges as a first-generation product, but those edges aren't in the hardware—they're in the software. The specialist press tends to hold varied opinions, but this time it agrees that Android 6.0 is the worst thing that could happen to hardware of this level. The fact that it only shows one app at a time and lacks split-screen multitasking is a hard blow to its productivity potential, and that's not all: the vast majority of apps, even those tied to Google's official services, lack any optimization to make the most of the screen size or resolution. Of course, Android 6.0 should eliminate these inconveniences with future updates (as an official Google device, they'll arrive almost immediately), but the bigger conflict is one of identity, so perhaps it would have been a better idea to put Chrome OS inside. Price? $499, plus $149 for the keyboard.
