User:DSlawo/sandbox

Google Pixel Slate is a tablet developed by Google which runs Chrome OS. It was announced in New York City on October 9, 2018, alongside the Pixel 3 and 3 XL. The Pixel Slate includes two USB-C ports, but it omits the headphone jack. The device runs Chrome OS, unlike the Pixel C which runs Android.

Although the base model runs for $599, the Pixel Slate has 5 configurations with the most expensive costing as much as $1,599, comparable with the Apple iPad Pro.

Features
The Pixel Slate is Google's first attempt at a tablet that doesn't run on the traditional Android OS, but on the Chrome OS.

The Google Pixel Slate features a 12.3 inch touchscreen with the ability to be attached to the Pixel Slate Keyboard, allowing the device to be used like a laptop. The device also features Google Assistant with a dedicated button. It runs Chrome OS and can launch Android applications natively.

It features Better Together, a few options that sync the Android phone with the Chrome OS device :


 * 1) Instant tethering; if a WiFi signal is dropped, the Pixel Sate will automatically connect to a suitable smartphone signal.
 * 2) Smart Lock, which unlocks the Pixel Slate when you unlock the Android phone close by.
 * 3) Android Messages PWA, which allows texting via the device with notifications.

The device is compatible with the Pixelbook Pen, a stylus designed for Pixelbook and Pixel Slate and sold separately for $99/£99.

Response
The Pixel Slate had a mixed response from the press, who praised the tablet build quality but questioned the market for the device given the price, just as with the Pixelbook.


 * A review by The Verge said "But even though the Pixel Slate checks boxes that the iPad Pro does not, it’s not better. In every place where the iPad is restricted but elegant, the Pixel Slate is open but slapdash."
 * A review in TNW said "Gorgeous, flawed, and inexplicably priced.. there are better options for your money."
 * A review in The Guardian described it as an "very convincing argument for the death of Android tablets" and that the Pixel Slate has made "the desktop-class experience of Chrome OS into a mobile, finger-friendly operating system brings the best of both worlds together in one neat package."

The press has also criticized the Google Pixel Slate Keyboard, calling it out for being "floppy" and expensive.


 * A review in Popular Science mentioned the keyboard as "the sleek-but-too-floppy Google keyboard case"
 * Android Police's David Ruddock mentioned it was "Terrible" on flight: "keyboard folio case is TERRIBLE. The keyboard spills out over the seat tray so you end up pushing it down"