Google has seemingly made its last Pixel-branded tablet, with the company vowing to focus on its Chrome OS laptops moving forward.
In a statement on Thursday, a Google spokesperson said the company will continue to support the Pixel Slate, likely by pushing out the latest security updates. However, it appears the company’s forays in the tablet arena are over.
The company even confirmed that it is scrapping plans to launch two previously unannounced tablets, with the team working on the products shifted to the Pixelbook hardware or other “confidential projects.”
Related: Best tablets to buy in 2019
The spokesperson said: “Chrome OS has grown in popularity across a broad range of form factors and we’ll continue to work with our ecosystem of partners on laptops and tablets. For Google’s first-party hardware efforts, we’ll be focusing on Chrome OS laptops and will continue to support Pixel Slate.”
That means Google is going to focus on more of the high-end Pixelbook models moving forward, designed to challenge some of the more premium Chromebooks on the market.
The Pixel Slate arrived last year as a 2-in-1 convertible tablet with a 12.3-inch 3000 x 2000 LCD display offering up to 400 nits of brightness.
Starting at £549 for the basic model, users could customise up to 256GB of storage with 16GB of RAM and Intel i7 processors for a whopping £1,549. The full-sized keyboard folio was also deemed by our reviewer to be “better than the iPad Pro’s in nearly every way.”
In awarding the Pixel Slate 3.5 stars out of 5, our own Alastair Stevenson wrote: “The iPad Pro remains a better choice for creatives on the hunt for a mobile touch-up or sketch station. For desktop users who want a device that’s primarily a laptop, the Surface’s use of full-fat Windows makes it a better choice.
“The Pixel Slate is the best Chrome OS tablet ever made, but the operating system needs work if Google wants it to be an iPad Pro or Surface Pro killer.”
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
