This is the Pixel Slate. Announced today among a flurry of hardware at the Made By Google event in New York, the product joins the Pixel Book as Google’s flagship Chrome OS products.
The device looks pretty much exactly like the leaks lead us to believe — it’s a premium slate with a keyboard cover that doubles as a stand. It also features a touch pad, which gives it the edge over products like Samsung’s most recent Galaxy Tab. There’s also a matching Google Pen, which appears to more or less be the same product announced around the Pixel Book, albeit with a darker paint job to match the new product.
The display features a density of 293ppi. Interestingly, the company is looking to pitch the product at creators, keeping the device more in line with the iPad Pro or various Surface products. Media consumption is a big piece as well — there’s a pair of stereo speaker grilles that flank the screen on the side bezels. The Slate will ship with three free months of YouTube TV.
Both front and rear facing cameras are 8MP, using the same machine learning found on the Pixel handsets. It can also shoot in wide screen and portrait mode.
The Slate naturally features the standard array of new Chrome features. The launcher suggests apps, while split screen lets users switch between multiple devices. The product has Google Assistant built in as well, of course, letting users interact via voice. Google says antivirus protections is built into the system with automatic updates. The power button, meanwhile, features a built-in fingerprint reader for boot up.
The Pixel Slate’s keyboard is called, get this, the Pixel Slate keyboard. The device automatically connects and the rounded keys are quiet (clearly a dig at those MacBooks) and backlit. The case doubles as both a stand and a case. Google’s worked with a number of developers here, including Adobe and, interestingly, Peloton, which is bringing fitness features to the device.
The product starts at $599, plus $199 for the keyboard and $99 for the new dark Pen. All three are shipping at some point later this year.
