Last year’s I/O Conference saw Google back support the growth of Android tablets with the launch of the Pixel Tablet. Is it time for a Pixel Tablet 2 to continue that support?
There are some small signs that a Pixel Tablet 2 is coming. March’s beta of Android 14 (QPR3 Beta 1) included just one feature update—an issue around the AI-driven Circle to Seach.
Dig deeper into the code, and two new additions pointing towards a new tablet stand out. The first is the addition of “Adaptive Touch” as a setting; the text string for the feature has been found, alongside “touch sensitivity will automatically adjust to your environment, activities and screen protector.” As yet, there is no way to activate this feature. It’s likely a boost to using a screen protector, but given the “Smarthome Station” ambition of the first Pixel Tablet, the environmental option is intriguing.
The second were two new hardware codenames, Clementine and Kiyomi. Quizzers will know that these are hybrids of the sweet orange and another fruit; those following Google’s Pixel product lines will recall that the first Pixel tablet came with the codename TangorPro, building on the Tangor. Tangor is, of course, another sweet orange hybrid.
Clementine and Kiyomi will likely be the successor tablets to the Tensor G2 Powered Pixel Tablet.
Last year, Google launched the Pixel Tablet at its I/O conference. While consumers saw the first “Google Tablet” go on sale, with a bundled dock and speaker helping it stand out in the market, Google’s partners saw an ongoing commitment to tablets and large-screened Android devices. The Pixel Tablet hardware followed more software support in Android for the form factor.
2023 saw several Android manufacturers launch their first tablets while others offered new tablet designs to consumers. No doubt the signals from Google during 2021 and 2022 helped that decision-making process,
Google can continue to project confidence and support in the tablet space with the launch of the Pixel Tablet 2, and the upcoming I/O would be a great place to do so.