The Pixel C joins the Chromebook Pixel – the first piece of hardware designed solely by Google – but instead of running Chrome OS the Pixel C runs the latest version of Android 6.0 Marshmallow, making it the first tablet to do so.
The Pixel line is different to the various Nexus devices which are made in partnership with third-party manufacturers such as HTC, LG or Huawei. There, the manufacturer designs and builds the device, while Google sets some of the requirements and provides the software.
Monolithic aluminium
Google uses the Pixel brand to denote its own-brand machines. They all have a couple of things in common: a plain grey aluminium body, black frame around the glass touchscreen and a colour light strip in the rear of the lid that indicates when the device is on and the battery level. The Pixel C is the best made Android tablet to date. It feels solid and reassuring, with the same quality build of theChromebook Pixel.
It isn’t the most ergonomic of tablets to hold with relatively hard edges, but it doesn’t feel chunky despite being 7mm thick and weighing 517g. It is both thicker and heavier than rivals such as Apple’s 6.1mm, 437g iPad Air 2 and Sony’s 6.1mm, 389g Xperia Z4 Tablet, but it wasn’t too heavy to hold and I didn’t notice it in a bag.
The 10.2in quad HD screen is one of the best I have seen on a tablet with a pixel density of 308 pixels per inch, which is visibly sharper than Apple’s iPad Air 2 with 264ppi, but very similar to Sony’s 299ppi Z4 Tablet. It also one of the brightest, which makes viewing it outdoors easier … See More