I dissed the Google Pixel Tablet at launch, but it’s aged well and is worth a new look

Way back in 2022, Google first teased the Google Pixel Tablet, an innovative device that aimed to mix an Android tablet with a smart display. The company finally launched the product in May 2023, and it was…well…underwhelming, to say the least. As a tablet, it was pretty mid, and as a smart display, it couldn’t even hold a candle to the Google Nest Hub Max, which at that point was already in its fourth year of existence.

When I got the device in for review, I’ll admit that I set it up, realized it was underbaked, and put it in storage only a few days after my Pixel Tablet vs. Nest Hub Max comparison article went live. I have barely thought about it since. In my mind, the device was DOA.

In a very un-Google turn of events, though, the company didn’t immediately abandon the Pixel Tablet after most reviewers gave it a tepid reception. In fact, over the past year, Google has given it plenty of love with new updates and features galore. Curious about these updates, I recently took mine out of storage and started using it again. And you know what? The Pixel Tablet is now a pretty good product, and I think it deserves a fresh look.

One of the most exciting aspects of the Pixel Tablet is that it includes a speaker dock. By magnetically snapping the tablet to this dock, it becomes useful in an idle state. Now, instead of going into a junk drawer or backpack, the tablet can be a smart display when you’re not actively using it for something. It was (and still is) a brilliant idea.

The problem at launch, though, was that it wasn’t a very good smart display. It didn’t have even half as many features as the Nest Hub Max and had weird idiosyncrasies like requiring you to unlock it to perform specific smart home commands.

Since then, however, Google has done great work improving these inadequacies. The issues I faced with smart home commands are gone, which is a relief. There are also new tricks the tablet can do when docked that make it more useful. For example, when you’re using the tablet as a smart photo display, there’s a new share button that allows you to send whatever photo is currently displayed to friends and family. This is a simple but supremely effective addition that allows you to be closer to those you care about by increasing your chances of interacting with them. This also brings the tablet closer to the Nest Hub Max, which supports this function through a voice command (“Hey Google, share this photo with [contact name]”).

Another cool new feature is the home panel screensaver, shown above. This gives you quick access to your most frequently used smart home devices, including camera feeds. It still has the annoying limitation of only supporting Google cameras when it comes to previews, but it at least gives people who have heavily invested in the Google smart home ecosystem something similar to a Home Assistant dashboard, finally.

In May this year, Google also finally fixed one of the most glaring smart display omissions in the tablet’s original rollout: the automatic display of your Nest doorbell camera feed. Now, when someone rings your doorbell, the camera feed automatically appears on the tablet, just like with Nest smart displays. It took way too long for Google to fix this, but at least it’s here now!

Granted, the Pixel Tablet is still not an adequate replacement for the Nest Hub Max — the lack of certain hardware simply prevents this from ever being the case. But it’s more useful than ever, and I’ve found myself using it for smart home functionality far more than I did during my original testing period in 2023.

Although the Pixel Tablet’s smart display features truly set it apart from mid-level iPads and inexpensive Android tablets, I understand that not everyone cares about this functionality. Some people just want a regular tablet, after all. That’s probably why, earlier this year, Google relaunched the Pixel Tablet with a new SKU that omits the speaker dock and drops the price by $100.

Along with this change in strategy, Google has also added new features to the tablet that make it work better as, well, a tablet. This is good because all the smart display features Google can think of won’t make a lick of a difference for folks who don’t use it for that purpose.

One terrific recent change in this realm is the ability to sync notification dismissal across your Pixel phone and Pixel Tablet. This fixes the annoying problem of cleaning out your notifications on your phone and then finding those same notifications you just cleaned out remaining on your tablet. With this feature active (you need to switch it on by going to Settings > Notifications > Dismiss notifications across Pixel devices), everything you dismiss on either device is reflected on the other, saving you a ton of time.

Another neat new feature is the ability to “throw” content from your Pixel phone to the Pixel Tablet just by bringing the devices close together. This could allow you to go out for a run while listening to music on your phone, come back home, and immediately move that music stream from your phone to your tablet without skipping a beat.

App Pairs are another small but notable new addition. This allows you to save two apps as a shortcut on your home screen. When you tap that icon, it will launch the two apps in a split-screen mode, saving you the hassle of needing to set this up each time.

Additionally, many of the most recent updates to Pixel phones are also available on the Pixel Tablet. This includes partial screen-sharing (so you don’t need to record your entire screen, just the app you’re in at the moment), Fast Pair device syncing (so your new tablet will know which Bluetooth gadgets you’ve connected to in the past), and audio switching (automatically moving a Bluetooth audio stream from one device to another).

Given that Pixel Drops land every quarter, there are still plenty of new tablet-focused features on the way, too!

While I will fully admit that I wrote off the Google Pixel Tablet in 2023, I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how good it’s become in 2024. It is now, in my opinion, actually worth buying. However, the price is still a bit of a problem.

With the speaker dock included, the Pixel Tablet has a list price of $499 — hardly a bargain. If you omit the speaker dock, it comes down to $399, which is a bit better. However, there are other tablets out there with similar specs and features for a similar price. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE ($449 at Amazon), for example, is pretty stellar for what you’ll pay for it. If you want to save even more, the Galaxy Tab A9 Plus ($219.99 at Amazon) isn’t too bad, either.

The good news is that Black Friday discounts are in full swing, and Google is temporarily slashing the prices for the Pixel Tablet. The Pixel Tablet with the included speaker dock ($499 at Amazon) has a much more palatable price, and the Pixel Tablet on its own ($399 at Amazon) is also a great deal now.

If you’re still not sold on the Pixel Tablet as a smart display, I highly recommend the Google Nest Hub Max ($229.99 at Best Buy). It is one of the few products that has literally changed my life. Ignore its age — it is still a banger.

Honestly, it’s really disappointing to know that Google had planned to ship a Pixel Tablet 2, but all signs point to it abandoning that project. It’s very possible that the company is exiting the tablet industry altogether, for the second time. If that ends up being true, it will be sad to know that the Pixel Tablet is a one-and-done thing. Still, the company has made the device much better over time, so if you can grab it at a discount, it’s a worthwhile purchase.