I used to hate the Pixel tablet, but now I love it

I don’t know if there’s ever been a more disappointing Pixel than the Google Pixel Tablet. I reviewed the Pixel tablet for another post in 2023, and at the time I called it “the worst Pixel I have ever used» – thanks to its poor specs, poor design choices, and complicated software.

I stopped using the Pixel tablet in December 2023, and for all of 2024 and most of 2025 it was boxed up and stored in my parents’ basement. But about a month ago, I decided to take out the Pixel tablet and put it back in my apartment. And… I love it.

To be clear, the Pixel Tablet remains an extremely flawed product. However, after using the Pixel tablet again, I’ve gained a new appreciation for it and don’t plan on putting it away anytime soon.

Before I put the Pixel tablet back in my kitchen, I was using an Amazon Echo Show 15. My use of the smart display is pretty simple, with my Echo Show primarily used for watching YouTube, setting timers, checking the weather, and controlling some smart lights. It was good for all that, but after a month of using the Pixel tablet again, I have to admit that the way I use a smart display is better on the Pixel.

Media consumption is a perfect example. I often watch YouTube or YouTube TV in the kitchen while I cook dinner, and both are frustrating to use on the Echo Show. There’s a dedicated YouTube TV app on the Echo, but you have to use an on-screen touchpad to navigate it, which is never frustrating. And to watch YouTube, you have to use the YouTube website in the built-in browser, which isn’t great either.

What about the Pixel tablet? Since it runs Android, I can just use the native YouTube TV and YouTube Android apps, both of which are well-optimized for the Pixel tablet’s big screen and much nicer to interact with. I don’t need to fiddle with clunky touchscreen controls or a cumbersome smart screen browser. Instead, I get the full Android app experience on the big screen, and it’s better in every way.

I also liked the Pixel tablet’s lock screen widgets. Google added them with Android 15 QPR1 last September, and they really make the Pixel Tablet a more useful smart display. Tapping the Pixel tablet’s screen when it’s docked brings up your widgets page. For my setup, this includes widgets for my upcoming calendar, current weather, my favorite smart home lights, and my recently used timers.

Although the Echo Show has its own widget system, the widgets on the Pixel tablet are undoubtedly superior in quality and quantity. Not only are they better designed (especially for Google’s first-party apps), but the fact that you can use them any The Android app widget means you have so much more choice. The timer widget has been particularly useful, allowing me to set frequently used timers in the morning with a tap, rather than by voice, while my partner is still sleeping.

Finally, and perhaps my favorite thing about the Pixel tablet, is how I use it to follow recipes while I cook. When I was using the Echo Show, I would open my recipe app on my phone and follow along while playing a YouTube video on the Echo Show. With the Pixel tablet, I can open the recipes app directly on it while YouTube runs simultaneously on a split screen.

There is nothing revolutionary about this configuration; it all comes down to Android apps and split-screen multitasking. But these aren’t things you get on a traditional smart display – whether it’s an Echo Show or a Google Nest Hub – and having access to them on the Pixel tablet really sets it apart. Even for this one specific use case, the Pixel tablet has proven more useful over the past month than my Echo Show has been in ages.

For those small interactions throughout the day – playing a YouTube video with background noise, following a recipe, setting timers, etc., the Pixel tablet has been exceptional. However, none of this fully excuses the fact that the Pixel tablet remains a very flawed product, despite my newfound appreciation for it.

The 10.9-inch LCD screen, while great for looking at a recipe and taking a quick glance at a TV show, isn’t good for much beyond that. Colors and black levels are what you’d expect from an LCD panel (good but not great), although the real downside is the 60Hz refresh rate – which I notice every time I interact with the Pixel tablet. It’s slow, clunky and just not pleasant to use.

The Tensor G2 chip that powers the Pixel tablet doesn’t help with this. Between slow-loading websites, issues with voice commands, and more, the G2 often reminded me that it’s actually a three-year-old chipset. It’s great for simple, everyday interactions with a smart screen, but the Tensor G2 doesn’t have a powerful tablet chipset.

Speaking of voice commands, the Pixel tablet hasn’t adapted well to the current Gemini era we live in. You can use Gemini on the Pixel tablet like any other Android device, but only when you interact with the tablet’s user interface. Whenever the Pixel tablet is in dock mode/smart display mode, the message “Hey Google” will always trigger Google Assistant, even when Gemini is selected as the default assistant. And as we all know, using Google Assistant in the year of our Lord 2025 is far from ideal.

I would love to be able to talk to Gemini on the Pixel tablet for more complicated/specific questions that Google Assistant can’t answer, but to do that I have to first walk over to the Pixel tablet and unlock it to the Android home screen, which completely defeats the purpose of a hands-free smart display. Gemini really feels like a half-baked feature on the Pixel tablet, and considering the tablet’s likely future (or lack thereof), I can’t say I’m surprised.

And that’s not to mention the Pixel tablet’s pre-existing issues, such as its terrible built-in speakers and sometimes flimsy dock magnets. The Pixel tablet has a plot of issues, but it still works better for my lifestyle than any other smart display currently on the market.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started reviewing my Pixel tablet, but I certainly didn’t think I’d decide to keep it in my kitchen after this article was published – and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. As silly as it sounds, little things like YouTube apps and easier access to my recipes are enough to make the Pixel tablet a permanent place in my house over another smart display.

Given how much I enjoyed the Pixel tablet despite its flaws, this is the point in the article where I would say it might be worth buying the Pixel tablet if you can find it at a really good price. Unfortunately, this seems almost impossible.

At the time of publication and for several weeks, most configurations of the Pixel tablet were out of stock virtually everywhere online. On the Google Store, only the 256GB version of the Pixel tablet with its charging dock is available for purchase – and at the full retail price of $599. The Pixel Tablet and Charging Dock Bundle is also completely out of stock at third-party retailers like Best Buy, Amazon, and Target.

Given that the Pixel tablet is now over two years old and plans for a Pixel 2 tablet were canceled last year, it’s obvious that Google has no plans to keep the Pixel tablet dream alive. Combined with a lack of inventory, it seems like the company is simply trying to sell off any Pixel Tablet units that are still lying around and then wash their hands of the device once and for all.

The Pixel tablet is far from a perfectly executed product, but as I’ve rediscovered, the Android tablet/smart display hybrid has real value – and it’s a shame we probably won’t see another attempt from Google, at least not for a while.