Is The Pixel Tablet Still Worth Buying In 2026?

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Google pulled the wraps off the Pixel Tablet in May of 2023 at its I/O event, becoming the company's first tablet since 2018. Launched at a starting price of $600 with a speaker that doubles as a charging dock, the Pixel Tablet wasn't considered the best tablet you could buy when it came out. In fact, when it launched, it received lukewarm reviews, and many didn't consider its value proposition good enough to be featured among the best Android tablets. But since hitting the stores in 2023, much has changed about the Pixel Tablet. 

First, it's no longer up-to-date hardware-wise, which makes it quite easy to find it at a discount. In the second-hand market, you can get the Pixel Tablet for between $250 and $350, depending on the condition, on platforms like Best Buy and eBay. Even if you buy it brand new, you can get it for less, as even Google hasn't kept the tablet's price constant. The company first dropped the price to $500, then later slashed it by another $100 to $400 while simultaneously dropping the initially bundled dock. 

For a tablet that launched in 2023, you might be wondering whether the Pixel Tablet is still worth buying in 2026. After all, it's roughly three years old at this point, and the hardware that you're getting isn't as impressive or snappy as the newer models from manufacturers like Samsung and Apple. Despite its age and the existence of newer options, the Pixel Tablet is still worth buying in 2026 because it isn't like any of your regular tablets. It's a unique device that doubles as a smart home hub and is also handy for use as a smart home assistant.

The reason the Google Pixel Tablet is one of the old tablets worth buying in 2026 is its capabilities as a smart home hub. With the dock, you can place the tablet anywhere in the house and control the different smart devices from there. This dock can also charge the tablet, so you don't have to worry about it running out of charge. The built-in magnets on the rear make attaching the device to vertical metal surfaces possible, and that means you can move it around and put it in more places around the house than any other tablet, like on the door of your refrigerator while in the kitchen. 

Another feature that makes the Pixel Tablet appealing is that the dock has a solid speaker built in, and with Google's Gemini assistant, you can use it as your home assistant. Besides, while Google initially planned to stop seeding updates to the Pixel Tablet in 2026, the company has extended support by two more years, pushing the end of life to mid-2028. That's a big part of what makes the Pixel Tablet worth getting in 2026, as you wouldn't want to buy a device that's no longer updated. 

The Pixel Tablet is certainly not the most powerful tablet you can buy, especially this year when models like Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra and Apple's M5 iPad Pro exist. While its hardware specs aren't high-end, they're more than enough for basic tasks. It features a 10.95-inch LCD panel with 2,560 by 1,600 resolution and 500 nits of brightness. The display comes with a 16:10 aspect ratio and a vibrant panel. 

Under the hood is Google's Tensor G2 chip, which is still a capable chip for multitasking and high-end gaming. Of course, this is possible because modern chips typically offer marginal performance improvements every year. Alongside the Tensor G2 is 8 GB of memory and either 128 or 256 GB of storage. 

The Pixel Tablet is powered by a 27-watt-hour battery, and the battery life is excellent, living up to Google's 12-hour claims. The Pixel Tablet offers good enough performance for the majority of people. But if you need high-end performance from your tablet, you should probably look elsewhere.