Google Pixel Tablet 2023 – The definitive deep-dive review

06/07/2023
By Ray Shaw
In Reviews

The new Google Pixel Tablet 2023 has elevated this Android tablet to new levels of useability with its new speaker/charging dock, Pixel UI, Pure Android 13 and Google TV and Home integration.

Android tablets are useful – every home needs at least one if only to have an instant-on resource to find recipes, look up movie ratings and more. So Google said, “How can we evolve a tablet into a must-have home item?”

The result is an 11” tablet – Goldilocks size (just right) and a speaker/charging dock that offers more than most other tablets at a pretty reasonable price. There is a lot to like about this tablet.

Or, as I prefer to think of it – an Android tablet with smart display benefits.

Australian review: Google Pixel Tablet 2023

Website	Website
Price	$899 Case $139 Spare Dock $189 Speck Sheildview Glass protector $81.95 Speck Shieldview Stand case $81.95
From	Google Online, JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, Officeworks, The Good Guys and many other retailers
Warranty	2-years
Country of Origin	China
About	Google is that giant company that started with a search engine and is now one of the largest advertising platforms in the world and is behind the Android and Chrome operating systems.
More	Cybershack Google News and Reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed. You can click on most images for an enlargement.

First impression – Pass+

Google’s design style is growing on me. The tablet and its charge dock come in Porcelain (pinkish white) or Hazel (more grey than green). When docked, it looks like an oversize Google Nest Hub Max.

It has a 10.95” diagonal display in a 258 (W) x 169 (H) x 8.1mm (D) x 493g tablet. There is a camera on the front and rear, power and volume buttons on the top, four speakers (landscape – two per side), and a rear 100% recycled aluminium rear panel with AED/nano-ceramic coating. It feels solid and good in the hand.

It sits on a charging/speaker dock. But the thing I like most is the optional Google tablet silicone case (265g) in Porcelain or Hazel that has an infinitely adjustable kickstand (tablets need a kickstand). But only some will buy it at $139. There will be lots of lower-cost, third-party accessories soon.

Processing power – Exceed

Too many tablets have the bare minimum processing power and ram to do the job. Google Pixel Tablet 2023 uses its Tensor G2 System on a Chip (SoC made by Samsung and based on the 4nm Exynos 2200) and its M2 security co-processor. It has a fast custom TPU (Tensor Processing Unit) for onboard AI. It is the same SoC as the Google Pixel 7/Pro/a smartphone.

It marries with 8GB LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB UFS 3.1 storage. Unfortunately, no micro-SD – Google wants to sell you cloud storage.

The result is fluid performance and no lag. Multi-tasking is more about the operating system, and Android 13 allows side-by-side apps.

Tests

Geekbench single/multi-core score: 1454/3777 (25% above the Pixel 7/Pro/a and slightly above the Qualcomm SD8 Gen1 in the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8).
GPU OpenCL: N/A
GPU Vulkan: 4779 (Below the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 at 6683).
CPDT Disk sequential read/write MBps: 1400/200MBps – fast.
CPU Throttling (GIPs): Max 276,793/Average 250,220/Minimum 231952 with 13% throttle over 15 minutes at full load.

You cannot ask for more.

Screen – Pass+

It is a 2560 x 1600, 276ppi, 16:10, 500 nits (typical), 1500:1 contrast, 16.7m colour, HDR10 capable, 60Hz touchscreen IPS display. More important is the reasonably anti-smudge coating so necessary for tablets. It supports USI 2.0 stylus popular on Chromebooks.

It is IPS/LCD instead of AMOLED simply because the screen, when docked, has a 24/7 Google Hub display, avoiding potential burn-in issues.

Google does not state screen protection (likely GG3), so you should look for a decent screen protector.

Tests

Brightness typical/peak: 400/500 nits (tested 433/480)
sRGB web gamut: no claim (tested 104.5%)
DCI-P3 movie gamut: no claim (75%) – fine for 16.7m colours
Delta E: No claim (<1) – Excellent
It has good, saturated colours and 500nits typical brightness (more peak brightness).
Contrast is a little low – blacks are more gunmetal grey.
There is no haptic feedback which could be an issue for gamers.

Perfect for content consumption.

Comms – Pass

It has USB-C 3.2 Gen 1, WHICH SHOULD BUT DOES NOT support Alt DP 1.4 audio/video. This lost opportunity means you cannot use a USB-C to HDMI cable to a dumb monitor. It does support Chromecast to a smart device, and when docked, you can cast to it (Netflix will not).

Wi-Fi 6 AX 2.4 and 5GHz is a maximum of 1200Mbps (5GHz 80Mhz) – good but the SoC supports 6E so why not?.
BT 5.2 supports Android fast pair and should support multi-point with compatible devices. It supports SBC, AAC and LDAC. Unfortunately, as it is a Samsung SoC, it does not support Qualcomm aptX codecs.
Ultra-wideband chip: A short-range (up to 200 metres) wireless communication protocol using 3.1 to 10.6 GHz that can control smart devices like locks and cars. There is currently not much use for this.
NFC: No, and not expected.
GPS: No, and that is a lost opportunity. The e-Compass works well.

Dock – Different but not as functional as it should be – Pass

It has a magnetic dock base with Pogo pin charging. The tablet lifts off easily yet is quite secure.

The dock has a 24V/1/15A/30W plug-style wall charger and passes 15W to the tablet. The tablet will charge to 90% on the dock and discharge to 20% to prolong its life.

When docked, the tablet becomes a Pixel Hub, and you can Chromecast to it – use the screen as a display from any Chromecast smartphone. The Always on Display only works when docked.

It has a single mono 43.5mm full-range speaker (same as the Nest Hub Gen 2) and an amplifier (not specified, but we think about 5W). When docked, the four tablet stereo speakers are disabled and play through the mono dock. While it adds some bass, we can’t see the logic of disabling the stereo tablet speakers – a backward step for video content consumption.

The dock does not have Wi-Fi, BT, or Ethernet and does not function as a standalone speaker.

We will look further at Google Home Hub and Google TV later.

Battery – Pass

It has a 7020mAh, 27Wh battery. Google claims about 12 hours of typical use.

The dock has a 24V/1.25A/30W charger (a little too wide for a standard double power point), delivering 15W to the tablet.

You can also use a USB-C PD charger (needs 15W or greater for a ‘fast’ charge).

Tests

Dock charging 15W: 0-100% in 3 hours and 5 minutes.
USB-C Fast charging: 15W in 2 hours 21 minutes
1080 Video loop (50% sound/brightness) 10 hours 35 minutes
PC Mark Battery Test 3.0: 19 hours and 34 minutes
Accubattery: 17 hours and 49 minutes
GFX Bench Manhattan (games): Would not run
GFX Bench T-Rex (games): 433.3 minutes (7.22 hours), 3363 frames.
mA drain full load: 2000-2100mA (3 hours 8 minutes)
mA drain screen on idle: 400-450mA

This has a respectable battery life (the Samsung Tab S8 Ultra has an 11,200mAh battery and delivers 11 hours of video loop and 8 hours on PC Mark). As is typical of the Tensor/Samsung Tensor SoC drain under full load is higher than a Qualcomm SoC, so this is not for heavy users.

Sound – Pass

It has four landscape speakers (2 amps) with excellent stereo separation and Left/Right directionality. The sound stage is a little wider than the screen. When tested with Dolby Atmos content (it does not decode this), we could hear distinct height sound from the top of the tablet.

The tablet has a ‘bright vocal’ signature for vocal tracks and string instruments but can make them slightly harsh at volume.

It is a shame you can’t use the tablet speakers when docked – it reverts to mono, albeit with decent bass.

The Dock adds mid-and-high bass, but the treble is choppy and harsh. It is more of a warm and sweet signature for music, but as it is mono, it loses the depth and sound stage of the tablet.

Maximum volume is 82/86dB Tablet/Dock.

Our advice – if watching video content or listening to audio content, do not use the dock.

There are two far-field mics, with a third for noise reduction – these work well out to 5 metres to summons OK Google and are great for hands-free use.

Build – Exceed

You either love or hate Google Design ques. I don’t mind them. This comes in Porcelain or Hazel over an aluminium frame/back plate covered with an AED/nano-ceramic coating. It feels good in the hand. It has no IP rating.

Google does not state the glass protection (I suspect it is GG3), so buy a screen protector.

I would buy the overly expensive Google Silicon case with a kickstand.

Android 13 and Pixel U1 – Exceed

It is first an Android tablet with a 2-year warranty and a fantastic five-year OS and security update policy. It does everything a good Android tablet should. Google works continuously on ‘feature drops’, so its functionality will improve over time. Excellent.

It is second, a Google Hub and dock with a Pixel UI. This is optimised for dock us in landscape mode, and there are a few rough edges. For example, Google Home (OK Google), entirely rewritten for Android, subtly differs from Google Nest UI. I suspect feature drops will attempt to make this experience more seamless, but if you use a Google Nest, you may be frustrated at the differences.

Google has updated most of its apps, such as Chrome, Maps, Gmail, Google News, Photos, Files, Google Home, weather, and others, with landscape tablet-specific designs. But too many other apps only work in portrait (smartphone) mode.

Hub mode

It is like the Nest Hub but has lost some of the Hub features. For example, gesture navigation and content formatted for the hub, like recipes. Instead, it only shows Google Search results.

While the Hub is available on the lock screen, most things require you to unlock (fingerprint or pin) the device to allow the App to work. It is a work in progress.

Google TV – Fail

I like Google (nee Android TV) and know every nook and cranny setting. This Google TV has none of that. Instead, it appears to be a portal for buying movies and streaming to a nearby Chromecast TV.

It does not have an Apps button to load Google TV Apps like streaming services. Instead, you must use Google Play and load Android apps. Catch 22 – they are not part of Google TV and its interface. Sorry WFT?

Security – Pass+

It has a fingerprint scanner on the power button. You can have eight different profiles and five different prints each. It is accurate.

However, as it is not designed to use Google Pay (no NFC), apps that you can usually enable fingerprint access (like LastPass) don’t have that option.

Camera – Pass

It has identical Front and rear cameras – 8MP f/2.0, 1.12um, 84° FOV, FF, 1080p@30fps.

It is likely a Sony IMX219 (used in Pixel 6/Pro/a) or Samsung S5K4HA/7/8, as all are 1/4″ with 1.12um pixels.

Let’s say that happy snappers will be satisfied, and it is not too bad at getting text off a white/black/paper board.

Colours are muted. Detail OK. Lacking dynamic range.

The Tensor G2 allows AI features including:

Magic Eraser	Photo Unblur	Long Exposure	Panorama	Manual white balancing
Locked Folder	Night Sight	Top Shot	Portrait Mode (front camera only)	Portrait Light
Frequent Faces	Live HDR+	Guided Frame	Video stabilisation	Live HDR+

CyberShack’s view – Google Pixel Tablet 2023 is an excellent Android tablet and has potential as a Google Hub

I like this device, yet after spending a week with it and running over 70 tests, I can see both the beauty and the beast.

As an Android Tablet, it is at least a 9/10. But you really need an overly expensive Google Silicon case with a kickstand and additional glass protection – ouch.

The dock annoys me. It both lifts this tablet above others, but it has limited use. Why add a mono speaker and disable the four stereo tablet speakers? Surely it simply could have acted as a woofer or dialogue channel. And being a well-versed Nest Hub user, I will not be swapping to this tablet version anytime soon. The interface and display formatting results are quite different. Let’s not even start on the so-called Google TV.

The good thing is that Google takes feedback, and you get regular feature drops. Just as the Pixel 7/Pro had rough edges at launch, it is now a great smartphone, deserving of its impressive market share ascent IDC 2022/23 Australian smartphone market – declining sales.

Would I buy it?

Its main rival is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8, Qualcomm SD8 Gen 1, 8/128GB, and 11” IPS screen at $1099. On paper, these are equally matched. So at $899, including a dock, the Google Pixel Tablet 2023 comes out ahead.

It is well above Samsung’s Tab A series, and Lenovo does not offer a high-end processor in an Android tablet.

So yes, I would buy it without hesitation.

Ratings (91/100)

Features: 95 – Sure, it is an Android tablet, but the dock makes a difference. Also, the 5-year OS and security patch and integration with Google Home and TV Make this outstanding.
Value: 90 – Given the dock is $189, it is reasonable value. The Tensor G2 processor and 8/128GB justify the price.
Performance: 90 – It has one of the more powerful processors, not far behind the Samsung Galaxy S8 with its Qualcomm SD8 Gen 1 processor.
Ease of Use: 90 – Android is easy. Using all the extra features takes a slight learning curve.
Design: 90 – This is great if you like Google design styling.

CyberShack Smartphone comparison v 1.7 (E&OE)

Google Pixel Tablet 2023 8/128GB

Brand	Google
Model	Google Pixel Tablet 2023
Model Number	GTU8P.GMD6J
Price Base	8/128GB
Price base	$899 Case $139 Spare Dock $189 Sheildview Glass protector $81.95 Stand case $81.95
Warranty months	24
Tier	Mid-range tablet
Website	Product page
Manual	Online manual Guide
From	Google Online, JB Hi-Fi, Telstra
Country of Origin	China
Company	Google is a giant company that started with a search engine. It is now one of the largest advertising platforms in the world. It is behind the Android and Chrome operating systems.
More	https://cybershack.com.au/?s=google
Test date	26 June to 5 July
Ambient temp	10-20°
Release	Jun-23
Other models not for Australia (Don’t buy)	Not as relevant as this is Wi-Fi only.

Screen

Size	10.95″
Type	IPS LCD
Flat, Curve, 2D, 3D	Flat
Resolution	2560 x 1600
PPI	276
Ratio	16:10
Screen to Body %	80% – must have bezels on a tablet to hold the screen without touch.
Colours bits	8-bit/16.7m colours
Refresh Hz, adaptive	N/A
Response 120Hz	N/A
Nits typical test	400 (Test 433)
Nits max, test	500 (Test 480)
Contrast	Not stated (Test 1475:1)
sRGB	Test 104.5%
DCI-P3	Test 75% – Natural 85% Adaptive
Rec.2020 or other
Delta E (<4 is excellent)	<1
HDR Level	HDR10
SDR Upscale	No
Blue Light Control	No
PWM if known	Unknown
Daylight readable	Reasonable for IPS
Always on Display	Yes
Edge display	No
Accessibility	All Android features
DRM	L1 for FHD and HDR
Gaming	No haptic feedback. OK, for browser-based games.
Screen protection	Not stated, but likely Gorilla Glass 3
Comment	Bright screen with good natural colours. Can cast to the tablet if in the dock – a first. Still, the issue of Apps not being optimised for landscape mode or the resolution. Adaptive brightness can be over-aggressive. Photoframe mode needs landscape photos.

Processor

Brand, Model	Google Tensor G2
nm	4
Cores	2×2.85GHz Exynos + 2×2.35GHz + 4×1.80GHz)
Modem	N/A
AI TOPS	Proprietary Google Tensor NPU
Geekbench 6 Single-core	1454
Geekbench 6 multi-core	3777
Like
GPU	Mali-G710 MP7 H.263, H.264 AVC, H.265 HEVC, MPEG-4, VP8, VP9, AV1 up to HDR10
GPU Test
Open CL	N/A
Like
Vulcan	4799
RAM, type	8GB LPDDR5
Storage, free, type	128GB UFS 3.1 (98GB free)
micro-SD	No
CPDT internal seq. Read MBps	1400MBps
CPDT internal seq. write MBps	206
CPDT microSD read, write MBps	N/A
CPDT external (mountable?) MBps	‘Files’ finds it as an OTG non-mountable device but will not speed test.
Comment
Throttle test
Max GIPS	276793
Average GIPS	250220
Minimum GIPS	231952
% Throttle	13%
CPU Temp	50°
Comment	Very similar to the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8.

Comms

Wi-Fi Type, model	Wi-Fi 6 AC
Test 2m -dBm, Mbps	-30/1200 (5GHz 80MHz)
Test 5m	-35/1200
Test 10m	-52/1134 (15m -58/1134)
BT Type	5.2
GPS single, dual	None – disappointing, as it could have been a useful feature. E-Compass works.
USB type	USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 supports OTG cut and paste to external drives and 15W upstream charging, not Alt DP 1.4 audio and video stream.
ALT DP, DeX, Ready For	No – and should be!
NFC	No
Ultra-wideband	Yes
Sensors
Accelerometer	Yes
Gyro	Combo with Accelerator
e-Compass	Yes
Barometer
Gravity
Pedometer
Ambient light
Hall sensor
Proximity
Other
Comment	The Pixel 7 series has Wi-Fi 6E AXE – might have been nice. It is a real lost opportunity that the USB-C 3.2 port does not support USB-C to HDMI audio/video streaming.

Battery

mAh	27Wh 7020mAh
Charger, type, supplied	24V/1.25A/30W dock power and charger but charges at a maximum of 15W Can use USB-C PD – tends to charge at 9V/2A/18W or less.
PD, QC level	2
Qi, wattage	N/A
Reverse Qi or cable.	N/A
Test (60Hz or adaptive screen)	60Hz
Charge % 30mins
Charge 0-100%	Dock:3 hours and 5 minutes. Only charges to 90% and discharges to 20% for improved battery care. Google 30W adapter charging at 15W-18W: 2 hours 21 minutes.
Charge Qi, W Using Belkin Boost Charge 15W fast wireless charge	N/A
Charge 5V, 2A	N/A
Video loop 50%, aeroplane	10 hours 35 minutes
PC Mark 3 battery	19 hours 34 minutes
GFX Bench Manhattan battery	Would not run – typical of Exynos SoCs
GFX Bench T-Rex	433.3 minutes (7.22 hours) and 3363 frames
Drain 100-0% full load screen on.	3 hours 8 minutes
mA full load	2000-2100mA
mA Watt idle Screen on	400-450mA
Estimate loss at max refresh	N/A
Estimate typical use	It will clearly last a workday and as a content consumption device for up to 19 hours. Drain under load is shorter than expected, so it is not for heavy users. The dock makes it easy to top up and prolongs battery life with 90/20 charging.
Comment	Excellent result for a 7020mAh battery.

Sound

Speakers	Two on each landscape side total of four, and a 43.5mm speaker in the dock. But it is either the tablet or dock – not both.
Tuning	N/A
AMP	2 x CS35L41 5W @1% THD
Hi-Res	No
3.5mm	No
BT Codecs	Dock AAC, MP3, FLAC, LDAC Tablet SBC, AAC
Multipoint	Should be
Dolby Atmos (DA)	No
EQ	No
Mics	Three far field, including noise reduction
Test dB – all on EQ flat DA off	Tablet/Dock
Volume max	82/86
Media (music)	73
Ring	67
Alarm	72
Notifications	Same as ring
Earpiece	Call volume 80
Hands-free	Reasonable 5m+ far field distance from top mics for OK Google. Adequate noise cancelling from the side mic.
BT headphones	Good clean BT signal but only SBC and AAC codecs.

Sound quality

Sound quality	Tablet/Dock
Deep Bass 20-40Hz	Nil/Nil
Middle Bass 40-100Hz	Nil/Starting
High Bass 100-200Hz	Starting/Strong
Low Mid 200-400Hz	Flat/Flat
Mid 4000-1000Hz	Flat/Flat
High-Mid 1-2kHz	Flat/Flat
Low Treble 2-4kHz	Flat/Flat
Mid Treble 4-6kHz	Flat/Flat
High Treble 6-10kHz	Dip to avoid harshness/Ditto.
Dog Whistle 10-20kHz	Slight decline/choppy
Sound Signature type	The tablet has a bright vocal signature for vocal tracks and string instruments but can make them harsh. The Dock adds mid and high bass, but the treble is choppy. It is more of a warm and sweet signature for music, but as it is mono, it loses the depth and sound stage of the tablet.
Soundstage	The tablet sound stage is slightly wider than the screen. When tested on Dolby Atmos content, it has good left/right separation and even some spatial height. The dock has a mono sound stage with very limited directionality – music appears to come from the lower centre of the screen.
Comment	It’s a shame you can’t use the tablet speakers when docked – it reverts to mono, albeit with decent bass. Our advice – do not use the dock if watching video content or listening to audio content.

Build

Size (H X W x D)	258 (W) x 169 (H) x 8.1mm (D)
Weight grams	493g plus dock 400g
Front glass	Not specified. Suggest buying a screen protector.
Rear material	100% recycled aluminium panel with AED/nano-ceramic coating
Frame	Unibody
IP rating	No
Colours	Porcelain and Hazel
Pen, Stylus support	USI 2.0 stylus

In the box
Charger	Dock charger
USB cable	Plug-style cable attached to the dock charger.
Buds	No
Bumper cover	No
Comment	Buy the case if you want a kickstand – it fits the dock and is excellent.

OS

Android	13
Security patch date	5-Jun – excellent
UI	Pure Android with Google Home and TV customisations
OS upgrade policy	Five years
Security patch policy	Five years
Bloatware	None Google TV is strange. It does not have the same interface, and streaming apps (apart from 9 Now., Stan and Paramount+) are installed via Google Play (Android) and not integrated with GTV.
Other
Comment	Pure Android and the best upgrade policy, bar none. I am still exploring Android 13, but it has many new features.

Security
Fingerprint sensor location, type	On the power button – eight user-profiles and five fingerprints each.
Face ID	No
Other	Tensor M2 Chip
Comment	Profiles allow different family members to have private spaces.

Camera – Google Pixel Tablet 2023

Rear Primary	Wide
MP	8MP
Sensor	Likely a Sony IMX219 (used in Pixel 6/Pro/a) or Samsung S5K4HA/7/8, as all are 1/4″ with 1.12um pixels.
Focus	Fixed FF
f-stop	2
um	1.12um
FOV° (stated, actual)	84°
Stabilisation	Exynos EIS
Zoom	No
Video max	1080p@30fps
Flash	No
Auto-HDR	HDR+
QR code reader	Google Lens
Night mode	Night Sight AI

Front

MP	8MP
Sensor	Same as rear
Focus	FF
f-stop	2
um	1.12um
FOV (stated, actual)	84°
Stabilisation	Exynos EIS
Flash
Zoom	No
Video max	1080p@30fps
Features	Portrait Mode and frame centring on Google Meet video calls.

Ratings – Google Pixel Tablet 2023

Features	95
	Sure, it is an Android tablet, but the dock makes the difference. Also, the 5-year OS and security patch and integration with Google Home and TV Make this outstanding.
Value	90
	Given the dock is $189, it is reasonable value. The Tensor G2 processor and 8/128GB justify the price.
Performance	90
	It has one of the more powerful processors, not far behind the Samsung Galaxy S8 with its Qualcomm SD8 Gen 1 processor.
Ease of Use	90
	Android is easy. Using all the extra features takes a slight learning curve.
Design	90
	If you like Google design styling, this is great.
Rating out of 10	91
Final comment	Google has nailed it with this tablet and dock. It puts it well ahead of the current crop. The powerful processor and Google Home and TV integration are excellent.