Wrap Up: Who is it for?

There is no uncertainty that the Pixel C is a groovy piece of hardware. Google'southward first in-house tablet includes a great choice of loftier-end parts, encased in a cute metal trunk. Information technology's not the lightest 10-inch tablet, but the choice to use premium, attractive materials is a good one.

Part of that fantabulous hardware bundle is the display. With a pixel density exceeding 300 PPI and an aspect ratio close to 4:3, information technology makes for a great viewing feel. Reading text is a particular joy, but it's also well suited to display imagery thanks to fantastic color functioning. The aspect ratio isn't every bit expert for watching video, although it does brand the tablet easier to hold and operate in both orientations.

With more than four million pixels to power, we liked the selection of Nvidia's Tegra X1. The GPU in this SoC is the fastest I've seen in an ARM device, absolutely crushing both benchmarks and games. The CPU is also decently powerful, making the Pixel C suitable for pretty much any chore y'all throw at it. Like other recent Google devices, mandatory encryption hurts NAND speeds, just that'due south the just real knock on the tablet's performance.

Where the Pixel C falls downward is its employ every bit a laptop. Google is clearly marketing this tablet every bit suitable for productivity-focused tasks, simply the keyboard cover accessory is not upwardly to scratch in whatsoever style. The method for attaching the keyboard to the tablet is awkward and unnecessarily circuitous, and the layout of the keyboard is far from perfect. The lack of a trackpad or standard Android navigation keys hurts its usability besides, especially compared to the excellent Surface Blazon Cover.

But it's not simply the keyboard that makes the Pixel C generally unsuitable for whatever real work. Android itself is simply not set up upward for quick multi-tasking, it doesn't support split-screen apps or windows, meaning you lot can only run ane app at a time, which is hugely restrictive when yous're attempting to work on the tablet.

If y'all don't program on using the Pixel C for productivity though, you'll exist happy to know there's a great choice of games in the Play Shop, and the hardware in this tablet is well suited to play them. Other apps aren't as solid on Android for tablets, although the situation seems to exist improving always then slowly.

The price of the Google Pixel C – $499 for the 32 GB variant, and $599 for 64 GB – is on-par with competing tablets. Both the iPad Air 2 and Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 sell for the same cost, and each device has its own strengths.

Personally I would opt for the iPad Air 2 considering its better software offer, though the Pixel C is withal one of the all-time Android tablets available. The Pixel C keyboard retails for a ludicrous $149 and there is no universe in which I'd ever recommend purchasing information technology for that price.

The Pixel C is simply not a decent productivity device, despite what Google would like to think or tell y'all, and then I'd only recommend purchasing it as a standalone device, and only if you lot're content with what Android has to offer from an app, game, and tablet entertainment standpoint.

Pros: Splendid tablet hardware, from the powerful Tegra X1 SoC, to the loftier-resolution display and metallic-clad torso.

Cons: Android is not well suited to productivity. The optional keyboard accessory is awkward, expensive, and generally terrible.