We’re still not sold on the tablet’s ability to handle daily productivity tasks, but that hasn’t stopped companies from trying to be the first to really crack the code. Microsoft has been trying it the last few years with their Surface tablets and Apple just got in the game with the iPad Pro. Now, it’s Google’s turn with the Pixel C, an Android tablet that’s rigged for work-centered duties.
Positioned as a premium tablet, the device is covered in a single-piece aluminum shell, with a polished finish and a heavyset frame that feels substantial in hand. It also has a square aspect ratio that makes it more suited to productivity tasks than a traditional rectangular profile.
The Google Pixel C has a 10.2-inch LTPS LCD display with 2560 x 1800 resolution and 500 nits of brightness that the company describes as “crisp, colorful, and bright.” Powering it is an Nvidia Tegra X1 with a Maxwell GPU and 3GB of RAM, ensuring it has enough chops to run any game or play most any content. It’s designed to work with an accompanying full-sized keyboard, where the tablet can dock using an integrated magnetic stand. When not in use, the same keyboard can dock onto the back of the tablet, giving it a little more thickness but retaining the same portable utility. Features includes dual cameras (8MP in the back and 2MP in the front), stereo speakers, up to 64GB of storage, a USB Type-C port, and the usual wireless connectivity options.
Available now, the Google Pixel C is priced at $499, with the keyboard retailing for an additional $149.