Hey, Apple: Google’s Pixel Slate tablet is coming after the iPad Pro usatoday.com

Two people in my office mistook the Google Pixel Slate tablet I had lying on a desk for one of Apple’s newest iPad Pros. At home, my 11-year-old son made the same mistake.

If you are Google, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing since the company will presumably have to persuade a would-be iPad Pro buyer to choose its pricey new tablet instead.

I’m not quite ready to do that myself, though Google’s new 1.6-pound anodized aluminum Chrome OS tablet is a capable alternative with a 12.3-inch high resolution touch display that is lovely to look at, notwithstanding bezels that are a little thicker than those on the iPad Pro.

Google says its color is midnight blue. To my eye, it looks black.

The bottom line is, while the hardware is very nice, I’m not sold on the software.

As with the display on Apple’s tablet, Pixel Slate supports the use of an optional pen for those of you who like to draw. And Google uses artificial intelligence to transform your handwritten scribblings into text.

Comparing prices

Google claims a couple of advantages against its rival right off the bat, a cheaper (though not cheap) starting price of $599 compared to the latest iPad Pros, which fetch $799 on up. And Google’s accessory $199 keyboard is superior to Apple’s optional $179 or $199 optional keyboard, mainly because it has the trackpad that Apple’s keyboard lacks. That said, it isn’t great either because, though you can prop up the tablet at multiple angles, it is awkward to do so, and sometimes if the surface wasn’t flat enough, the whole thing came tumbling down.

The rounded backlit keys on Google’s keyboard do take some getting used to, but otherwise the “travel” and feel of the keys are fine.

The truth, though, is that as a person who writes for a living, I’d take a laptop keyboard every time, whether we’re talking a Mac, Chromebook or Windows PC.

Which raises a question any tablet buyer in this class should think long and hard about: Do you really want a tablet, or are you better off with a laptop?

The Pixel Slate price advantage over Apple is also a bit misleading because Google’s entry level is built around a relatively wimpy Intel Celeron processor, 4 gigabytes of RAM and a modest 32GB of storage, half the capacity of Apple’s new iPad Pro starting configuration. Such a configuration is perfectly adequate for the basics: browsing, watching Netflix, jotting a few notes.

If you have heartier requirements, be prepared to give Apple or Google a lot more loot for more robust specs and generous storage. My test Google model with an 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage is priced at $999. The price of a Pixel Slate climbs to $1,599, if you want an even more powerful Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB, and 256GB.

That sum doesn’t factor in the keyboard most of you will want and the $99 pen some of you will want.

For comparison, Apple’s maxed out iPad Pro can cost well over $2,000, especially if you pile on the accessories. Keep in mind also that, while the Pixel Slate is available with that 12.3-inch display, Apple buyers wanting the latest iPad Pro can choose either 11- or 12.9-inch display models.

In case you’re wondering, the Pixel Slate is a tad taller and slightly less wide than the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.