Google Pixel Slate review

Not only did Google ship a product with an OS that clearly just isn’t quite ready for a tablet form factor, it did so in a way that feels unfinished and, at times, broken. Unlike the Pixelbook, which was at least a very pleasant laptop despite some rough edges that have since largely been smoothed, the Pixel Slate doesn’t have strong core competencies to fall back on. It’s not a very good laptop that is also a much worse tablet (at least for anything but Netflix binging).

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Unfortunately, the Pixel Slate is ruined by bad software, through and through. The shining spot, its Chrome browser, is the only aspect that works as expected. Everything else feels unpolished, and the attempt to graft Android’s most useful bits onto Chrome OS falls flat here.

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Based purely on its hardware, the Pixel Slate is impressive. Unfortunately, the whole package is hampered by a confusing software experience and a high price. If you’re looking for a Chrome device, there are plenty of less expensive options that work just as well, if not better.

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The Pixel Slate gets close on the hardware front, but a steep price and a seriously flawed keyboard cover make Google’s first Chrome OS tablet a disappointing one. If Google wants to be known for its devices as much as its software, it needs to justify the premium price tag. For all but Chrome OS diehards, the Pixel Slate does not.

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Like the Pixelbook, it excels with its modern design, solid overall performance, and good battery life. The Pixel Imprint fingerprint sensor adds a much-needed feature that not only makes the Pixel Slate more secure, but sets a precedent for OEMs to include biometric authentication in future Chromebooks and Chrome OS tablets. While that hardware is good, it's not the best for most users nor is it even the best out of the few Chrome OS tablets available now for those who want a premium device.

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The Pixel Slate seemed like the best chance to offer the best of both a mobile OS and a desktop-like browser experience, but poor optimization and expensive pricing make it a dud in my book. Maybe Google will improve the Slate's performance and fix the bugs in a software update, but at launch, the Surface Pro 6 is the better value on every level: hardware, software, and keyboard. Or just get a Pixelbook — it does everything the Pixel Slate does but better, and it's cheaper.

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The Pixel Slate makes a very convincing argument for the death of Android tablets. Turning 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.

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That’s all to say that the Pixel Slate could, with a matured Chrome OS and a price point that reflects its hardware, rival any 2-in-1 heavyweight in the market today. But as things stand currently, unless you prefer to spend the bulk of your time in a work-in-progress OS, you’re better off with a surer bet.

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There so much about the Google Pixel Slate to love, including its beautiful screen, comfortable keyboard, great sound and long battery life. Unfortunately, this machine comes with a few asterisks, including some notable bugs that Google should fix soon. It will take longer, though, for Google Play apps to feel like native tablet apps.

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Google's first Chrome tablet is an ambitious product that changes the way we look at a Chromebook. It's meant to be in your hands and not on your lap, and the mix of Chrome and web apps, Android apps, and Linux apps mean it can be more than just a content-consumption device.

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