Pixel Tablet Review: Is Google Back?!

Pixel Tablet Review: Is Google Back?!


Pixel Tablet Review: Is Google Back?!

Google re-joins the tablet market with a clever trick.

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Intro Track: Jordyn Edmonds https://lnk.to/jordynedmonds
Playlist of MKBHD Intro music: https://goo.gl/B3AWV5

Tablet provided by Google for review.

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Content

1.199 -> thank you
3.36 -> hey what's up I'm Kim BFC here okay I'm
5.759 -> gonna make myself sound really old here
7.62 -> just for a second but about 10 years ago
11.54 -> there was a vibrant ecosystem of a ton
15.12 -> of different tablets there's all kinds
16.32 -> of tablets there is like iPads versus
18.359 -> Android tablets all these fights going
20.16 -> on there were small screen tablets big
22.439 -> screen tablets and all the Android
23.82 -> tablets were sort of anchored by
26.16 -> Google's family of Nexus tablets so we
28.8 -> had the Smash Hit Nexus 7 and the cult
31.92 -> classic Nexus 10 but then Google kind of
35.46 -> got a little bit lost with Android
36.66 -> tablets and Chrome OS tablets a little
38.82 -> bit in there for a bit and they made a
40.559 -> few bad ones in a row and then they just
43.26 -> gave up
44.64 -> like they literally just gave up stopped
47.52 -> making tablets but something else that's
48.78 -> picked up a whole bunch of steam since
50.16 -> then is a new product category Smart
52.98 -> Home displays so Google bought nest and
55.559 -> we've seen this Nest Hub and the nest
57.48 -> Hub Max came out and this is a growing
59.399 -> category every single month so at some
61.62 -> point during all of this Google probably
63.239 -> thought wait a second we're making all
66 -> these Smart Home displays and what is a
68.04 -> smart home display it's basically just a
70.08 -> cheap tablet
71.58 -> so what if we just made a cheap tablet
74.659 -> that could turn into a smart home
77.939 -> display
79.2 -> and so that's how we got this this is
81.659 -> the pixel tablet so I've been using this
83.939 -> tablet for a few weeks now and look it's
87.299 -> not amazing or super premium or high-end
90.06 -> or exciting uh and neither are any of
93.119 -> the other Smart Home displays but I do
95.7 -> want to talk about it it's also a little
96.96 -> bit interesting and underrated and how
98.939 -> important this tablet could be to other
101.88 -> tablets so let's talk about it so as a
104.4 -> tablet this thing is pretty simple I
106.32 -> really like the soft touch finish on the
107.88 -> back this is the porcelain color and it
110.04 -> hides fingerprints really really well
111.299 -> feels solid in the hand it's actually
113.22 -> made of metal but you honestly could
114.899 -> never tell just holding it thanks to
116.82 -> this coating but it's very basic single
119.04 -> camera on the back corner volume buttons
121.14 -> with the inset fingerprint reader that
122.7 -> doubles as a power button up at the top
124.32 -> there's a set of speakers on the left
126.119 -> and right that sounds okay but really
128.94 -> doesn't have much bass at all and the
131.58 -> USBC Port is on the left hand side it's
133.56 -> not too big it's not too heavy and on
135.239 -> the front is an 11 inch 2560 by 1600
138.239 -> 60hz LCD display with bezels just thin
141.72 -> enough to hold it and not be a problem
143.099 -> and the display does not get
145.26 -> particularly bright and it's not the
146.879 -> fastest thing in the world but it is
148.2 -> running the same tensor G2 chip as the
150.9 -> pixel 7s but I just I I cannot call this
154.2 -> tablet fast not sure if it's under
156.84 -> clocked or what's happening here but it
158.94 -> behaves very much like a basic mid-range
162.48 -> Android tablet and that's because that's
165.06 -> basically what it is this is a 499
167.94 -> dollar tablet and it comes with the dock
170.519 -> in the box that you can buy separately
173.099 -> if you want to if you want an additional
174.54 -> one for 130 so I would say
179.16 -> tame your expectations here like it's it
182.34 -> works and it's it does what it's
184.68 -> supposed to but I would just I would say
186.72 -> tame your expectations so this speaker
189.18 -> dock comes on the box which I think is
191.28 -> super cool and it's actually the only
193.08 -> way to charge the tablet that comes in
195.06 -> the box there is no USBC Cable in here
197.159 -> it's just the dock which has a barrel
199.739 -> connector that connects to the wall and
201.9 -> the dock is basically it's just a
203.4 -> speaker in a box really with some pins
205.68 -> super simple the pins kind of retract a
208.8 -> little bit when you touch them which is
210 -> cool but basically the premise is
211.62 -> there's some magnets in the dock as you
214.08 -> can see here with this magnet paper and
216.12 -> there's some magnets in the tablet which
218.099 -> you can also see here with this magnet
219.78 -> paper and so when you line those up and
221.58 -> connect the dock to the tablet it just
223.5 -> pops right onto those pins and the pins
225.54 -> carry both power and data so now it's
227.64 -> charging and the audio quality should be
229.92 -> improved because it's now using the
231.36 -> speaker in the dock it works pretty darn
233.94 -> quickly too thankfully it's not
235.44 -> Bluetooth pairing or anything it's just
237.18 -> literally a physical connection for the
239.22 -> the data so it's just like connecting
240.959 -> like an iPad to a keyboard it just works
243.36 -> right away it holds it at a pretty good
244.86 -> angle too it's basically straight up and
246.84 -> down it looks just like a nest home hub
248.819 -> when you put it on the dock like that
251.099 -> magnets are pretty strong you can pop it
252.959 -> off with one hand if you want to
254.939 -> I'm just uh I'm just glad that this
257.699 -> comes in the box and isn't an additional
260.639 -> hundred thirty dollars first of all the
262.68 -> charging speed is up to 15 watts which
265.74 -> is
266.58 -> not that fast it's a tablet battery so
268.68 -> it's pretty big takes a while to charge
270.9 -> um and then the the speaker in here is
272.96 -> not that great I would say it feels on
276.78 -> par with like the nest Hub Mini at Best
280.02 -> so the speakers in the tablet are uh
282.78 -> like I said they're fine but they really
284.52 -> lack a lot of bass and then when you add
286.259 -> it to the speaker dock you're getting
288.36 -> like 20 to 30 more volume but it's
290.699 -> mostly just adding the bass back but
293.16 -> it's not super loud here I'll give you
295.199 -> a little sample
298.08 -> not a ton of bass right
302.81 -> [Music]
304.62 -> all low end
306.84 -> and it's quick too it's immediate as
308.82 -> soon as I pop it off back to the
310.62 -> speakers but it's not the it's not the
313.02 -> loudest thing in the world honestly it's
314.4 -> I guess it's fine this dock cannot be
316.74 -> used as a Bluetooth speaker or anything
319.259 -> else when a tablet isn't attached but
321.24 -> honestly I don't think you'd want to
322.62 -> it's basically just sits there and is
325.02 -> waiting for the tablet to be attached to
326.52 -> it what's funny though is it does help
328.8 -> with the battery so the battery life on
330.539 -> this tablet was decent for me but it did
332.82 -> have particularly weak standby life for
334.74 -> some reason it would drop like 10
335.94 -> overnight sometimes which could be a bug
338.34 -> either way the idea is when you're done
340.199 -> using it you can pop it onto the dock
342.3 -> and it is literally just a smart speaker
345.479 -> now if you really wanted to you could
347.28 -> buy another one and put it in a
350.039 -> different room and then when it's in the
352.08 -> kitchen per se it'll show you certain
353.52 -> things when it's in the bedroom it'll
355.5 -> show you other things but it is a
357.96 -> hundred and thirty dollars per Dock and
359.94 -> I'm now starting to think that that's
361.979 -> the more overpriced thing among this
364.259 -> bundle so just know what you're getting
366.539 -> into that but I think really what I
367.979 -> realized is this docking feature is cool
369.84 -> but it's not the most interesting part
372.66 -> of this tablet for me it's the
374.16 -> headlining feature because it's the cool
376.199 -> thing that it does but as I was talking
379.02 -> about there was this whole tablet
381.18 -> ecosystem like 10 years ago and seeing
384.539 -> what Google does with the software for
386.639 -> this tablet could give us a window into
388.979 -> how Google can anchor Android tablets
392.16 -> again going forward so I was really
394.139 -> curious about the software so here's
395.46 -> what I found number one I really like
397.8 -> the new dock the software dock so the
400.8 -> home button at the bottom you can swipe
402.419 -> up at any time and all the same gestures
404.28 -> work like normal but there's a new
406.02 -> gesture where you just grab the Bottom
408.36 -> bar and swipe up just a little bit and
410.699 -> that brings up a dock which is the exact
412.979 -> same order of whatever apps you had in
414.72 -> your home screen dock it also shows up
416.22 -> in multitasking and then from there you
418.56 -> can switch to a recent app or initiate
420.72 -> multitasking by dragging something to
422.88 -> half the screen to get two things going
424.919 -> at once it works great it simple I use
428.58 -> it all the time for going back and forth
430.259 -> between two things quickly so I really
432.24 -> like that then number two multi-user
435.36 -> support is so sick and the iPad should
438.419 -> seriously be taking notes on this so
440.099 -> anytime you want either from the
441.84 -> notification tray or from the lock
443.4 -> screen or anywhere that you see that
444.72 -> profile picture for your account you can
446.819 -> switch users when you set up a new user
450.06 -> at first you basically go through the
451.86 -> whole setup process as if you're setting
453.84 -> up a brand new tablet and then that
456.24 -> second person can sign into their apps
458.52 -> and set up their home screen and their
460.44 -> widgets and everything and you can
462.06 -> switch back and forth by logging into
464.16 -> each one literally just with your
465.72 -> fingerprint it's exactly as simple as it
467.94 -> should be it could also totally be like
469.56 -> one person's personal profile and
471.78 -> business profile so you never get the
473.94 -> two confused or I don't know just a
475.919 -> profile for your burner accounts
477.36 -> whatever you want to make it the point
479.16 -> is tablets are often used at home and by
482.759 -> families that have more than one person
484.56 -> so the ability to just like log into
486.78 -> your kids account and not have them
488.88 -> worry about accidentally buying thirty
491.46 -> thousand dollars of I don't know
492.66 -> Minecraft credits or something it's a
494.819 -> pretty obviously great feature and then
496.44 -> number three of course Hub mode this is
497.94 -> the mode that sort of pops up when you
499.74 -> get it onto the dock uh that they had to
502.319 -> build of course because they turned this
503.819 -> into a Smart Hub I kind of end up just
506.039 -> using it like a Smart Hub a lot of the
508.5 -> time that it's on this dock I don't
509.94 -> touch it as much I just use voice
511.319 -> controls which all work and then I have
514.08 -> a clock here you can do like a photo
516.779 -> gallery type thing or rotating pieces of
519.12 -> Art and of course the smart home display
521.099 -> controls are available at the bottom
523.38 -> corner but it just kind of lives like
525.779 -> that I have it in the kitchen most of
527.16 -> the time
528 -> nice oh this is also fun fact the the
530.399 -> first tablet that has Chromecast built
532.74 -> in as a Target so you can use it as a
534.72 -> Target to Chromecast things to it
537.839 -> I would never do that but you can do
540.42 -> that so the number four last but not
542.16 -> least is the app situation this is
545.58 -> something we talk a lot about with
546.72 -> Android tablets and there was a lot of
548.459 -> promise with this version and with this
549.899 -> tablet that there would be a whole bunch
551.279 -> of new tablet optimized apps and that
554.58 -> that experience would be meaningfully
556.5 -> different
558.3 -> and it's not well I guess you could say
560.88 -> it's a little bit true so Google can say
563.04 -> that their own apps are now all
565.56 -> optimized and take full advantage of the
567.54 -> larger display so you know you can be
569.519 -> confident anytime you open a Google app
571.5 -> on this Google tablet it's going to look
573.899 -> great and that's awesome but for all of
575.82 -> the rest of the apps that make the world
577.26 -> go round all the third-party apps all
579.36 -> the stuff that you probably are thinking
581.1 -> about when getting a tablet that you're
582.66 -> going to use there is no meaningful
585.12 -> difference in that situation right now
587.399 -> so a lot of them are still uh
591 -> big phone apps I would say Instagram is
593.279 -> still a giant phone app Twitter is still
595.92 -> a giant phone app Tesla is still a giant
598.68 -> phone app Expedia stole a giant phone
600.839 -> app cash app is still not optimized
603.48 -> neither is Tick Tock it still kind of
605.519 -> looks weird SoundCloud is like half
608.459 -> optimized I guess Pocket Casts is also
611.399 -> halfway there looking like a giant phone
613.2 -> app overdrop weather is still a blown up
615.66 -> phone app and the list goes on and on
617.88 -> they have this thing where you can uh
619.62 -> double tap the space to the left or to
621.3 -> the right to move it over to the side to
623.22 -> make it more one-handable but I mean
625.44 -> yeah that's it it's just a big phone app
627.6 -> the app ecosystem for Android tablets is
629.82 -> still to this day even now that this has
631.8 -> arrived it's still the biggest weakness
633.959 -> of an Android tablet and the incentive
636.06 -> it's got to be on developers of course
638.58 -> but most of their incentive is to be as
641.519 -> simple and streamlined as possible and
643.14 -> if you can just make one iPad app that
645.36 -> covers all iPads you'll do it but if you
648.12 -> can make one tablet app
650.04 -> it won't necessarily work on all Android
651.959 -> tablets so the incentive is still kind
653.88 -> of tough well actually there is one app
655.92 -> that Google can say that they got
658.44 -> optimized before the iPad and that's the
663 -> calculator
663.839 -> they did do a full scientific not
666.959 -> scientific but a full-on calculator
668.399 -> there's a history over here to the side
670.079 -> there's the readout which you can change
671.579 -> the size of a light and dark theme all
674.22 -> this stuff it's
675.72 -> pretty good
677.16 -> your move Apple some other little random
678.899 -> things that didn't quite fit into the
680.22 -> full review uh when it's docked on the
682.2 -> charger it default charges up to 90 not
684.899 -> 100 but I do think that's smart IT
686.7 -> preserves the battery life overall
688.14 -> there's also no headphone jack on this
690.12 -> tablet just so you know and then in case
691.74 -> you're wondering the camera quality is
694.14 -> very much in line with the rest of this
695.82 -> tablet's Hardware pretty mid it's good
698.76 -> enough for basic video calls and
700.68 -> document scanning but nobody's shooting
702.24 -> any movies on this thing at the end of
704.279 -> the day though my conclusion is this
707.16 -> two in one devices are typically they're
710.399 -> funny because they're they're always
711.42 -> like slightly worse at one of the things
713.339 -> that they're trying to be this is a two
716.519 -> in one device it's a tablet and it's a
719.459 -> smart home hub so I was wondering as I
721.74 -> got it like what is it going to be
723.12 -> compromised at is it worse at one or
724.68 -> worse at the other turns out it's a
726.899 -> decent cheap Android tablet
729.54 -> and it's a slightly below average
731.899 -> speaker dock home hub
734.82 -> uh but that's fine I think those two
737.459 -> things are close enough together and are
739.74 -> simple enough that it makes sense at
741.54 -> least I would personally love a super
744.899 -> high-end version of this I'd be so down
747.06 -> for like a 120 hertz super fast nice
750.3 -> premium tablet that also could dock
752.459 -> whenever I want on a nice speaker and
754.98 -> become like this high-end like Boombox
757.079 -> thing but I also know that that would be
759.24 -> super expensive and would have a much
761.82 -> much smaller Target demographic and
763.74 -> probably wouldn't sell enough to exist
765.06 -> well so
766.56 -> this is the thing that makes sense and I
768.72 -> think it may actually sell a decent
770.459 -> amount and we'll see how it does until
773.459 -> the next one thanks for watching
776.04 -> catch in the next one peace
779.279 -> foreign
780.69 -> [Music]

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTf7AMVOoDY