Google hints at successor to the Pixel Slate

A Google slideshow presented at the Cloud Next 19 conference currently underway in San Francisco points to a smaller successor or more likely a stablemate of the current Pixel Slate. The first of three slides talks about its Pixelbook, which Google targeted towards “busy executives” among others. The second says the Pixel Slate has been targeted at “sales teams in the field,” for example. However, the third slide talks about yet to be revealed device that is all about being “productive on-the-go.”

While it can be argued that a Pixelbook and a Pixel Slate are all about being productive on-the-go, the implied message is that Google has something even more compact up its sleeve. To this extent, a smaller variant of the Pixel Slate would seem like a realistic proposition. At 12.3-inches, the Pixel Slate is more in line with iPad Pro 12.9 and Surface Pro 6 dimensions. Yet both Apple and Microsoft also offer smaller tablets aimed at mobility first.

The hint that Google is still working on new computing hardware is reassuring given reports that it has scaled back its “Create” division which has been focused on “Made by Google” hardware including the Pixelbook and Pixel Slate. To date, its Pixelbook and Pixel Slate have been priced at the premium end of the market competing with fully-fledged Windows devices. A more compact, and presumably cheaper, Slate would make sense if Google is looking to expand its hardware appeal.