Google has confirmed that they are working on a new tablet device that they intend to launch sometime next year. Google made the announcement at its developer conference where it announced the new Pixel series of smartphones as well as AR headsets. Temporarily named Pixel tablet, little information is available about the upcoming tablet, however, other than Rick Osterloh, senior vice president of devices and services, the tablet will be powered by the same Tensor chipset that powers the latest Pixel phones.
However, apart from everything else, the company’s move to launch a new tablet is significant, as it’s been years since Google last launched a tablet. The company actually made it fairly clear that it was leaving the tablet segment, instead choosing to focus on the computing hardware on Chromebook devices as well as Chrome and Android on the software side.
Luckily for tablet fans, Google has had a change of heart and adopted a more complete two-pronged strategy to return to the segment. So, while the hardware team is working on actual tablet devices, there’s probably a more important work to be done on making Android suitable for operation on larger screen devices.
The launch of Android 12L can be considered a first step in this direction, while Rick Osterloh, senior vice president of devices and services, also said that Android 13 is also being carried forward. This includes an updated taskbar that comes with an app drawer that allows two apps to be kept side by side.
Tristan Upstill, VP of engineering on the Android team, meanwhile said that they’ve already partnered with third-party app developers to make their apps suited for operation on large screen devices such as tablets or foldable devices. As The Verge reports, companies such as TikTok, Zoom and Facebook have said they have started working on a new app optimized to work on tablet devices. Google, on its part, is also working on its own apps, including Google Maps, Google Messages, YouTube Music, and the like.
All these points of good times ahead for the Android tablet segment which is a good thing after years of neglect that it has suffered so far. It will be interesting to see how the Pixel tablet fares in real life.
With a keen interest in technology, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in the world of technology and gadgets. This includes smartphone or tablet devices, but also extends to AI and self-propelled automobiles, the latter being my latest craze. Apart from writing, I enjoy watching videos, reading, listening to music or experimenting with different recipes. Motion picture is another aspect that I am very interested in and may be making a film sometime in the future.
