Google Announces The Pixel C Tablet

In addition to the new Chromecast devices and new Nexus phones, Google gave the world a sneak preview of a new Android tablet which they call the Pixel C. Like the Chromebook Pixel, the Pixel C is designed completely in-house by Google, and it shares many attributes with the Chromebook Pixel even though it runs Android rather than Chrome OS. The hardware is also very interesting, and while there are many unknown details about the Pixel C, what is known looks promising.

As far as specifications go, the Pixel C has a 10.2″ IPS display with a resolution of 2560×1800, which equates to a pixel density of 308ppi. Google states that the tablet’s aspect ratio is the square root of two, and that’s pretty much accurate as 2560/1800 is around 1.42. Representatives at the event stated that the display uses an LTPS backplane rather than an a-Si one, which allows for higher brightness and greater efficiency. Manufacturing LTPS displays at this size costs a considerable amount and it seems that Google felt it was necessary in order to achieve their 500 nit brightness.

As for color, Google advertises that the display covers the sRGB color gamut. I stated this in my live blog, but it’s worth repeating that gamut coverage is only loosely correlated with color accuracy. The 2015 Chromebook Pixel covers the sRGB gamut, but is significantly less accurate than a laptop like the MacBook or the QHD+ XPS 13. Based on what I saw at the event, Google has put effort into making sure their new Nexus devices are well calibrated. However, they’ve also shown lacking effort in doing the same for their $1000 Pixel-branded laptop. I’m very interested to see how accurate the Pixel C’s display is, and I’m hopeful that it can stand alongside the new Nexus smartphones and the Nexus 9 when color accuracy is considered.

Inside the Pixel C is NVIDIA’s Tegra X1 SoC. Built on TSMC’s 20nm process, the X1 packs a quartet of ARM Cortex A57 cores backed by 2MB of L2 cache, and another four A53 cores backed by 512KB of L2 cache, with NVIDIA balancing between performance and power efficiency. Meanwhile the GPU is a 256 core Maxwell implementation that should more than give other Android tablet SoCs more than a run for their money judging from what we’ve seen in other X1 devices.

It’s hard to guess what we’re dealing with in terms of clock speeds and TDP, as this is the first time that X1 has shown up in a mobile device. Ryan and Josh have done some previous analysis of X1, and so far the X1 has only been used in the SHIELD Android TV review, an Android TV console built to service 4K video playback and 1080p(ish) native gaming. Compared to the set-top Android TV, performance will obviously differ in a power and thermally constrained situation like a tablet – though by how much remains to be seen – and in any case the X1 remains as one of the most powerful Android tablet SoCs on the market at this time.

While launching the first Tegra X1 mobile device is quite a big announcement, the focus of the Pixel C is actually on the keyboard accessory that you can purchase for it. For Google, the Pixel line has always had a focus on providing users with great build quality, great keyboards, and great trackpads. The Pixel C is no exception, as it has a new bluetooth keyboard accessory designed to work specifically with it. While Apple and Microsoft have opted for soft keyboard covers, Google has decided to make their keyboard accessory out of the same aluminum as the tablet’s chassis. This means that there really aren’t any compromises as far as key feeling, size, and travel distance are concerned. The keyboard really looks and feels like a slightly condensed version of the Chromebook Pixel’s keyboard, with only the lesser used keys around the edges being less than full size.

Almost as important as the keyboard itself is how it works with the tablet. Some devices use a kickstand, while others use the cover itself for support by folding. Google decided to come up with their own way, and when you see it in person you can’t help but admire its elegance. The keyboard cover attaches to the tablet magnetically. You can store it on the front to make it like a folded laptop, or on the back when you just want to hide it. When it’s on the back you can simply pull the tablet to one side, which shifts the magnetic connection and allows you to elevate the tablet and use it just like a laptop. It’s really difficult to describe, but it works incredibly well and allows for a tilt range from 100 to 130 degrees without any sort of kickstand.

Since the keyboard connects via Bluetooth, it does need to be recharged. However, Google has come up with a method of doing so that is as elegant as the keyboard itself. While it’s attached to the face of the tablet the small internal keyboard battery is charged inductively by the tablet itself. Having it in that position for only a few minutes a day allows it to stay charged perpetually, and the battery will last up to two months on a single charge. It’s just a really ingenious solution and I’m really impressed by it.

The Pixel C is the next device in an emerging category of tablets that sit between your traditional tablet and traditional laptop. How users will respond is anyone’s guess, but the Pixel C isn’t priced at the extreme high end of the market like Chromebook Pixel is so it should be more accessible to consumers. On the subject of price, the Pixel C will start at $499 for 32GB, and $599 for 64GB, with the keyboard being a $149 accessory.

Gallery: Google Pixel C

Hands on With the iPad Pro and iPad Mini 4

While the iPhones are an important aspect of Apple’s September annual announcements, the real surprise of the show was the iPad Pro and iPad Mini 4. For those that aren’t up to speed with the basics of these two tablets, the iPad Mini 4 wa…

Apple Announces the iPad Pro and iPad Mini 4

Today Apple held their fall launch event, and it was the biggest event that the company has held in quite some time. We got firm launch dates for iOS 9, watchOS 2, and OS X El Capitan. Apple also unveiled a slew of new products, including the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, a brand new Apple TV, and the new iPad Mini 4 and iPad Pro. The latter two devices are what I’ll be covering here, and you can check out all of their know internal and external specifications in the chart below.

Like the iPad Mini 3, the iPad Mini 4 only got a small amount of time during the keynote. Apple described it as a mini iPad Air 2, is true in most ways but not in all of them. The thickness has been reduced to 6.1mm, and the mass reduced to 298.8 grams for the WiFi model and 304 grams for the LTE model. It still has a 7.85″ 2048×1536 IPS display, and based on a look at Apple’s event it no longer appears to have a reduced color gamut. It also receives the 8MP iSight camera from the Air 2 with an F/2.4 aperture and 1.12 micron pixels.

While all of these attributes are what you’d expect from a small iPad Air 2, the one difference is that the iPad Mini 4 does not use Apple’s A8X SoC. This is a noticable downgrade from A8X in both CPU and especially GPU performance. That isn’t to say that A8 is slow, but it’s not quite a small iPad Air 2 in every regard. Because Apple’s marketing materials show that the iPad Mini 4 can do split screen multitasking it’s almost a given that this is a version of A8 with 2GB of RAM. 

The star of the show at today’s event was the brand new iPad Pro. The iPad Pro sports an enormous 12.9″ 4:3 display with a 2732×2048 resolution. You may have noticed that the smaller axis has the same resolution as the large axis of the other iPads. This is so the iPad Pro can take advantage of iOS 9’s multitasking features in order to show a full size iPad app with a slightly condensed iPad app on the side. A resolution of 2732×2048 is also impressive when you consider that it has a greater number of pixels than the 15″ MacBook Pro with Retina Display. 

Beyond the resolution, the iPad Pro’s display uses the same photo alignment tech as the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus to achieve greater contrast. It’s also uses an IGZO backplane which is necessary to reduce power consumption. Both the iPad Pro and the iPad Mini 4 have the anti-reflective coating that the iPad Air 2 uses, and both also have have a laminated display. Apple is also employing the use of an adaptive refresh rate to reduce display power usage when displaying static content. This hasn’t been elaborated on very well, and it’s not clear whether or not there’s also panel self refresh support.

Of course, having a giant display isn’t free. You naturally need to enlarge the size of the chassis, and pack in a larger battery to power it. The iPad Pro isn’t very thick at 6.9mm, but it’s quite hefty with a mass of 713 grams for the WiFi model and 723 grams for the LTE model. With a large chassis Apple was also able to make room for additional speakers. There are two pairs of stereo speakers on the top and bottom of the tablet, with the top speakers being dedicated to producing higher frequencies. The software can also detect based on your orientation which speakers are most likely to be covered, and can intelligently switch to using the correct two to product unmuffled audio.

Inside the iPad Air 2 is Apple’s most powerful chip to date, the A9X. According to Apple A9X is 1.8x faster than A8X at CPU tasks, and 2x faster at GPU tasks. Given that A8X was already the fastest ARM SoC in a mobile device this is quite an accomplishment, and is likely the result of architectural improvements, higher clock speeds, and possibly the addition of a fourth CPU core. We’ll have to wait until we get our hands on the iPad Pro before any of this can be confirmed though. Apple also noted that A9X is built on a new “transistor architecture” which means it’s being fabricated on either Samsung’s 14nm or TSMC’s 16nm FinFet process. 

Apple also noted that A9X sports 2x the memory bandwidth and 2x the storage performance of A8X. It’s not clear what changes have been made to the flash storage, but it’s reasonable to assume that the increase in memory bandwidth comes from a move to LPDRR4 memory.

With the iPad Pro comes two new accessories to boost productivity. The first is the Apple Pencil, which is a drawing pen not unlike what is offered with Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3. To minimize latency, the iPad Pro scans for input at 240Hz when using the Apple Pencil. This is twice the rate of scanning that the Air 2 and iPad Pro normally use for input (the iPad Air 2 also scans at 120Hz which was not advertised). You can use the Apple Pencil to draw in apps like Mail and Notes, and third party applications like Microsoft’s Office apps and Paper by FiftyThree are adopting support for it as well. Apple hasn’t said anything about exactly how many pressure levels the Apple Pencil supports. The Apple Pencil costs $99, which I think is a bit steep when the tablet alone comes at quite a premium.

To recharge the Apple Pencil, you just remove the cap at the end and a lightning connector is exposed. You can then plug it into your iPad Pro to charge, with 15 seconds of charging providing 30 minutes of battery life. With a full charge the Apple Pencil will last 12 hours.

In addition to Apple Pencil, Apple has released a Smart Keyboard for the iPad Pro. This is essentially a Smart Cover that integrates a keyboard, and it’s similar to the keyboard covers for Microsoft’s Surface tablets. Also like the Surface, the keyboard connects to a small magnetic connector on the side of the tablet. It’s worth noting that the original iPad actually had an official keyboard too, but it was more like Apple’s Bluetooth keyboard with a 30 pin connector stuck onto it, and you used it with the tablet in portrait. The Smart Keyboard costs $169.

Apple’s new iPad Pro has been announced now, but it won’t be shipping until November. It’s priced at  The iPad Mini 4 is already available to purchase now. Like the iPad Mini 3, the Mini 4 is priced at $399 for 16GB, $499 for 64GB, and $599 for 128GB. Add $129 to any of those tiers to add LTE support. As for the iPad Pro, it’s priced at $799 for 32GB, $949 for 128GB, or $1079 for 128GB with LTE.