The Google Pixel C Review
by Brandon Chester & Joshua Ho on January 25, 2016 8:00 AM ESTFinal Words
Ultimately, the Pixel C ends up being a strange mix of things that may have worked together in a much more cohesive manner had it shipped with Chrome OS like it was clearly intended to. Unfortunately, Android just doesn’t provide an acceptable tablet experience, and Google’s own applications are some of the biggest offenders. Before discussing that, it is worth going over the Pixel C’s hardware, as Google did a great job executing many of those aspects.
The Pixel C’s construction is solid. The build quality is superb, and it fits in well with the existing Chromebook Pixel. I definitely think the body is too heavy though, and the keyboard is far too heavy. I don’t think building tablet keyboards out of aluminum is the right way to go, even though it makes them feel very sturdy and fits well with an aluminum chassis. The mass ends up being too high compared to fabric and polymer keyboard covers, and keeping down the mass of the total package is essential to making a tablet highly portable.
As for the hardware, the first thing to talk about is the SoC. Tegra X1 is very fast on both the CPU and GPU sides, and as far as Android tablets go it offers the best graphics performance that you can get. The display on the Pixel C is also very good, with accurate color rendering and a high brightness as well as deep blacks. The greyscale accuracy could use some work, and Google needs to improve on hiding their digitizer and cutting down reflections in general, but for the most part it’s a very good panel.
Battery life on the Pixel C appears to be very good. It topped the charts in our web browsing, video playback, and BaseMark OS II battery tests. However software problems prevent me from investigating how long the battery lasts in a GPU-bound workload and a mixed workload, but for anything that primarily taxes the CPU or display it appears that the Pixel C provides best-in-class battery life.
Why does this UI show the exact same amount of info as the UI on a 4.5" phone?
Unfortunately, once you start looking at some of the other aspects of hardware and software, the problems with the Pixel C start appearing in great numbers. I’ve said this time and time again, but Android simply doesn’t offer a compelling tablet experience in any regard. With the Pixel C in particular you get a plethora of stability issues and bugs as well. Connectivity issues with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth impact the usability of the keyboard, and the entire software experience is simply unfinished. I can’t use it for very long without encountering touch input issues, freezes, and complete OS crashes. I really don't know how Pixel C shipped with the software in the state that it’s in, and it's just not acceptable. The fact that Josh also received a sample and encountered the same issues that I have confirms that they’re not specific to a single unit, and any single one of the major issues that we’ve noticed should have been enough to delay the Pixel C’s launch.
By this point I think people should know what they’re getting into when buying an Android tablet as far as the application situation goes, but the Pixel C’s problems go far deeper than that. I have been told that Google plans to issue an update that fixes the connectivity problems, touch input issues, and stability. Google has shipped me with a new unit that runs a pre-release version of this update, and Josh will be receiving his soon as well. Once that occurs, I'll be taking another look at it. That being said, the amount of time it has taken to address such show stopping bugs has been far longer than I would have expected, and if I was someone who purchased it I wouldn't be happy at all with the current situation.
At the very least, I think existing buyers should be given some public timeline of when Google plans to issue the much needed bug fixing updates. In its current state, I honestly can’t give the Pixel C any sort of recommendation, even to the biggest fans of Google products. Its software needs a lot of work, and I hope that Google's upcoming patch fixes the major problems. The Pixel C may improve with future updates, but for now it's best to hold off and see how things change going forward.
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valentin-835 - Monday, January 25, 2016 - link
The tablet has issues. You kind of get what you pay for. I mean, it's half the price of an IPad Pro. And less than half that of a Surface.The biggest drawback however is the lack of an advanced graphics API like Metal or DX12. Without that, they are dead in the water. I heard Google is pushing hard to get Vulkan released. Both drivers and specification should be out soon.
styleruk - Monday, January 25, 2016 - link
Hmm, there seems to be an awful lot of points about a Google tablet or android tablet not being much more than a big phone. I have to disagree. I use the N9 for business and pleasure. I often type out reports on the N9 at airports, watch movies, read mags, books and play occasional games. I've had both android and apple phones both have good and bad points, currently on apple phone, but at work there are 2 iPad tablets I could use if I wanted, but they are simply too restricted to my needs. For me, the N5 + Google's more open approach is far more efficient. Up to now, I've had no problem with lack of multi task... to fill in my diary and read an email is simply to switch...its no biggie. If I want more I wait until I'm in front of a PC at work or home.I also like the way everything Google works together well.
Regarding this device, I'm on the cusp of upgrading my N9, but quite why I can't see yet. Until I actually pick it up and try it, I'm not ordering it, as the last upgrade was from the N7(2013), to N9, and whilst bigger, it's not really faster. On paper, the pixel C is not much faster than the N9!
The jury is still out...but stop saying that android tablets are just big phones, I have the choice and I don't agree at all.
tuxRoller - Monday, January 25, 2016 - link
Just looking at the benchmarks, your not judging this device fairly.The nexus 9 had a processor that was basically designed for benchmarking and nothing else. It just falls on its face when the code becomes branchy. Iow, benchmarks were an unusually poor indicator of typical performance.
That aside, the pixel is performs pretty much exactly where you'd expect it to perform given its CPU: between the nexus 5x and the 6p FOR MOST TESTS.
Iow, no surprises.
I'd also like to point out that the weight is only an issue if you have some physical issues, or are just used to very light tablets. I received the pixel c for Xmas and have had no issues transitioning to it from the 2013 nexus 7. My gf even noted when she first picked it up that "this isn't very heavy" (she'd read the reviews which complained about its weight).
I certainly have issues with it (it often doesn't respond to touches, sometimes the interface becomes so slow I have to force a restart) but it's still an awfully good TABLET for the price.
c4v3man - Monday, January 25, 2016 - link
I gave up on waiting for a return to sanely priced android tablets and went with a Dell Venue 11 Pro 7140. Like most non-apple products they don't hold their value particularly well, so I was able to score a Core 5M71 256GB SSD version with the keyboard for under $600. While heavier than initially anticipated, I get excellent battery life (13+ hours real world display use with the keyboard battery), and an extremely snappy tablet that even handles light Adobe Lightroom usage. That and it works on a lap, unlike a Surface, and is serviceable (good luck replacing the battery/ssd in your surface). Remix OS works on it as well if I need to get my android fix, and will likely get better with more development. I guess I don't see the point of using a more limited OS on a $500+ device... If you're going for productivity and charging a premium, give me a full experience. If it's a limited experience, it better come with a "limited" price.Jerch - Monday, January 25, 2016 - link
Always sad to see the Nexus 7 (2013) omitted from display lists, since even though it is now firmly outdated, it had a great screen that would still be at the top of some of these tests -- notably max brightness. It's the perfect beach tablet. Cheap, durable, and BRIGHT.EludiumQ36 - Monday, January 25, 2016 - link
I have a 32GB Pixel C and take it from a regular user as opposed to a professional reviewer/critic - it's a very good tablet. I use it as a true tablet sans keyboard which mitigates much of the complaining. It features a beautiful and very responsive display (utilizing Android 6.0.1). It was my perfect choice because (1) the Nexus 10 is no longer available, (2) it's far less expensive than the 10-in Samsung tablets (which are stuck on KitKat), and (3) it's basically a Nexus with first-in-line upgrades. Having said that, there is a highly reported problem of Wifi performance degradation - I experience a 60% hit but still get 26Mbps to it, so... - but they'll issue a fix for that soon enough. I highly recommend it if you count yourself as a "regular" user.R. Hunt - Tuesday, January 26, 2016 - link
Granted, Samsung is not great with updates. That out of the way, even last year's Tab S is been on Lollipop for months. And how is this less expensive than say, the Tab S2?Jumangi - Monday, January 25, 2016 - link
Google just doesn't care about making Android a good experience on larger tablets. Until,they do we will get half baked products like this and the iPad will continue to be the standard.McChen - Tuesday, January 26, 2016 - link
One thing that wasn't mentioned in the review is that the Pixel C supports faster charging (12V @ 2A, 24W) via USB PD using a charger such as the Pixel laptop charger. I have one and indeed the tablet charges very fast with it. I believe one of the Google engineers said it charges 0 to 100 in about 2.5 hours, compared to just over 4 hours in this review with the standard 15W charger. Would be interesting to see a charging time test with a USB PD charger.Jumangi - Tuesday, January 26, 2016 - link
They used the charger the device comes with as they should.