Google's just-released Pixel Slate is the company's first attempt at a detachable laptop, and somewhat of a leap from the Pixelbook. Now that our review for the Pixel Slate is finally here, and we've stacked Google's newest detachable against the more traditional Pixelbook, which currently our best Chromebook for business. Here's how Google's two Chrome OS devices compare. Google Pixel Slate vs. Pixelbook: Specs Compared Google Pixel Slate Google Pixelbook Price $599-$1,599 $999-$1,649 Accessories Pixel Slate Keyboard ($199), Pixelbook Pen ($99) $99 Pixelbook Pen Display 12.3-inch, 3000 x 2000 pixels 12.3-inch, 2400 x 1600 pixels CPU 8th Gen Intel Celeron, Core m3, i5, i7 7th Gen Intel Core i5, i7 RAM 4GB, 8GB, 16GB 8GB, 16GB Storage 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB 128GB, 256GB, 512GB Ports Two USB Type-C Two USB Type-C, headphone jack Colors Midnight Blue Silver Size 11.5 x 8 x 0.3 inches 11.4 x 8.7 x 0.4 inches Weight 1.6 pounds 2.5 pounds Design Google's Pixel Slate and Pixelbook both come in a single color, but the Pixel Slate stands out from the Pixelbook's traditional Silver with its gorgeous Midnight Blue scheme. Despite the Pixel Slate technically being a tablet, its clean back looks sleek compared to the awkward two-tone design of the Pixelbook. And if you get the Pixel Slate Keyboard, a soft polyurethane cover will protect the exterior and comfort your precious fingers. We thought that the Pixelbook was quite stylish in our review, but I'm not a fan of the multiple shades of white in the interior, especially because it makes the keyboard look out of place. It's hard to miss the bezels on the display, and the silicon palm rests look a little awkward. The Pixel Slate sports slimmer bezels, and the Pixel Slate Keyboard features a simple, dark-blue shade with keys that form a cute, circular shape. Google Store The Pixel Slate and Pixelbook both have sturdy aluminum chassis and are similar in size. The Pixel Slate weighs in at 1.6 pounds (2.9 pounds with Pixel Slate Keyboard) and measures 11.5 x 8 x 0.3 (0.6 with Pixel Slate Keyboard) inches. The Pixelbook is technically lighter and thinner, at 2.5 pounds and 11.4 x 8.7 x 0.4 inches, when comparing the two devices as clamshells. Winner: Pixel Slate Ports The Pixel Slate and Pixelbook both skimp on ports (two USB Type-C connections), but the Pixel Slate commits the ultimate sin and ditches the headphone jack. You might want to keep that 3.5mm to USB-C handy if you plan on getting a Pixel Slate. Winner: Pixelbook Display Right out of the gate, the Pixel Slate ramps up its resolution to 3000 x 2000 and sticks it to the Pixelbook's 2400 x 1600. When I watched the trailer for Pokemon Detective Pikachu, the titular character’s fur was slightly sharper on the Pixel Slate than the Pixelbook, and the color in Pikachu’s red cheeks was bold on both laptops. However, the alleyways of Ryme City looked more vibrant on the Pixelbook’s panel. MORE: Best and Worst Laptop Brands On our tests, the Pixel Slate’s 12.3-inch panel produced 120 percent of the sRGB color spectrum, while the Pixelbook’s 12.3-inch display covered 117 percent. Despite its advantage in color, the Pixelbook crushed it on brightness, emitting a solid 421 nits, whereas the Pixel Slate averaged 337 nits. The Pixel Slate has slimmer bezels, a sharper display and slightly more vivid colors, but the Pixelbook is so much brighter that it catches up to the Pixel Slate. Winner: Draw Keyboard and Pen The Pixel Slate's keyboard was quite springy to type on despite being completely flat, but it can take some time to get used to due to its round keys. Its 1.1 millimeter key travel also beats the the Pixelbook's 0.9 millimeters during our hands-on time. The Pixelbook does have a pair of silicon palm rests, which makes typing that much more comfortable. And while the Pixel Slate’s palm rests aren’t silicon, they’re equally as comfortable. The good news about the stylus is that it has not changed, so the Pixelbook Pen ($99) is compatible with both the Pixelbook and the Pixel Slate. And the bad news is … well, it hasn't changed, so there aren't any improvements made upon the original. We would have liked to see the pressure sensitivity jump from 2,048 to 4,096, like on other competing pens. However, the pen does now come in Midnight Blue. Winner: Pixel Slate Performance Despite sporting the latest-generation processor, the Pixel Slate’s Intel Core i5-8200Y CPU runs at nearly the same pace as the Pixelbook’s Core i5-7Y57 CPU. On the Geekbench 4 overall performance test, the Pixel Slate scored 8,071, narrowly surpassing the Pixelbook’s 7,927. The Pixel Slate scored 146.84 on the JetStream test for Javascript performance, whereas the Pixelbook (during our retest) earned a 128.66. Both the Pixel Slate and Pixelbook displayed 5,000 fish on the WebGL Aquarium simulation at around 28 frames per second. Winner: Pixel Slate Battery Life The Pixelbook lasted only 7 hours and 42 minutes on our Laptop Mag battery test, which was a bit concerning considering that Google rates it for 10 hours -- the same battery life that it claims the Pixel Slate has. Despite that, the Pixel Slate nailed 9 hours and 51 minutes on the same test, coming much closer to Google's claims. Winner: Pixel Slate Value Regarding value, the Pixel Slate and Pixelbook are fairly evenly matched, but the Pixel Slate has more configurations. The Pixel Slate starts as a mainstream laptop at $599, but the Pixelbook jumps right into premium at $999, which is wide gap for a starting price. The Pixelbook's base configuration comes with an 7th Gen Core i5 CPU, 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD for $999, and the Pixel Slate has the same configuration for the same price with the exception of an 8th Gen CPU. The catch is, of course, that you have to pay $199 for the keyboard. Buy on Best Buy If you're comparing them as clamshells, you're technically paying $199 to jump from the Pixelbook's 7th Gen CPU to the Pixel Slate's 8th Gen processor, which is well worth the processing power. You should also consider the jump in resolution as well, from the Pixelbook's 2400 x 1600 to the Pixel Slate's 3000 x 2000. MORE: Best Laptops Under $500 While the Pixelbook supports up to a 512GB SSD, the Pixel Slate has lower-tier components at lower prices, such as a Celeron and Core m3 CPU, 4GB of RAM and 32GB to 64GB SSDs. Winner: Pixel Slate Overall Winner: Google Pixel Slate While the Pixel Slate and the Pixelbook run a tight race, the Pixel Slate offers a sharper display, longer battery life, better value for its components and a really neat keyboard (if you're willing to pay extra for it). Google Pixel Slate Google Pixelbook Design (10) 8 5 Ports (10) 5 6 Display (15) 12 12 Keyboard/Pen (15) 12 11 Performance (20) 14 13 Battery Life (20) 16 14 Value (10) 6 5 Overall (100) 73 66 On the other hand, the Pixelbook already comes with a keyboard (with silicon palm rests) and has a configuration with a beefier 512GB SSD. Plus, the overall performance on both laptops are so similar that you’re not losing anything if you’re going with the Pixelbook. On top of the Pixel Slate’s comfort and performance advantages, it also looks a lot better and functions well as a detachable, making it a more versatile version of Google's Chromebook. Credit: Laptop Mag<doc-sep>Google makes lots of Chromebooks. The Pixel ( ) Slate is an attempt to make a tablet that's also a Chromebook, something like Microsoft's Surface. Google wants you to think about the Pixel Slate in terms of its beautiful display, its full Chrome browser, its more tablet-like Chrome OS. I just think about its keyboard. I got to spend some time with the 12-inch tablet at Google's New York event, where new Pixel 3 phones and the Google Home Hub also debuted. The Slate is clearly designed to go up against the Microsoft Surface and its workplace-meets-tablet design, but the Slate also seems to come within striking distance of the iPad Pro, especially in terms of price. Now playing: Watch this: Google Pixel Slate tablet first look Last year's Pixelbook was an excellent but seriously expensive Chromebook. The Pixel Slate follows that familiar pattern, aiming for premium in a tablet-meets-Chromebook design. The Pixel Slate starts at $599, but that's only for the tablet, no keyboard or pen stylus included. The keyboard's an extra $199; the pen, an extra $99. And, the Slate starts with an Intel Celeron processor, 4GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage (non-upgradable). You can pay more for extra storage and faster processors, all the way up to a crazy $1,599 for a Core i7, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB storage. The browser is its best software feature The Slate seems to shine most when Chrome is open. The Chrome browser, as with any Chromebook, is like a PC, and extremely versatile. New split-screen options open up multiple panes or apps at once, like the iPad ( ) or Surface. The Slate looks pretty, but it's big for a tablet; with a 12.3-inch screen, this is more like a laptop. The display does look crisp, but the general UI, which aims for a Pixel Android feel, didn't move all that smoothly at the event's demo devices. The interface flow just wasn't as fluid as I expected. Or, just, not iPad-level buttery-smooth. That's a bit concerning, especially for this price. At a polished product demo event experience, I'd expect the Pixel Slate to be on its best footing. Testing my triceratops sketching on Pixel Slate pic.twitter.com/b9vi0kNOTT — Scott Stein (@jetscott) October 9, 2018 Yes, as mentioned above, the Chrome can now do split screen, showing two panes at once. Sometimes it seems helpful. The new Slate pen is pressure sensitive and feels like the Surface Pen, but it sometimes seemed to make digital ink spots on the display when the pen hadn't even made contact yet. Sarah Tew/CNET And the keyboard's the best hardware feature The keyboard -- a separate $200 purchase -- feels great, though. The snap-on accessory has solid circular backlit keys with generous spacing, a large clickable trackpad and a rear magnetic stand that can be angled to almost any necessary tilt. The case can fold up while staying attached and double as a folio case. This is pretty ingenious. It's basically the iPad keyboard I've wanted for years: one with a touchpad, one that feels like a laptop, and one that adds front and back protection to the tablet when traveling. Sarah Tew/CNET It's not a perfect solution compared to a laptop -- the keyboard and its rear support add up to a wide table footprint, much like the Microsoft Surface Pro. It's also not good for laps. But on a table, it felt great to type on. The Pixel Slate needs it to complete the Chromebook equation, but its extra price means spending at least $800, or even more for the storage and processor you might want. The Slate seems like a luxury most won't pay for, and not quite the perfect Chromebook, because it's not as lap friendly. But that keyboard is a perfect model for where Apple should take its iPad next. Sarah Tew/CNET No headphone jack, though -- or SD card slot Just be prepared: the 3.5mm headphone jack isn't here. Instead, the Pixel Slate has two USB-C ports. That might be where all devices are heading, but it'll also mean a really annoying need for dongles. There's also no SD card slot, which means no easily expandable storage. This also means you'd better pick the storage tier carefully. Google leans on unlimited cloud storage, naturally, but there are some things that are helpful to store locally. The Pixel Slate arrives later this year. We'll have a full review when we get a model to use for longer than a quick demo session. But at this price, the Pixel Slate has a big question mark hanging over it: who would buy this over a Microsoft Surface or an iPad? Specs:<doc-sep>After years of trial-and-error Google has finally done what we’ve all asked for and made a Chrome OS tablet. It could be the perfect device for the barebones operating system. Advertisement The Google Pixel Slate might look like an iPad with a Google Pixel veneer applied, but there aren’t a lot of products that have me as excited as the Pixel Slate. Google’s newest home-grown Chrome OS device is the natural successor to last year’s excellent if pricey Pixelbook. That device was thin for a laptop, but too thick for a tablet—a 2-in-1 that succeeded primarily because of its operating system. I suspect the Pixel Slate could wind up succeeding because of its operating system too (more on that below). But it’s no slouch in the hardware department. Photo : Raul Marrero ( Gizmodo ) The Pixel Slate will be just 7mm thick, handily beating the Pixelbook, which was 10.16 mm thick. Like the Pixelbook, the Slate will have a 12.3-inch display, but its resolution jumps from 2,400 x 1600 to 3,000 x 2,000 pixels—pixel density correspondingly jumps from 235 ppi to 293 ppi . Google claims the battery will run 12 hours on a charge. Though Google insists that the device isn’t just a huge smartphone, it’s got two cameras, one in the back, one in the front. And it’s naturally a touch display with support for the $100 Pixelbook Pen. While the Pixelbook, and other touch Chrome OS devices like Samsung’s Chromebook Pro have never had fast enough pen response to match a Surface or iPad, the Pixel Slate, in our initial time with it, seemed to suffer no lag. That’s because, according to Google, the algorithms Chrome OS relies on to anticipate where a pen stroke is going have dramatically improved. Finding out whether they’ve actually improved will have to wait until we get more than an hour with the device. Advertisement Photo : Raul Marrero ( Gizmodo ) While the Pixelbook had the keyboard built in, the Pixel Slate relies on a $200 Pixel Slate Keyboard cover. That’s a lot more than either Microsoft or Apple charge for their keyboard cases ($130 and $160 respectively), but the Pixel Slate’s might have some advantages. Instead of square little chiclets, Google has opted for round keys, which it told us should make for a more pleasant typing experience—a theory users of old typewriters and Spherical All (SA) keycap fans might agree with. Old typewriters and SA keycaps both employ round depressions to guide the finger towards the center of the cap. Google’s keyboard cover attempts to do something similar, though with much shallower depressions. Advertisement Image : Google The back of the cover is delightfully clever. It uses magnets to allow you to adjust the angle of the display when in laptop mode. Magnets can finicky as the key component of a 2-in-1 hinge, but in our time with the Pixel Slate, its hinge was easy to adjust with just two fingers. The device slips into place at regular intervals at secure angles. It’s not quite as neat as the hinges on the Microsoft Surface Pro or HP Spectre Folio, but for a tablet-first 2-in-1 it’s one of the best options we’ve seen. Advertisement In terms of guts, there are quite a few offerings depending on how much you want to spend. Storage goes from 32GB to 256GB, RAM from 4GB to 16GB, and the processor can either be an Intel Celeron, or an 8th-gen Y-series i3, i5, or i7 processor. Chrome OS devices tend to be less demanding than Windows or macOS devices—in fact many perfectly excellent Chrome OS laptops already come with Celeron processors. So the $600 Pixel Slate with a Celeron processor, 4GB of RAM and a 32GB SSD is not alarming—just a little pricey. The similarly spec’d Samsung Chromebook Pro v2 is $100 cheaper and has a pen and keyboard built in. Factor those in and the Pixel Slate is actually $300 more! Advertisement Image : Google The $1,600 version with an i7, 256GB SSD, and 16GB of RAM is even pricier. That’s one of the most expensive Chrome OS devices ever produced (last year’s best spec’d Pixelbook still beats it) and as with previous Chrome OS devices it begs the question: Who the hell would spend that on a Chromebook? Advertisement In a conversation with the Pixel Slate’s team a few weeks ago it was made clear to Gizmodo that Google is hoping developers will. The latest version of Chrome OS supports Chrome OS, Android, and Linux applications and is intended to not just be a product for students writing midterms and aging bloggers playing Fallout Shelter (hi), but programmers and sys admins who spend a lot of time in Linux and want a powerful and attractive machine where Linux runs natively. Chrome OS has been rightfully maligned for being incapable of matching macOS and Windows for actual productivity. There’s no full version of Photoshop or Microsoft Word available. But now there’s at least GIMP (which is still no true comparison) and LibreOffice. There’s also the ability to develop and deploy Android and Linux applications on the same device. Google claims this is the very device that’s allowed Android development and deployment in one, and it’s potentially extremely appealing for Android devs, who until now have been stuck developing in macOS, Linux, or Windows and then deploying either to a virtual device or to a separate piece of hardware. Advertisement Image : Google But Linux on Chrome OS has been available since at least August. Another change is a little newer, and it’s absolutely silly it took so long to arrive, but absolutely wonderful all the same. Chrome OS will now have two desktop environments. One will resemble the traditional desktop environment and will be active any time a user attaches the $200 keyboard case and uses the device as a traditional laptop. The other more closely resembles the Android app drawer. Put the Pixel Slate into tablet mode and all the apps from Android, Chrome, and Linux appear ready to be activated with a touch of the finger or optional $100 Pixelbook Pen. Advertisement Others (okay really just Microsoft) have attempted separate desktop and tablet user interfaces before, but unlike Microsoft, Google’s Chrome OS team actually has the benefit of a decade’s worth of proven tablet/phone user interface design to fall back on. Microsoft was making a tablet user interface from scratch and it showed. Chrome OS can lean on Android, relying not just on its proven UI, but its wealth of apps that work best in tablet mode anyways. It all adds up to this new device having a lot of potential . Though it should be reiterated that the Pixel Slate is not cheap. Unlike other Chrome OS devices Google is charging a premium for its own hardware. $800 just to have a tablet and keyboard case is a lot for a Chrome OS device. It’s a lot less when compared to devices from other tablet makers like Apple and Microsoft. A 10.5-inch iPad Pro and keyboard case will run $810, while a 12.9-inch iPad Pro with keyboard case will run $970, and a base Microsoft Surface Pro 6 starts at $1,030 for device and keyboard case. When compared with those devices the base Pixel Slate seems almost affordable. But whether Chrome OS is robust enough to provide a comparable experience to iOS and Windows will depend on how much Chrome OS has improved. Something we won’t know for certain until the device ships later this year. Advertisement If you’re already sold, the Google Pixel Slate goes on sale today. [Google]<doc-sep>
The Google Pixel Slate — being the first Chrome OS-powered tablet — was one of the stars of the show at the Google launch event. The touchscreen device takes the lessons learned from the Pixel C in 2014 and Google’s recent hardware experiences and fuses them into a standout flagship tablet device running Chrome OS for the first time. Click here and subscribe to 9to5Google on YouTube Extra sleek, the Pixel Slate measures in at just 7mm thick, 290mm wide and 202mm tall with a 3000 x 2000 pixel 12.3-inch display. With a Corning Gorilla Glass 5 being at the heart of the display, it shouldn’t be as susceptible to nicks, scratches and scuffs quite so easily. YouTube videos and gaming proved to a great experience, even when offered only a mere glimpse of what the device is capable of. The anodized aluminum chassis and soft-touch edges make it comfortable to hold as simply a tablet device, but it’s the convertible nature of the Pixel Slate that pits it firmly against the iPad Pro and Windows convertible laptops. It weighs just 1.6lbs which is comparable to the 12.3-inch iPad Pro models, but unlike the Apple tablet that features a modified version of iOS, a fully touchscreen realized Chrome OS means many more options for application power. A Pixel Imprint fingerprint sensor is fused into the power button for added Slate security and faster unlocks. Other things you can find around the body of the device include twin USB Type-C charge ports for charging, faster file transfer and the potential for 4K display output. With any tablet device, there is an expectation that there will be a front facing camera for video calling, with the Pixel Slate including an optimized 8-megapixel, f/1.9 aperture wide-angle camera capable of 1080p at 30fps. The device also includes a rear 8-megapixel f/1.8 aperture camera that can capture video at 1080p 30fps. The cameras are more than passable, but performance of the Camera app in our tests weren’t great. The base model comes with 4GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage and an Intel Celeron processor. The CPU can be configured up to an i7 whilst RAM can be tailored up to 16GB, with the top tier Pixel Slate coming with 16GB of RAM, 256GB of internal storage and an Intel Core i7 processor. With a 48 watt-hour battery, you can expect up to 10 hours of usage on a single charge, whilst the fast charger included can take the battery from 0% to 100% in around two and a half hours. One bonus is that the fast charger also works with any other Pixel device — I was unable to see the device charging at the event so will have to take the stated charge times as fact until I get my hands on a review unit. At the launch event, the Pixel Slate model was stated to have the Intel 8th Gen m3 processor and bore a pre-release version of the Chrome OS that we will see on the full debut. Chrome OS in this form factor impressed me much more than I expected it to, mainly due to just how smooth everything seemed to transition from tablet to docked mode, and then back again. Google Pixel Slate Keyboard & Pixelbook Pen The snap-on keypad combines with the software to give a desktop feel that I think puts this square in the position to make inroads into the Microsoft Surface market. Sure, there are a few issues, like a distinct lack of some important Pro-level applications and a slightly high entry price — especially if you opt for the $199 keyboard — but overall this a step in the right direction for Chrome OS in my opinion. Connecting the Pixel Slate to a Pixel Slate Keyboard is quick and simple and increases the thickness to 15mm when docked. The Quick Snap connector means it easily attaches and detaches without needing to be paired or even charged. The keys have great travel at 1.2mm and include backlighting alongside Ultra-quiet Hush Keys circular keys for almost silent typing. It’s not quite a full layout but does include a dedicated Google Assistant key as standard. The keyboard also has an etched glass touchpad that is capable of multi-touch gesture support. Overall, the typing experience seemed great in our short time with it. The Pixelbook Pen is fully compatible with the Pixel Slate and comes in a new color to match.