Google Pixel C

This tablet gives the iPad Pro and the Surface Pro 4 a serious run for their money

When the folks at Google announced their revamped Nexus devices in September last year, they also announced the latest addition to their tablet portfolio- the Google Pixel C. Curiously, this tablet did not feature the Nexus branding, despite being a Google device. Confused? Well, we were a little stumped as well. And till date, there’s no clear indication for this departure.

The confusing nomenclature aside, this tablet is being regarded as a device which would go on to be a viable alternative to your laptop. Well, is it that competent? Let’s find out!
Released in December 2015, the Google Pixel C features a 10.2 inch LTPS IPS LCD display with a curious resolution ratio of 2560×1800 pixels (which Google claims is a great resolution as it is closest to the square root of 2 but there’s no commercial application of this aspect ratio at this time, so we wonder why Google conjured up yet another shape for content creators to have to appease) and a pixel density of 308 ppi.

Google apparently chose LTPS (Low Temperature Poly-Silicon) for their LCD despite it being a costlier option (to produce and provide) instead of the industry-norm of Amorphous Silicon, as it (LTPS) allows for higher brightness and greater power efficiency — which Google prefers to provide for user experience reasons. And it seems to be justified.

Text is sharp and easy to read, colours are vibrant and outdoor readability is really commendable. The large display brings with it several positives- this screen is perfect for gaming, watching videos and browsing the web.
This tablet comes packed with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. Not surprising at all — it’s Google’s own tablet, after all. It had to come with Google’s latest and best Android offering, didn’t it? What this means is that you get access to all the latest Android features, such as Doze, user defined App Permissions and Google Now on Tap. The experience is as pure as it gets.

That said, if Google really wanted this device to be pro-enough to replace peoples’ laptops, they probably should have worked in a split-screen mode of some sort. Surprisingly, the only way you can toggle between apps is the recent apps button, which gets a little cumbersome if you’re working on a project which requires you to constantly switch between multiple applications.

Under the hood, this device is powered by a quad-core 64-bit Nvidia Tegra X1 processor clocked at 1.9 GHz backed by a 256-core Maxwell GPU and 3 GB of DDR4 RAM. Performance is as snappy as you’d like it to be.

This is a very efficient and powerful spec-sheet which is further boosted by the fact that it’s running a stock version of Android.

This device comes in 2 memory variants: 32 GB and 64 GB. There is no microSD card slot, so plan your journey with the tablet, well in advance.

The camera has never been one of the highlighted aspects of the tablet experience, and the 8 megapixel rear camera and 2.1 megapixel front-facing unit of the Pixel C aren’t going to change that notion any time soon.
Daylight photography is decent, but low-light images have a lot of noise and very little detail. The front-facing camera is usable for the occasional tablet selfie and video calls.

Connectivity features include- WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.1, GPS. This tablet is among the first few devices to feature a USB type-C port for charging purposes.

The Google Pixel C comes in only one colour — Silver Aluminium.

Originally published at chip-monks.com.