Google appears to be done with tablets, again

[midian182]

What just happened? It seems that Google has decided to call it a day when it comes to making tablets. Just three years after it was introduced, the Pixel Tablet, Google's only remaining tablet model, has been removed from its store. The tech giant has erased its entire Tablets section from the storefront, so it appears we won't see another Pixel Tablet from Google for a long time, if ever.

Google unveiled the Pixel Tablet alongside the Pixel Fold and Pixel 7a during its 2023 I/O conference. Priced at $899 at launch and featuring an 11-inch 2560 x 1600 LCD, the device is powered by the Tensor G2.

Reviews for the Pixel Tablet were quite good, but nothing spectacular – 7 out of 10 was the most popular score. It certainly wasn't going to worry Apple and its dominant iPad line.

Jetstream noticed that the Pixel Tablet was marked out of stock on the Google Store a few days ago. Now, the entire Tablet category has been removed, taking the Pixel Tablet with it. The move almost certainly means the device has been discontinued.

There are listings for Pixel Tablet accessories still up on the Google Store, including the Pixel Tablet Case and Charging Speaker Dock, but most are no longer in stock. Only the Wasserstein Pixel Tablet Speaker Stand remains available to purchase.

It could be a very long time before we see another tablet from Google. It was reported in November 2024 that it had canceled the Pixel Tablet 2. The company confirmed this in August 2025, saying that the development was paused while it reconsidered the category's future.

Google has struggled to build a tablet as loved as the original Nexus 7. Its follow-ups included the Nexus 10 in 2012, a refreshed Nexus 7 in 2013, the Nexus 9 in 2014, the Pixel C in 2015, and the ChromeOS-based Pixel Slate in 2018. While the second-generation Nexus 7 was also well received, Google's later tablet lines never appeared to capture the same popularity as its early budget hit.

It now seems that the Pixel Tablet is joining the 307 products and services on the Killed by Google website, joining the likes of Stadia, the Jamboard, and, lest we forget, Google+.

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Google appears to be done with tablets, again

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Google just sucks at making hardware. The Pixel tablet wasnt BAD, but it was FAR too expensive for what little it offered. Battery life was sub par and performance was laughable VS the samsung tab lineup. More recently, for about the same price as a pixel tablet, you could get the legion line from lenovo that smack it around in both battery life AND performance.

The secret to the nexus 7 wasnt hard, it was a cheap, sensible device with good build quality and reasonably powerful hardware. Google is just allergic to making anything that doesnt sell for iphone level prices.

 

[Megalomaniac]

Google just sucks at making hardware. The Pixel tablet wasnt BAD, but it was FAR too expensive for what little it offered. Battery life was sub par and performance was laughable VS the samsung tab lineup. More recently, for about the same price as a pixel tablet, you could get the legion line from lenovo that smack it around in both battery life AND performance.

The secret to the nexus 7 wasnt hard, it was a cheap, sensible device with good build quality and reasonably powerful hardware. Google is just allergic to making anything that doesnt sell for iphone level prices.

Google shouldn't bother competing with Apple. They should focus on making "good" products for "average" users.

Samsung phones in the A-series for example are good phones for average people.

Google could focus on making phones that run Google services (like Classroom and Gemini).

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Google shouldn't bother competing with Apple. They should focus on making "good" products for "average" users.

Samsung phones in the A-series for example are good phones for average people.

Google could focus on making phones that run Google services (like Classroom and Gemini).

Google has no interest in that market - hence why they abandoned the Nexus lineup. There's no money there either. In the top 10 sales, only the galaxy A16 shows up. The rest are all expensive flagship models.

 

[yRaz]

Google just sucks at making hardware. The Pixel tablet wasnt BAD, but it was FAR too expensive for what little it offered. Battery life was sub par and performance was laughable VS the samsung tab lineup. More recently, for about the same price as a pixel tablet, you could get the legion line from lenovo that smack it around in both battery life AND performance.

The secret to the nexus 7 wasnt hard, it was a cheap, sensible device with good build quality and reasonably powerful hardware. Google is just allergic to making anything that doesnt sell for iphone level prices.

I think one reason tablets are losing popularity is that they need to be more like PCs but every manufacturer wants them to be as locked down as a phone. I could absolutely play Skyrim or lots of modern games on my Galaxy tab S10 Ultra if Samsung would let me. Arm for proton now exists. Tablets have been locked down for so long that there is a mindset that they're just big, expensive phones. Googles pixel tab was a low end tablet with a mid high-end price tag. Samsungs A series tablets are mid-highend products with a midrange price on them, but they're locked down to hell and back.

Tablets absolutely could be laptop replacement, I plug a keyboard and mouse into mine using a dongle, but the industry's insistence on telling us how we should use their products instead of letting us use the devices in a way that best servers the user has killed any idea that they could be a real computer buy consumers. If I could install some arm Linux distro on it and run steam games on proton for arm, I would be thrilled. There is more GPU power in my tablet than there is in my travel laptop.

There is tons of really great ARM hardware out there but it's all looked down until official support ends and at that point, it's 5-6 years old. I actually think M$ is trying to make windows MORE like android than less and that windows on ARM will end up getting locked down.

ARM development is so stunted by Google and Samsung that there aren't really any good ARM Linux distros and it's hard to take any ARM device seriously. When I first started seeing smartphones as we see them today, I thought it would be so cool to drop my phone on a dock and have a familiar desktop PC I carry around in pocket. I technically can do that, but Androids so locked down that I wouldn't want to. I actually think the ability for the steam deck to be dockable and portable is one of its best features

 

[trgz]

Still have my Nexus 10, though I don't/can't use it for much these days.

 

[Tantor]

I think one reason tablets are losing popularity is that they need to be more like PCs but every manufacturer wants them to be as locked down as a phone. I could absolutely play Skyrim or lots of modern games on my Galaxy tab S10 Ultra if Samsung would let me. Arm for proton now exists. Tablets have been locked down for so long that there is a mindset that they're just big, expensive phones. Googles pixel tab was a low end tablet with a mid high-end price tag. Samsungs A series tablets are mid-highend products with a midrange price on them, but they're locked down to hell and back.

Tablets absolutely could be laptop replacement, I plug a keyboard and mouse into mine using a dongle, but the industry's insistence on telling us how we should use their products instead of letting us use the devices in a way that best servers the user has killed any idea that they could be a real computer buy consumers. If I could install some arm Linux distro on it and run steam games on proton for arm, I would be thrilled. There is more GPU power in my tablet than there is in my travel laptop.

There is tons of really great ARM hardware out there but it's all looked down until official support ends and at that point, it's 5-6 years old. I actually think M$ is trying to make windows MORE like android than less and that windows on ARM will end up getting locked down.

ARM development is so stunted by Google and Samsung that there aren't really any good ARM Linux distros and it's hard to take any ARM device seriously. When I first started seeing smartphones as we see them today, I thought it would be so cool to drop my phone on a dock and have a familiar desktop PC I carry around in pocket. I technically can do that, but Androids so locked down that I wouldn't want to. I actually think the ability for the steam deck to be dockable and portable is one of its best features

Very true. Google also rolled out their developer verification program which locks down ARM even harder. Here's their nonsense explanation...

"As part of our ongoing efforts to keep Google Play a safe and trusted platform, you must complete the verification described on this page when setting up your Google Play Console developer account. This helps us to better understand developers and help prevent bad actors from distributing malware. "
https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/10841920?hl=en