Google's Pixel Slate: A 2-in-1 Hybrid Device with Enormous Potential and Drawbacks

Google has two very successful operating systems, Android and Chrome OS, and over the past couple of years, Google has been bringing these two platforms together more and more. Now, finally, there's a device that sits at the center of these two worlds - the Pixel Slate, a 2-in-1 laptop tablet hybrid that is a direct competitor with something like the Surface Pro 6 or the iPad Pro. This device is done in a way that really only Google can do, and it comes with some really enormous potential, but also a couple of important drawbacks.

The display on the Pixel Slate is by far the thing that Google has knocked out of the park more than anything else. It's a 3x2 ratio, 3000x2000 resolution screen that's bright, beautiful, and has great colors. It's perfect for watching movies or working on in a brightly lit office. Another important thing to note about the chassis is the size and port selection. The size is almost identical to the Surface Pro 6 in many ways - it has about the same footprint on a table, the same bezel, and almost the same thickness and weight. However, the main difference is the port selection. Instead of an old-school USB A and a mini display port and a headphone jack, you get just two USB-C ports with no headphone jack.

This is going to be a deal killer for many people who really need that on a laptop replacement, but it's in line with the Surface Pro 6, which has better port selection and a headphone jack. The Pixel Slate is a Chrome OS device, meaning basically it's a Chromebook except in tablet form. This means you're limited to what you can do in a Chrome browser, although Google has brought over some Android features that make this more touch-friendly. There's a new app launcher that comes up right when you take the keyboard off, which feels a lot like Android or iOS. You also have split-screen mode, so you can pull up two different applications at the same time, and notifications that have basically been ported straight over from Android.

The Google Play Store comes with this device, meaning you can install your favorite Android apps and games right here and use them as a tablet. However, when you try to use them in full-screen mode with a cursor, you run into some bugs and things that don't fit on the Chromebook platform. Clearly, Google has a ton of work ahead of it to do in terms of optimizing this software for touch and bringing these Android apps over in a way that makes sense in the Chrome OS platform.

Despite these limitations, the Pixel Slate is a device that feels like an actual tablet you could use in your daily life. It's a hybrid device that can function as both a laptop and a tablet, making it a great option for someone who wants one device that can do everything they need. The question then becomes, who is the Pixel Slate really for? Is it better than the iPad Pro or the Surface Pro 6?

If you're looking for a device that's primarily used as a tablet, we highly recommend the iPad Pro. This has the best app selection, great performance, and is basically the same price as the Pixel Slate. If you're looking for something that's more of a serious laptop replacement, we recommend the Surface Pro 6. It has better port selection with a headphone jack, great multitasking performance, and is compatible with pretty much any application you need.

However, the Pixel Slate fills a gap between these two devices - it's a device that can do everything the iPad Pro can do, but also serves as a more affordable laptop option when used in laptop mode. It's this unique combination of features that makes the Pixel Slate such an interesting device. While it may not be perfect, and there are certainly some drawbacks to consider, we think it's definitely worth checking out for anyone who wants a hybrid device that can do it all.

Ultimately, the Pixel Slate is a great option for someone who always dreamed of having one device that could do everything they need - whether that's browsing the web, working on documents, or streaming movies. It may not be perfect, but it's a bold step in the right direction, and we're excited to see where Google takes this technology next.

One thing that's clear is that the Pixel Slate fits side-by-side with both the iPad Pro and the Surface Pro 6, making it easy for anyone to compare these devices. This makes it an even more interesting device, especially for those who are looking for a hybrid option that can do everything they need. So, if you're in the market for a new device that can do it all, we think the Pixel Slate is definitely worth considering.

As we look at our recommendations and compare these devices side-by-side, it's clear that each one has its own strengths and weaknesses. The iPad Pro is great for those who want a tablet with excellent performance and app selection, while the Surface Pro 6 is better suited for those who need a laptop that can also serve as a tablet. However, the Pixel Slate fills a gap in this market - it's a device that can do everything the other two devices can do, but at an affordable price point.

So, if you had to choose between the iPad Pro, the Surface Pro 6, and the Pixel Slate, which one would you choose? Let us know in the comments. Check out Digital Transcom for our full review of the Pixel Slate and see what we think about this innovative hybrid device.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enGoogle has two very successful operating systems Android and Chrome OS and over the past couple years Google has been bringing these two platforms together more and more and now finally there's a device that sits at the center of these two worlds the pixel slate this is a 2 in 1 laptop tablet hybrid that is a direct competitor with something like the surface pro 6 or the iPad pro but it's been done in a way that really only Google can do right now and that comes with some really enormous potential but also a couple of important drawbacks the pixel sight is a very expensive - and one that means you're gonna get some very high quality premium hardware that comes with it but first off we got to talk about the display this is the center of the device and it's by far the thing that Google has knocked out of the park more than anything else it's a three by two 3,000 by 2,000 resolution screen that's bright beautiful and has great colors and it's perfect for watching movies or working on in a brightly lit office couple other important things to note about the chassis before we move on the size of it and the port selection the size is almost identical to the surface pro six in a lot of ways it has about the same footprint on a table and it also has the same bezel and almost the same thickness and weight so it's pretty similar if you need a comparison there however the main difference is the port selection rather than an old-school USB a and a mini display port and a headphone jack here you get just two USB C ports no headphone jack and that's gonna be a deal killer for a lot of people who really need that on a laptop replacement but it is in line with the iPad pro except again you get that extra USB C port which gives you some added convenience also along the chassis are two forward-firing stereo speakers that sound really really great compared to something like the surface pro 6 you're gonna get way more bass response and a much more vibrant audio profile and it's really something that surprised us when we first started using the pixel 8 it's really only competitor in this space is of course the iPad pro which comes with its four speaker setup the pixels light does not come with a keyboard bundled in and that's really unfortunate because the one they made for this device is excellent we'll be the first ones to admit that we didn't love the circular design of the key caps on you picks us like keyboard at first but after we've used it for hours and hours and hours during this review we've really grew to love the feel of this keyboard in fact we like it more than even the surface pro six keyboard and definitely more than the iPad pro keyboard as an added benefit you also get a really solid touchpad that's much larger than the one you get on the surface pro six the back of the folio keyboard folds up and magnetized it to the back of the pixel slate which allows you to tilt the screen back and forth to whatever angle you want in a way that emulates what it feels like to use an actual hinge on a laptop now I bet you're wondering whether or not the pick of slate can actually replace a laptop or a high-end Chromebook in terms of performance and the answer is completely yes though it does depend on what configuration you buy configurations start as low as $600 but what you get with that is an Intel Celeron processor and that is it gonna be a slow clunky CPU that's not gonna be something we recommend for someone who's actually trying to replace a laptop however this core i5 version which is comes with a it's a Y Series processor in the whiskey Lake series from Intel it starts at $1000 and this is a very capable and efficient processor it's a 5 watt processor allows the system to be completely fanless while still giving you pretty decent multitasking performance in terms of comparisons you can't really compare to something like an iPad pro or a surface pro 6 both of which are gonna get you much better day-to-day performance the most easy competitor is probably the MacBook Air the new one actually and it has a similar Y serious processor and got pretty similar scores in Geekbench and in speedometer another great benefit of that y series processor is in battery life the pixel slate is of course a Chrome OS device which is already known for getting great battery life but when you bring those two things together you get a system that can last for a really long time in fact it's much better than what you're gonna get on a surface pro 6 in our testing we got over 10 and a half hours in light web browsing upwards of 14 hours in video loop and you can SPECT around six or seven in a heavier workload situation those are really fantastic numbers and that's significantly more battery life than you're gonna get on something like a certain 406 or honestly a lot of laptops that cost around this much like the MacBook Air now the pixel slate is a Chrome OS device meaning basically it's a Chromebook except in tablet form that means you're limited to what you can do in a Chrome browser though you might be surprised by how much I can do these days with the availability of all these web apps however in this newest version of Chrome OS google has brought over a lot of basically Android features that make this a more touch friendly experience for example you have a new app launcher that comes up right when you take the keyboard off that feels a lot like Android or iOS you also have split-screen mode so you can pull up two different applications at the same time and you also have notifications that have basically been ported straight over from Android and all these things allow the system to actually function as a tablet in some ways it's kind of the bare bones of what you could call a tablet mode but again compared to something like what Microsoft has done in Windows 10 it's pretty noteworthy and feels like an actual tablet you could use in your daily life now the Google Play Store comes with this device meaning you can install at your favorite Android apps and games right here and use them as a tablet however we really suggest that you stick to just the tablet because when you try to use them with a cursor and in the full-screen mode you run into some bugs and some things that really just do not fit on the Chromebook platform clearly Google has a ton of work ahead of it to do in terms of optimizing this software for touch and also bringing these Android apps over in a way that makes sense in the criminalists platform however Google has laid the foundation for what could eventually be the ultimate two-in-one experience in a way that the iPad and the surface pro 6 both don't have now you've probably noticed I've mentioned the iPad pro and the surface pro 6 quite a bit in this view and that's again because the pixel slate fits side-by-side with those devices so if you're looking at getting one of these devices one of these two ones which one is right for you here's a couple of guidelines as to how you can make this decision if you're looking for a device that's primarily used as a tablet we highly recommend the iPad pro this is something that has the best app selection as great performance and it's basically the same price as the pixel slate if you're looking for something that's more of a serious laptop replacement we recommend the surface pro six not only because it has better port selection as a headphone jack it also has great multitasking performance and it's compatible with pretty much any application you're gonna need so who then is the pixel slate really for it cuz it's a better laptop than the iPad pro then it's a better tablet than the surface pro six so really it's just for that person who's always dreamt of having one device that's equally good at being both things and that alone is a pretty impressive achievement so what do you think of the pixel slate if you had to choose between the iPad pro pixel slate and surface pro 6 which would you choose as your two one let us know in the comments and check out digital Transcom for our full review of the pixels\n"