#PIXEL SLATE ANDROID#
#PIXEL SLATE PRO#
#PIXEL SLATE SOFTWARE#

SoftwareДЄny hardware problems I encountered paled in comparison to the software issues I found. For $199, I'd expect more attention to detail. Samsung's Galaxy Book had the same issue, and while it isn't happening to me too often, it sure is annoying when it does. The other main issue is that the keyboard can flex if you put too much pressure on the palm rests, and you can even accidentally activate a click if it flexes too much. I've used a few other devices with similar keyboard folios, and the extra width of the folio design means it's hard to balance properly on your lap (people with shorter legs will probably have an even harder time getting comfortable). Unfortunately, that typing experience fell apart when I used the Slate away from my desk. The backlit keys have decent travel, certainly more than the iPad Pro's Smart Keyboard Folio, and it took little time to adjust to the circular design. The keyboard itself is far more comfortable than I expected, given its thin profile. The Pixel Slate Keyboard uses powerful magnets to hold the tablet in place those same magnets let you adjust the tablet's angle to basically any position you want. Having some kind of keyboard is all but necessary: Chrome OS has been tweaked to work better with touchscreens, but it's definitely more useful with a traditional input device. Just like Microsoft and Apple, Google is selling an optional keyboard to go along with the Pixel Slate. Google asks you to set it up during the initial boot process, and I found it as fast and reliable as the fingerprint sensor on the Pixel 3 or the iPhone 8. The power button also hides a fingerprint sensor, which makes unlocking the Pixel Slate a breeze. The blue-gray color scheme is tasteful and understated. Other than the display, there's not much to note about the Pixel Slate's appearance.

#PIXEL SLATE ANDROID#

Unfortunately, the same isn't always true when you add Android apps to the equation, something I'll cover in more detail later. It's not as responsive as the iPad Pro, but it's generally solid. For the most part, it succeeds: Swiping through websites in Chrome or notes, lists and conversations in web apps like Todoist, Keep and Slack all works fine. Since Google sells the Pixel Slate without a keyboard, the touchscreen also needs to be smooth and responsive. Combined with some extremely powerful and clear front-firing speakers, the Pixel Slate is one of the best tablets out there for Netflix binges. Sure, the bezels are larger than those on the iPad Pro, but they're smaller than those found on most other tablets (and significantly smaller than those around the Pixelbook's screen).

#PIXEL SLATE PRO#

The 12.3-inch, 3,000 x 2,000 display is extremely bright and more pixel-dense than the Surface Pro or iPad Pro. The screen is naturally the most important part of a tablet, and the Pixel Slate delivers without qualification. No, it's not as impressively engineered as the new iPad Pro (Apple's 12.9-inch tablet is smaller than the Pixel Slate in every respect), but it's still an impressive piece of hardware. Even though it's a 1.6-pound device, it feels lighter and is easier to hold than I would have expected. And despite the powerful internals (Intel's latest Y-series Core i5 processor, 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM), the Slate is thin and relatively light. It's by far the largest tablet Google has built, with a 12.3-inch screen.

The Pixel Slate makes a good first impression.

Pixel slate