The Google Pixel C Goes On Sale
by Brandon Chester on December 8, 2015 4:58 PM EST
Today Google has made their Pixel C tablet available on their online store. Google announced the Pixel C at an event in September, and at the time the only thing that was known about the launch date is that it would be in time for the holidays. While Google has certainly cut it close by launching it in the second week of December, they have managed to launch the tablet in time for buyers to purchase it as a gift. Below you can view all the relevant specifications of the Pixel C.
| Google Pixel C | |
| SoC | NVIDIA Tegra X1 (4x Cortex A57 + 4x Cortex A53) 2 SMM Maxwell GPU |
| RAM | 3 GB LPDDR4 |
| NAND | 32/64GB NAND |
| Display | 10.2” 2560x1800 IPS LCD 1500:1 contrast 500 nit brightness |
| Camera | 8MP Rear-facing, 2MP Front-facing |
| Diameter / Mass | 242 x 179 x 7mm, 517 grams |
| Battery | 34.2Wh |
| OS | Android 6 Marshmallow |
| Other Connectivity | 2x2 802.11a/b/g/n/ac + BT 4.1, USB Type-C |
| Accessories | Google Pixel C Keyboard: $149 |
| Price | $499/$599 |
Most of the Pixel C's core specifications were known at the time of the launch event in September, but today's launch comes with some additional info such as the battery capacity and amount of RAM. As we already knew, the Pixel C is powered by NVIDIA's Tegra X1 SoC, which is the first time that it's showing up in a mobile device. While we have seen Tegra X1 in the NVIDIA SHIELD TV, it'll be interesting to see how it performs in a more thermally and power constrained scenario.
Paired with the SoC is 3GB of LPDDR4 RAM and either 32GB or 64GB of NAND. As far as connectivity goes you get 2.4/5GHz 2x2 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.1, and a USB Type-C connector. Based on what we've seen with the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P this is likely still using the USB2 protocol, but until we review it we can't make any definitive statements.
One of the most interesting aspects of the Pixel C is its display. It's a 2560x1800 IPS panel, which has an aspect ratio that is approximately equal to the square root of 2, which happens to be the same ratio used for the A series paper used in most countries around the world. This should make the display well suited to displaying documents that have been digitized and viewing web pages, but not as good for video playback.
Of course, the big selling point for the Pixel C is the keyboard accessory. Like the Surface Pro 4 and the iPad Pro, the Pixel C is Google's take on a tablet that targets users who want to be productive. While I didn't have much time to play with the keyboard at Google's event, the use of magnets and the ability to set the angle of incline anywhere from 100 to 130 degrees without any sort of kickstand seemed like a very novel hinge implementation, and I'm interested to see how well it works in actual use.
The Pixel C is available now on Google's online store. Both the 32GB and 64GB models are in stock and ship within a few business days. As noted above, the price for the 32GB model is $499, while the 64GB model is $599. The keyboard accessory adds an additional $149 onto the base price. In Canada it seems that there aren't any available online yet, and I'll be checking to see if that status changes in the future.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
60 Comments
View All Comments
Brandon Chester - Tuesday, December 8, 2015 - link
Yup. Sorry about that. It's 2x2 802.11ac.ruthan - Tuesday, December 8, 2015 - link
No LTE modem again?ImSpartacus - Tuesday, December 8, 2015 - link
Android tablets probably don't sell enough to justify the extra SKU.jjj - Tuesday, December 8, 2015 - link
A tablet made by people that make 200k per year ( or more) for themselves with complete disregard for what the market is and what the users need.Moronic AR for a tablet , huge bezels all around, demented price, outdated SoC .... and a cool keyboard that costs as much as a 9.7 inch Chinese tablet.
Not that anyone is doing a better job at making tabs...
How freaking hard is it to shrink the bezels all around, go with an AR that favors ALL content, set a sane price that users can live with and is competitive with other computing form factors and make sane hardware choices.
Same PPI as a 5 inch 720p phone was cool 3 years ago. Tegra X1 when A72's era has started is lower high end, 3GB of RAM is cool and all but even some 90$ phones have 3GB today.
Sure it's not as bad as the Surface but that doesn't mean it's not terrible. If Donald Trump would be a product designer instead of a politician (lol), he would make a better tablet.
Mushkins - Tuesday, December 8, 2015 - link
Seriously, for $599 this is nuts. You can get the lowest model Surface Pro 3 for only $30 more.V900 - Tuesday, December 8, 2015 - link
The Surface Pro 3 that comes with a miserable GPU, barely adequate CPU, has constant wifi problems, and can't hibernate properly over a year after release?That Surface Pro 3?
Reflex - Tuesday, December 8, 2015 - link
Um, the entry level specs of a SP3 are still considerably better than any Android or iOS device. Perhaps you are thinking of the Atom based Surface 3?And not sure what you mean about hibernate. Power management is different as of Win8, hibernation in the old school style is not the default sleep mode anymore, instead devices remain minimally powered until you do something with them. For that mode the SP3 works perfectly.
xthetenth - Wednesday, December 9, 2015 - link
The Surface Pro that actually offers functionality beyond your phone worth carrying around a screen over 6 inches and has a CPU that apparently sets the bar for barely adequate so high that only a tiny subset of ARM tablets are even adequate. That Surface Pro 3.Ratman6161 - Tuesday, December 15, 2015 - link
Yup, Microsoft is currently dumping Surface Pro 3's with I-3 CPU and 128 GB SSD's for exactly the same price as the 64 GB pixel. MS's keyboard is also $20 cheaper. So for somone who is looking for an alternative to a laptop, I can't see why they would choose the Pixel.cknobman - Thursday, December 10, 2015 - link
Soooooo you have absolutely no clue what you are talking about.Great post though ;)!