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MagyarCheckMag | A price cut would have been better for the Google Pixel Tablet
When Google announced it would launch a new Android tablet, I was thrilled, because I’d owned two Google Android tablets (Nexus 7 and Nexus 9) in the past and loved them. What made it more exciting was that the Pixel Tablet could also double as a smart display when you place it on the charging speaker dock bundled with it. Technically, this isn’t a novel feature as Lenovo had launched something similar years ago with the Smart Tab P10 and Smart Tab M10. Nevertheless, the fact that this was Google’s first tablet in years was enough excitement.
Apart from the Charging Speaker Dock, other interesting features of the Pixel Tablet include built-in Chromecast and support for USI 2.0 Stylus. The former allows you to cast audio and video to the tablet from your phone while the latter lets owners pick up any USI 2.0 stylus to write or draw.
When the Pixel Tablet launched in 2023, it arrived with a $499 starting price, with the Charging Speaker Dock included. Google also offered a handful of accessories including cases and an extra Charging Speaker Dock that you could buy for $129. After a year on the market, Google recently announced buyers can now purchase the Pixel Tablet without the Charging Speaker Dock for a starting price of $399. If you thought a price cut would have been a better decision, you are not the only one.
For many mobile devices, a permanent price cut is usually expected after being on market shelves for a while. So it is not far-fetched to expect Google to have done the same with the Pixel Tablet since it launched a year ago. To be fair, the Pixel Tablet has been on sale a few times since it launched, and anyone interested in grabbing the tablet could have done so at any of those times. However, slashing the price permanently would be a nice push for anyone sitting on the fence about purchasing it considering $499 is still a lot to spend on a device.
In addition, while the option to purchase the Pixel Tablet without the dock is great, I can't help but feel that Google is shooting itself in the foot by doing so since the dock is its major selling point. Without the dock, it is just another tablet. Furthermore, even at $399, the Pixel Tablet faces stiff competition. For starters, there is the 10th Gen iPad which recently got a price cut and now sells for $349 (curr. available on Amazon for $329). You can also get a sweet deal on the Xiaomi Pad 6 (curr. available on Amazon for $310) or pick up the OnePlus Pad (curr. $399 on Amazon). All of these tablets best the Pixel Tablet in more ways than one.
Nevertheless, if you plan to purchase the Pixel Tablet, I’ll advise you to wait until Google runs another sale and pick it up at a discounted price with or without the speaker dock as I still can’t justify its $399 price.
