The Google Pixel C Review
by Brandon Chester & Joshua Ho on January 25, 2016 8:00 AM ESTJosh's Thoughts
While I haven’t been deeply involved in the review of the Pixel C, I also happened to receive the Pixel C tablet for evaluation. My initial impressions of the device were relatively positive as the keyboard docking mechanism is relatively smart and novel, although not perfect. The use of a magnetic flap which rotates with a high amount of tension to keep the tablet upright is a very smart way to avoid including a kickstand, but it definitely takes a bit of time to get used to the actions required to separate the tablet and keyboard, flip the tablet to the right orientation, and connect it. The design and construction of the device are also quite competitive with the best tablets on the market.
Unfortunately, pretty much any praise I have for the Pixel C ends once you look past its physical aspects. As soon as I attempted to do some initial setup using the keyboard accessory, the experience completely fell apart due to contention by other communication on the 2.4GHz frequency space. A casual scan of the networks in the area shows a pretty significant number of SSIDs from neighboring apartments, and while it isn’t quite at the level of a convention center, I had a significant number of connectivity issues that still haven’t gone away after multiple days. This manifests as either the keyboard not registering at all despite showing up as connected, repeated key strokes, or significant input latency on the order of multiple seconds.
In addition to these issues, the Pixel C tablet also seems to be have some significant touch screen latency and registration issues. It felt like I needed to use multiple taps to get anything to register, and even when it registers there can be a shocking amount of latency before anything happens. This really shouldn’t be happening on anything remotely high-end in 2016, so this alone makes me reluctant to even consider recommending it to anyone.
Even when one puts these concerning issues aside, there's no way to ignore how the software really holds back this tablet. In terms of usability, this is arguably somehow below the iPad Air 2 in practicality, as pretty much every app is just a larger version of the phone application without much in the way of proper utilization of the larger display size. There’s also no multi-window functionality, which is shocking when you consider how Samsung, LG, and numerous other OEMs have implemented some form of this functionality for years at this point. Even Apple’s iOS, which started out with basically no ability to adapt to varying aspect ratios, display sizes, and pixel densities, has decent multi-window functionality working at this point. It’s deeply concerning that Google has taken so long to implement functionality that clearly has demand given how many OEMs have implemented it in their Android skins, especially given that Android was designed from the ground up to support multiple device resolutions and sizes.
Overall, I’m not even sure this measures up to the iPad Air 2 which is well over a year old by this point. I cannot in good conscience recommend anyone buy this tablet until the touch screen issues and generally poor performance has been resolved, and even then that recommendation would be to a limited group of people solely interested in a touch-only Android tablet.
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testbug00 - Tuesday, January 26, 2016 - link
Turns them off right at boot.Kepe - Monday, January 25, 2016 - link
Oh man, I've been looking for a new (Android) tablet for a while now to replace my HP Touchpad from 2012 (running Marshmallow, btw). I haven't found a single device that has a decent, modern SOC, resolution of 1920x1080 or higher and a decent price tag.Google really needs to step its game up if it wants to stay relevant in the tablet market. Android needs better tablet features and apps that take advantage of the screen real estate. Device manufacturers clearly aren't very interested in making decent Android tablets at the moment, and app developers aren't very interested in making their apps tablet-friendly.
thestryker - Monday, January 25, 2016 - link
I was in much the same boat as I really don't see the point in smaller tablets... I have a phone with a 5" screen, if I'm reaching for a different device it had better offer some screen real estate. I ended up stumbling across the LG G PAD II 10.1 (V940N) and was shocked that nobody seemed to be talking about it at all, including LG who makes it.It's definitely not the fastest available, but it cost $300 (I got one as soon as I found a retailer with it) for a 1920x1200 display, Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974), 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. The build quality is rather sturdy for something that inexpensive, battery life is solid and I really haven't had any issues with it. LG's software isn't very intrusive, and they have a very good multitasking setup (though quite limited in what it works with) that has worked very well the few times I've used it.
This type of device is exactly what I wish was talked about more, because I feel like that's the sweet spot which can be available with google via android. Things like this definitely aren't on the radar for tech news, and obviously not even the companies who make them unfortunately.
5th element - Monday, January 25, 2016 - link
I'm in the same boat, I'm still on a nexus 7 2013 and want a worthy replacement. It seems like a good SoC with a great screen in wide-screen is hard to come by 😑deppman - Friday, January 29, 2016 - link
The Shield tablet is already far superior to the Nexus 7 2013 in almost every respect, with 2-4x with performance in some cases, runs Android 6 and has neat Nvidia extras like gforce now, mini hdmi out, and a very usable sdcard. Check out how it performs in these charts. And its $199.The rumored upcoming x1 version (March?) should be even more capable, but that is still just a rumor.
Teknobug - Monday, January 25, 2016 - link
ugh no thankszeeBomb - Monday, January 25, 2016 - link
Don't to need to even read... This is disappointing!Pjotr - Monday, January 25, 2016 - link
And how hard is it to start selling the Pixel C in Sweden and the other Nordic countries!? I don't want the keyboard, just a Google tablet. I can't order Nexus 9 anymore, it's been discontinued... so Google has no tablet on offer!deppman - Friday, January 29, 2016 - link
When you go to the play store, click on "view all tablets" and you should find the nexus 9 there.I own one, and it is sublime: an excellent display, fast, sturdy, and very comfortable to hold. I much prefer the soft-touch back to my all-metal tablet (a tf701t). You can get one there or from many retailers for less than an iPad mini.
If you wish to play games though, the best tablet IMO is still the shield tablet.
thelongdivider - Monday, January 25, 2016 - link
I don't understand why android manufacturers don't focus more on storage. One of the biggest revolutions for me in the computer space was going from a HDD to an SSD, and yet android continues to use some of the lowest quality flash they can find. Responsiveness won't improve by going from 4 to 8 cores and using the same terrible flash...