Google - Pixel Tablet - 11" Android Tablet - 256GB - WiFi - Hazel

Google’s attempt at making a 2-in-1 tablet and smart home hub have ultimately made a device that doesn’t really excel at either tasks.Android’s security gets in the way of this device acting as a multi-user hub in the same vein as a proper Nest device. This can be mitigated but it doesn’t stop the setup from feeling hacked together, with a distinct lack of synergy. Google Assistant often trips up on how to execute commands, trying to launch things using the Android side of the equation; which won’t work if the device is locked. This wouldn’t be a problem if Extended Unlock worked as intended. But like most Google software, it often doesn’t do as it’s told.Many decisions also impact its ability to function as a tablet. For example, the 4 apertures for the ... MoreGoogle’s attempt at making a 2-in-1 tablet and smart home hub have ultimately made a device that doesn’t really excel at either tasks.Android’s security gets in the way of this device acting as a multi-user hub in the same vein as a proper Nest device. This can be mitigated but it doesn’t stop the setup from feeling hacked together, with a distinct lack of synergy. Google Assistant often trips up on how to execute commands, trying to launch things using the Android side of the equation; which won’t work if the device is locked. This wouldn’t be a problem if Extended Unlock worked as intended. But like most Google software, it often doesn’t do as it’s told.Many decisions also impact its ability to function as a tablet. For example, the 4 apertures for the speakers are incredibly small, and positioned in such a way that they will always be blocked when holding the tablet in landscape. You can’t even enjoy them with the tablet docked, as they will be disabled in favour of the dock’s base-heavy speakers. A more sensible manufacturer might have used them for treble, since they’re there anyway.Many apps on Android simply aren’t optimized for tablets, and will run in a shrunk-down window unless manually forced to stretch out; a process that’s very hit-or-miss. This is a stark contrast to other tablet OSes who’s apps “just work”.The Tensor G2, while often “good enough” for most tasks, will randomly fumble. Leading to choppy video and long pauses while switching between apps. For people who are used to mid-range Android devices with middling performance, this won’t be much of a nuisance; but other Android tablets with this level of performance exist at much lower prices.It’s certainly not the worst piece of hardware, and it has a great look & feel. But it seems like Google can’t nail the software experience on Android tablets, never mind when they give themselves extra work by making a device pull double duty like this.

TLDR - If you’re looking for a premium Android tablet without any fluff/bare Android, you cannot really look anywhere else. Amazing media consumption device, but can stutter/suffer in some gaming scenarios.First impressions - feels great to hold, feels decently premium being glass and aluminum. The screen is bright enough for most use, and looks great. Battery life seems decent, while being a touch slow to charge.Screen - They used a great screen in the Pixel tablet, the 2560x1600 resolution is crazy sharp, and HDR content really pops. It gets bright enough for most use, but will be a bit low for outdoor use. I watched a couple episodes of a current video game based show, and it looks absolutely stunning for indoor video viewing. I will probably never even watch ... MoreTLDR - If you’re looking for a premium Android tablet without any fluff/bare Android, you cannot really look anywhere else. Amazing media consumption device, but can stutter/suffer in some gaming scenarios.First impressions - feels great to hold, feels decently premium being glass and aluminum. The screen is bright enough for most use, and looks great. Battery life seems decent, while being a touch slow to charge.Screen - They used a great screen in the Pixel tablet, the 2560x1600 resolution is crazy sharp, and HDR content really pops. It gets bright enough for most use, but will be a bit low for outdoor use. I watched a couple episodes of a current video game based show, and it looks absolutely stunning for indoor video viewing. I will probably never even watch small youtube videos on my phone with this thing nearby.Speakers - Usually I wouldn’t put a separate section for tablet speakers, but HOLY COW, I was REALLY surprised how good they sound. There is some actual depth to the sound, and it gets louder than some mid tier laptops I’ve used before. I’m not an audiophile by any measure, but I give the speakers an easy 10/10.Chassis - The glass seems very solid, and the whole unit has great fit and finish with an aluminum back.Battery - I ran a 4K60 youtube video that was over an hour at around 80% brightness, and the battery only dropped from approx 80% to 67%. I would expect an entire day's use with mixed multimedia and web browsing would leave you with about half battery or more depending on brightness used.Performance - The only lackluster part of this device is the overall performance. Main competing tablets in this category usually have similar amounts of memory, but usually faster to much faster processors. Most normal daily use won’t see any issue with the Google Tensor G2, but many games and switching tasks can bog down. Not the end of the world, just something to be aware of.Accessories - only including a USB-C cable and no brick is the norm, but should not be. I feel like including a small 15-20w USB-C brick shouldn’t be an issue for any electronics company.

OVERVIEW: I currently own two other tablets, both purchased from Best Buy over the past 3-years. One is an entry level economy device running Android 10 and used by my grandsons (3 & 7) in “kid-mode” when they are visiting and occasionally by myself. The other is a high-end unit running iOS-17 used by my wife and I primarily for FaceTiming with family members. Now this Google Pixel 11” tablet is quite the upgrade from our current Android unit. Plus, this new Pixel is also a competitive and a suitable replacement tablet for our IOS unit (minus the proprietary full FaceTime features). And I have found I am now gravitating to, and prefer to use, the Pixel for my daily “online time”.DISPLAY: The display is just stunning to watch 4k videos, daily internet surfing, ... MoreOVERVIEW: I currently own two other tablets, both purchased from Best Buy over the past 3-years. One is an entry level economy device running Android 10 and used by my grandsons (3 & 7) in “kid-mode” when they are visiting and occasionally by myself. The other is a high-end unit running iOS-17 used by my wife and I primarily for FaceTiming with family members. Now this Google Pixel 11” tablet is quite the upgrade from our current Android unit. Plus, this new Pixel is also a competitive and a suitable replacement tablet for our IOS unit (minus the proprietary full FaceTime features). And I have found I am now gravitating to, and prefer to use, the Pixel for my daily “online time”.DISPLAY: The display is just stunning to watch 4k videos, daily internet surfing, emailing tasks, picture taking, or when used for monitoring our outdoor security cameras. And I prefer the “Hazel” color primarily due to the screen’s black screen bezel verses the white bezel found on the “Porcelain” colored Pixel. But hey, that’s me.PROCESSOR: The Tensor G2 is one snappy processor chip that boots up quickly and it delivered excellent performance. For the past 5-days I have not had any issues with lagging speed or hanging up issues. Now I will admit, technically the G2 may not be at the top of the competitor’s benchmark heap, but for our use, it well fast enough.BATTERY & CHARGING: Can’t complain about battery life. I am able to use for the entire day without needing to stop and recharge. Although this did not include its own charger, I have so many of those around the house, that the included USB-C to USB-C cable is all that I needed. Note the speed to fully charge depends on the output wattage of your charger.SPEAKERS: The four side mounted speakers provide sufficient output for a tablet of this caliber and are somewhat musical, but “thin” sounding lacking any soundstage presence. Decent enough for watching videos or movies by yourself. But I get it, they are what they are, very small drivers that have a limited output range due to their diminutive size. I will note that when you are holding the tablet in landscape position, I found my hands would cover two of the four speakers. Probably why there are four, so however held, at least one, if not two, are not muffled.OUTDOOR SECURITY MONITORING: I presently own a hodge-podge of outdoor cameras from three different vendors. (Not the ideal setup; but it’s what I got.) One of those cameras is a Google Nest Home Wired Doorbell Version 2 and the best of the four I have outside. Using this Pixel tablet’s embedding “Home” app to view and/or continuously monitor our front porch is the primary reason for getting this tablet. And zero issues encountered at all, they are designed to work together, and effectively function as a single unit. My goal being, replacement of my other vendor’s cameras with Google’s Nest devices for one consolidated system.I do not own the dedicated Docking / Charging station that would add another layer of functionality, but may consider purchasing one in the foreseeable future when on sale. Until then, I am using an after-market folio stand that is sufficient for my use and a very cost-effective solution.INITIAL SETUP: Ok, this was not the quickest setup and was quite a lengthy process at over 3 hours (@ 300mbps internet) with all updates and downloading of required application from the Google Store. Appears every Android-14 default application required updates (53 of them if I recall). Also, I was able to setup two profiles, one for myself along with one from my wife.FINGER PRINT READER: I am not a fan of the small power-button type finger print readers and would prefer a larger area for scanning fingerprints. After another lengthy setup process, it does appear to function as designed. I must mention that the setup process feedback showed numerous errors when reading the areas required to establish the secure print detail. Although it was suggested to scan multiple finger tips, I’ll have to pass on that due to the amount of time it took to scan just one finger.SPLIT SCREEN: The ability to have dual displays, with varying scaling options, may well be a very useful feature for some. But other than playing around with split screens for this review, I’ll personally do not have a current use. However, it is nice to have options. I would rather have a feature and not need it, versus actually needing a feature and not having it…NO MICRO-SD: While the stock 128gb should be sufficient for now, I don’t agree with Google’s move to not include a MICRO-SD card slot, especially at a $400 price point. And I understand one should be able to use the single USB-C charging port as a temporary memory input/output with the correct USB adapter (SETUP / Connected Devices / Use USB For / File Transfer). One would think Google could have added a Micro-SD slot feature, versus customers paying for additional cloud storage if/when needed. Whatever…KIDS SPACE: I did encounter a major failure with trying to set up a Google Kids Space account. And after three attempts of a somewhat long and involved process, I finally gave up and removed not only three kids accounts, but I ended up disabling the Google Kids Space app entirely. (I’m done!)The problem I encounter was, after a Kids Space account was established, when I would want to change to that account, it displayed a normal “adult” profile and not a “kids” profile. I require my grandsons to have limited access to online material, age-appropriate sites, games, searches, etc. But it just was not happening. Every ICON for the default adult desktop was accessible, with the default bird in open wings graphic, and not an animated looking child display graphics.My background is one where I have retired from a career in the communications and computer business environment, including mainframe, 3270, desktop, laptops, tablets, and mobile phone. Over the years I have setup numerous systems and devices for myself, family members, and of course business customers. Nevertheless, I could not setup this Pixel for a “Kids Space” child’s profile. Something that should have been simple turned out to be a royal pain. Note I was able to setup a kid’s profile correctly on our older Android tablet without issues.The bottom line here is, I will have to continue to use our old Android-10 tablet for our grandsons when they visit. And since this Pixel tablet is actually a somewhat pricier device, in hindsight it will be better served as a dedicated adult only tablet.RATING: After 5-days of assorted use, the Google Pixel 11” tablet (GA06158-US) earned itself a solid 4-Star Rating primarily for its speed and wonderful looking display. If you are not intending to use for any children’s profiles, do not require a Micro-SD slot, or can pick up the Pixel on sale, then add another Star.