Google Pixel C
Google's latest tablet is its greatest yet. In fact, the Pixel C hands down is the most powerful Android tablet I've ever used. The real question here isn't if the Pixel C is the best tablet, it's "who cares"?
The Pixel C, while an intriguing first effort at making a convertible, is simply tough to recommend. It's well built, but Google has made some surprising usability mistakes with the Pixel C, and Android just isn't cut out for productivity as much as Chrome OS or Windows yet.
When the Pixel C was released it was one of the only Android tablets worth buying. In 2017, for better or worse this remains the case. Despite being over a year old there haven’t been any other decent premium Android tablets to hit the market.
Luckily the Pixel C has aged fairly well thanks to the arrival of Android Nougat. Nougat’s new features massively improve Android’s user experience on a tablet. The split-window mode and improved notifications are particular highlights.
The Pixel C was launched a little half-heartedly by Google during its Nexus 5Xand 6P event back in October 2015, and since then it's seen some serious rivals show up in the form of the iPad Pro 9.7 and Samsung Galaxy Tab S3.
It may be starting to show its age, but a recent software update to Android 7 Nougat has managed to keep it relevant.
Since this addition We have been grabbing and using the Pixel C instead of a laptop when travelling. The improved battery life and the fact that I can have two apps opens is particularly useful for work. On regular occasions I’ve found myself writing articles at press events in Google Docs, while chatting with the Trusted team in Hangouts using the split-screen mode.
The Pixel C is very light and thin, to the extent that I briefly carried it tucked inside the dust jacket of a large hardback book. The two halves are held together by magnets, and to put it into laptop mode you pull the tablet and keyboard apart, flip the tablet over and let the magnets click it into position. The hinge can then be rotated to hold the screen upright.
The hinge is pretty firm and the magnet on the back is strong, so despite its small size, it feels quite solid. It rests comfortably on your knees for typing, and because the footprint is small, it fits easily onto one of the tiny little tables on the backs of plane and train seats, spaces that a laptop or a Surface would be too large to fill.
Google has consistently released great Android tablets in partnership with the likes of Asus and HTC, but this is the first time the company has built its own model from the ground up. From the looks of it, Google should've been designing its own tablets all along.
The Pixel C has an anodized aluminum frame that looks as luxe as any Apple tablet. It's fashionably matte, smooth and solid. In order to allow space for a large battery, the Pixel C is thicker and heavier than the iPad Air 2, though the difference isn't dramatic to the naked eye. I found both similarly comfortable to hold for long periods of time.
It aims to be “the ultimate Android tablet” for both work and play. Out of the box we can confirm it’s a big step up compared to the HTC-made Nexus 9 – Google’s other tablet. It’s got a minimalist metal frame, with the only real design feature being a light line along part of its back.
The tablet’s 517g weight means it’s fairly comfortable to hold and suitably satchel-friendly, although its front edges are a little sharper than we’d like.
The Pixel C comes loaded with a 10.2-inch display. This makes it one of the smaller convertible options on the market. The iPad Pro features a giant 12.9-inch screen, while the Surface Pro 4 packs a similarly large 12.3-inch display.
Meanwhile, with a resolution of 2560 x 1800 the Pixel C has a pixel density of 308ppi, comfortably outperforming the Air 2 (264ppi) and Nexus 9 (281ppi) and making for a crystal-clear display – it's called the Pixel for a reason.
When it comes to overall screen quality, the Pixel C is excellent. The 2560 x 1800 resolution gives it an impressive 308ppi (pixels per inch) density. This ensures icons and text on the screen are universally sharp and never difficult to read, despite the tablet’s compact dimensions.
The screen has also been enhanced with Low Temperature PolySilicon technology. "What the hell does that mean?" I hear you cry. Well, it's good news for the battery, as it helps to keep the display's power consumption down.
Holding the Pixel C alongside the Air 2 it's clear that Google's tablet has the brighter screen. It's fantastic.
It all means you get an excellent on-screen experience with the Pixel C, with pin-sharp clarity and bright colours. The iPad Air 2's display seriously impressed, but the Pixel C's is even better.
The Pixel C is, on paper, a powerhouse Android tablet. the Pixel C sports Nvidia's Tegra X1 processor, a 64-bit, quad-core chip which delivers a healthy blast of power into Google's aluminium-clad slate. That's joined by 3GB of RAM, which means the Pixel C has more power under the hood than the iPad Air 2 and Nexus 9, although the octa-core Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 and Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet technically have greater capacity for higher loads.
The Pixel C benchmarks amazingly well. I couldn’t get AnTuTu to run on it – which is likely due to its use of the atypical Nvidia CPU. But on the more general. Geekbench benchmark test the Pixel C ran in with a 4,188 multi-core score. On the GPU-focused 3DMark Icestorm Unlimited and Slingshot tests the Pixel C finished with 41,400 and 2,856 scores respectively. These scores are some of the highest I’ve seen on an Android tablet.
By comparison, the Nexus 9 scored 3,562 points on Geekbench. Samsung’s flagship Galaxy Tab S2 also fails to match the Pixel C’s performance, scoring 3,562 on Geekbench and 19,306 on Icestorm Unlimited. With real-world use the Pixel C’s impressive benchmarks have generally rung true. The Pixel C opens applications in milliseconds and I’m yet to find a 3D game or task it can’t run without stutter or chug. All in all you’re not going to find better performance on any other Android tablet at the moment.
Google claims the Pixel C can go for over 10 hours on a single charge, although obviously that depends very much on your usage.Android tablets generally have poorer battery lives than iPads, due to Android OS’s more intensive system demands. So I was surprised to find the Pixel C came close to matching the iPad Air 2’s stellar battery life. The Pixel C’s 34.2Wh battery dealt with demanding tasks, such as Netflix video streaming and gaming, better than we’d hoped.
Streaming video on Netflix and BBC iPlayer the tablet lost between 9-12% of its battery per hour. By Android tablet standards that’s pretty good. I’ve tested tablets in the past that lose as much as 15-20% of their charge per hour when faced with the same test.
Playing demanding 3D games like Warhammer Quest, Shadow Run and Riptide GP2 the Pixel C discharged 15-18% of its battery, which again is well above average. Competing Android tablets I’ve test have lost as much as 20-25% of their charge when running games. MPU 1 (Desktop / Tablet)
With everyday use the tablet’s battery life is also excellent. Even with heavy use it always managed to last three full days with charge to spare.
Heavy use included regularly checking my social media feeds, browsing the web, playing an hour of games, streaming music to my Chromecast while cooking dinner and watching a couple of episodes of Jessica Jones before bed.
There's an 8MP camera on the back of the tablet, but if the Pixel C was a phone, we'd be deeply unimpressed by the quality of its photos. Images look grainy, even in good light, and with no HDR mode, have a tendency to blow out the highlights in brighter scenes.
Google's camera app is basic at best, with hardly any manual controls, so if looking like a pillock while trying to take photos with a tablet wasn't enough, the Pixel's performance here might be enough to put you off doing so altogether
.
The important thing here is that its 2MP front-facing camera performs very well in Hangouts and Skype calls. As you'd expect from a Google device, Hangouts are particularly well supported. But it isn’t going set the selfie world on fire..
Google Pixel C Speakers
The Google Pixel C features twin stereo speakers that run along its left and right short sides. Watching content directly in front of the Pixel C the speakers are reasonably good by tablet standards.
Sound quality from the built-in stereo speakers is acceptable at a moderate level, but don't expect resonating bass or crystal-clear lyrics.
At high volumes the Pixel C's speakers are tinny, almost uncomfortably so – there's more depth in the iPad Air 2, but that's only got a single driver. If you're looking for room-filling sound you'll need to plug in an external speaker.
At launch you could pick up the Google Pixel C in two storage sizes: 32GB and 64GB.
The 32GB version set you back £399, (US$499, around AU$680), while the larger storage size is available for £479 (US$599, around AU$820). Now though, only the pricier 64GB model remains, but it's still comfortably cheaper than the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 (£700, $930, AU$1,499) and (admittedly newer) iPad Pro 9.7 (£549, $599, AU$849).
If you want to make the most of the Google Pixel C you'll want to pick up the Pixel C keyboard as well, which will set you back a further £73 ($99, around AU$160) - which is much cheaper than the initial £119 ($149) launch price.
You're looking at a total spend of £552 ($698, around $940) for the 64GB Google Pixel C if you want the complete package, which is still cheaper than rivals (when you include their keyboards as well).
Should you buy the Google Pixel C?
Google's first tablet
Google's latest tablet is its greatest yet. In fact, the Pixel C hands down is the most powerful Android tablet I've ever used. The real question here isn't if the Pixel C is the best tablet, it's "who cares"?
The Pixel C, while an intriguing first effort at making a convertible, is simply tough to recommend. It's well built, but Google has made some surprising usability mistakes with the Pixel C, and Android just isn't cut out for productivity as much as Chrome OS or Windows yet.
When the Pixel C was released it was one of the only Android tablets worth buying. In 2017, for better or worse this remains the case. Despite being over a year old there haven’t been any other decent premium Android tablets to hit the market.
Luckily the Pixel C has aged fairly well thanks to the arrival of Android Nougat. Nougat’s new features massively improve Android’s user experience on a tablet. The split-window mode and improved notifications are particular highlights.
The Pixel C was launched a little half-heartedly by Google during its Nexus 5Xand 6P event back in October 2015, and since then it's seen some serious rivals show up in the form of the iPad Pro 9.7 and Samsung Galaxy Tab S3.
It may be starting to show its age, but a recent software update to Android 7 Nougat has managed to keep it relevant.
Since this addition We have been grabbing and using the Pixel C instead of a laptop when travelling. The improved battery life and the fact that I can have two apps opens is particularly useful for work. On regular occasions I’ve found myself writing articles at press events in Google Docs, while chatting with the Trusted team in Hangouts using the split-screen mode.
The Pixel C is very light and thin, to the extent that I briefly carried it tucked inside the dust jacket of a large hardback book. The two halves are held together by magnets, and to put it into laptop mode you pull the tablet and keyboard apart, flip the tablet over and let the magnets click it into position. The hinge can then be rotated to hold the screen upright.
The hinge is pretty firm and the magnet on the back is strong, so despite its small size, it feels quite solid. It rests comfortably on your knees for typing, and because the footprint is small, it fits easily onto one of the tiny little tables on the backs of plane and train seats, spaces that a laptop or a Surface would be too large to fill.
Google Pixel C Design
Google has consistently released great Android tablets in partnership with the likes of Asus and HTC, but this is the first time the company has built its own model from the ground up. From the looks of it, Google should've been designing its own tablets all along.
The Pixel C has an anodized aluminum frame that looks as luxe as any Apple tablet. It's fashionably matte, smooth and solid. In order to allow space for a large battery, the Pixel C is thicker and heavier than the iPad Air 2, though the difference isn't dramatic to the naked eye. I found both similarly comfortable to hold for long periods of time.
It aims to be “the ultimate Android tablet” for both work and play. Out of the box we can confirm it’s a big step up compared to the HTC-made Nexus 9 – Google’s other tablet. It’s got a minimalist metal frame, with the only real design feature being a light line along part of its back.
The tablet’s 517g weight means it’s fairly comfortable to hold and suitably satchel-friendly, although its front edges are a little sharper than we’d like.
Google Pixel C Display
Meanwhile, with a resolution of 2560 x 1800 the Pixel C has a pixel density of 308ppi, comfortably outperforming the Air 2 (264ppi) and Nexus 9 (281ppi) and making for a crystal-clear display – it's called the Pixel for a reason.
When it comes to overall screen quality, the Pixel C is excellent. The 2560 x 1800 resolution gives it an impressive 308ppi (pixels per inch) density. This ensures icons and text on the screen are universally sharp and never difficult to read, despite the tablet’s compact dimensions.
The screen has also been enhanced with Low Temperature PolySilicon technology. "What the hell does that mean?" I hear you cry. Well, it's good news for the battery, as it helps to keep the display's power consumption down.
Holding the Pixel C alongside the Air 2 it's clear that Google's tablet has the brighter screen. It's fantastic.
It all means you get an excellent on-screen experience with the Pixel C, with pin-sharp clarity and bright colours. The iPad Air 2's display seriously impressed, but the Pixel C's is even better.
Google Pixel C OS
Having Android running the show gives the Pixel C its major advantage over Chromebooks. There are reasons to like ChromeOS - namely its speed and simplicity - but Android’s choice of apps is years ahead.
The Google Pixel C launched with Android 6.0 Marshmallow - and operating system it was specifically designed to run, meaning it's optimized for Google's software without the interference of an outside manufacturer.
That means nothing gets in the way of the pure Android experience, and the Pixel C is first in line for future Android updates, ensuring you're always up to date.
Since launch, the Pixel C has seen a number of Android updates and the most recent build to hit the tablet was Android 7.1.2. That means it's bang up to date with the latest version of Android Nougat.
Our main concern is that most of the apps on Android haven’t been optimised for the physical keyboard. Games don’t let you use the arrow keys to control characters and many productivity apps still require touch input to work properly, which is an annoyance.Hopefully this will change in the near future, as Google’s confirmed it’s working with developers to MPU 1 (Desktop / Tablet) add keyboard controls to Android apps.
Used as a pure tablet, Android Marshmallow is as sweet as ever on the Pixel. The OS launched earlier this year alongside Google’s Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P smartphones and comes loaded with a wealth of innovative new features.
The best of these are enhanced privacy controls, a “Doze” battery-saving feature and improved Google Now functionality. The privacy controls let you manage which apps can access your data, while Doze enables the Pixel C to detect when the tablet is inactive and slowing down, or shutting off unnecessary features to reduce power consumption. The upgraded Google Now functionality means you’re able to access it within applications by holding down the home button.
Google’s also designed the Pixel C to take advantage of Marshmallow’s improved Now voice command features and has loaded the tablet with four far-field microphones.
The tech is similar to that seen on the Amazon Echo speaker and should radically improve the Pixel C’s voice-recognition powers. Utter the magic words “OK Google” and the Pixel C will be at your beck and call, even if it’s on the other side of the room. Having tried to showcase Google Now’s charms while filming a video in a noisy office, We can confirm the microphones work a treat.
The Google Pixel C launched with Android 6.0 Marshmallow - and operating system it was specifically designed to run, meaning it's optimized for Google's software without the interference of an outside manufacturer.
That means nothing gets in the way of the pure Android experience, and the Pixel C is first in line for future Android updates, ensuring you're always up to date.
Since launch, the Pixel C has seen a number of Android updates and the most recent build to hit the tablet was Android 7.1.2. That means it's bang up to date with the latest version of Android Nougat.
Our main concern is that most of the apps on Android haven’t been optimised for the physical keyboard. Games don’t let you use the arrow keys to control characters and many productivity apps still require touch input to work properly, which is an annoyance.Hopefully this will change in the near future, as Google’s confirmed it’s working with developers to MPU 1 (Desktop / Tablet) add keyboard controls to Android apps.
Used as a pure tablet, Android Marshmallow is as sweet as ever on the Pixel. The OS launched earlier this year alongside Google’s Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P smartphones and comes loaded with a wealth of innovative new features.
The best of these are enhanced privacy controls, a “Doze” battery-saving feature and improved Google Now functionality. The privacy controls let you manage which apps can access your data, while Doze enables the Pixel C to detect when the tablet is inactive and slowing down, or shutting off unnecessary features to reduce power consumption. The upgraded Google Now functionality means you’re able to access it within applications by holding down the home button.
Google’s also designed the Pixel C to take advantage of Marshmallow’s improved Now voice command features and has loaded the tablet with four far-field microphones.
The tech is similar to that seen on the Amazon Echo speaker and should radically improve the Pixel C’s voice-recognition powers. Utter the magic words “OK Google” and the Pixel C will be at your beck and call, even if it’s on the other side of the room. Having tried to showcase Google Now’s charms while filming a video in a noisy office, We can confirm the microphones work a treat.
Google Pixel C Performance
The Pixel C is, on paper, a powerhouse Android tablet. the Pixel C sports Nvidia's Tegra X1 processor, a 64-bit, quad-core chip which delivers a healthy blast of power into Google's aluminium-clad slate. That's joined by 3GB of RAM, which means the Pixel C has more power under the hood than the iPad Air 2 and Nexus 9, although the octa-core Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 and Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet technically have greater capacity for higher loads.
The Pixel C benchmarks amazingly well. I couldn’t get AnTuTu to run on it – which is likely due to its use of the atypical Nvidia CPU. But on the more general. Geekbench benchmark test the Pixel C ran in with a 4,188 multi-core score. On the GPU-focused 3DMark Icestorm Unlimited and Slingshot tests the Pixel C finished with 41,400 and 2,856 scores respectively. These scores are some of the highest I’ve seen on an Android tablet.
By comparison, the Nexus 9 scored 3,562 points on Geekbench. Samsung’s flagship Galaxy Tab S2 also fails to match the Pixel C’s performance, scoring 3,562 on Geekbench and 19,306 on Icestorm Unlimited. With real-world use the Pixel C’s impressive benchmarks have generally rung true. The Pixel C opens applications in milliseconds and I’m yet to find a 3D game or task it can’t run without stutter or chug. All in all you’re not going to find better performance on any other Android tablet at the moment.
Google Pixel C Battery
Streaming video on Netflix and BBC iPlayer the tablet lost between 9-12% of its battery per hour. By Android tablet standards that’s pretty good. I’ve tested tablets in the past that lose as much as 15-20% of their charge per hour when faced with the same test.
Playing demanding 3D games like Warhammer Quest, Shadow Run and Riptide GP2 the Pixel C discharged 15-18% of its battery, which again is well above average. Competing Android tablets I’ve test have lost as much as 20-25% of their charge when running games. MPU 1 (Desktop / Tablet)
With everyday use the tablet’s battery life is also excellent. Even with heavy use it always managed to last three full days with charge to spare.
Heavy use included regularly checking my social media feeds, browsing the web, playing an hour of games, streaming music to my Chromecast while cooking dinner and watching a couple of episodes of Jessica Jones before bed.
Google Pixel C Camera
Google's camera app is basic at best, with hardly any manual controls, so if looking like a pillock while trying to take photos with a tablet wasn't enough, the Pixel's performance here might be enough to put you off doing so altogether
.
The important thing here is that its 2MP front-facing camera performs very well in Hangouts and Skype calls. As you'd expect from a Google device, Hangouts are particularly well supported. But it isn’t going set the selfie world on fire..
Google Pixel C Speakers
Sound quality from the built-in stereo speakers is acceptable at a moderate level, but don't expect resonating bass or crystal-clear lyrics.
At high volumes the Pixel C's speakers are tinny, almost uncomfortably so – there's more depth in the iPad Air 2, but that's only got a single driver. If you're looking for room-filling sound you'll need to plug in an external speaker.
We also didn’t notice any distortion or noise creep in when I cranked the speakers’ volume to maximum while playing classic punk and rock music. But things are improved when you plug in a set of headphones, however, with the Pixel C able to kick out decent audio.
Google Pixel C Price
At launch you could pick up the Google Pixel C in two storage sizes: 32GB and 64GB.
The 32GB version set you back £399, (US$499, around AU$680), while the larger storage size is available for £479 (US$599, around AU$820). Now though, only the pricier 64GB model remains, but it's still comfortably cheaper than the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 (£700, $930, AU$1,499) and (admittedly newer) iPad Pro 9.7 (£549, $599, AU$849).
If you want to make the most of the Google Pixel C you'll want to pick up the Pixel C keyboard as well, which will set you back a further £73 ($99, around AU$160) - which is much cheaper than the initial £119 ($149) launch price.
You're looking at a total spend of £552 ($698, around $940) for the 64GB Google Pixel C if you want the complete package, which is still cheaper than rivals (when you include their keyboards as well).
Should you buy the Google Pixel C?
The desire for an ultraportable laptop has been around for a long time. (Anyone remember netbooks?) The Pixel C will satisfy this need, but only for a select few. The Pixel C is a technical marvel that easily outclasses competing Android tablets when it comes to processing prowess and battery life. If you want a top-end Android tablet that can double as a small laptop, the Pixel C is the only option worth considering.
However, with pricing starting at £399 for the basic 32GB model and the keyboard costing a massive £119 extra, its perks come with a hefty upfront cost.
Considering the lack of applications that need the Pixel C’s raw muscle, there are better deals out there. The Nvidia Shield Tablet K1 costs a meagre £150 and is more than powerful enough to meet most people’s gaming and entertainment needs.
There are a few high-profile rivals for you to consider before splashing the cash on the Google Pixel C, and we've pulled them together below to help you make up your mind.
However, with pricing starting at £399 for the basic 32GB model and the keyboard costing a massive £119 extra, its perks come with a hefty upfront cost.
Considering the lack of applications that need the Pixel C’s raw muscle, there are better deals out there. The Nvidia Shield Tablet K1 costs a meagre £150 and is more than powerful enough to meet most people’s gaming and entertainment needs.
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