The Google Pixel Tablet is due out sometime this year, and we already know a lot about it. Google hasn’t said much officially, but leaks have revealed plenty, from internal components to display details to info about its dual functionality as a tablet and smart home hub. On that last front: leaker SnoopyTech has tweeted a series of images of what they claim to be the Pixel Tablet’s charging dock, and it’s… about what you’d expect.
In the tweet, SnoopyTech shared four images that look to be official renders of a Google-branded charging dock. SnoopyTech calls it the “Google Pixel Tablet Stand,” though it’s unclear if that’s the device’s branded name or just a literal description of what it is.
We’ve seen the dock already in the limited promotional material Google’s shared for the Pixel Tablet (not to mention for sale on Facebook Marketplace), but not from so many angles or in such detail. The stand in this leak is a light gray color — presumably Chalk, in Google parlance. The images aren’t very high resolution, but you can see the dock is wrapped in a similar fabric to Nest Hub devices. We expect the stand will pull double duty as both a charger and an external speaker for the Pixel Tablet.
You can also clearly see the four charging pins that align with connectors on the tablet’s backside, and where the device’s power cable connects. As in prior leaks, it looks like the power source will indeed connect by a standard barrel plug, which might disappoint the hardcore USB-C fans out there. There’s a debossed G on the bottom surface of the stand, plus what looks like a single hardware button.
As 9to5Google reports, a teardown of the Google Home app has revealed some info about how the dock will work. A string in the app mentions a Hub Mode for the Pixel Tablet that’s engaged when you connect the slate to its dock. The teardown also showed that you’ll be able to assign the dock to a room in Google Home the same way you can with existing smart speakers and displays, which makes sense — you’ll move the tablet around, but the dock will probably stay in one place.
While the leaked images aren’t terribly exciting — we haven’t learned anything new there — both the circulation of what appear to be previously unseen official product images as well as references to the tablet’s Hub Mode appearing in the Google Home app’s code support the idea that the Pixel Tablet could be fully unveiled as soon as Google’s upcoming I/O conference. If it is, we won’t have too long to wait: Google I/O 2023 is scheduled to kick off on May 10.
Google Pixel Tablet
Google announced the upcoming Pixel Tablet at its annual I/O conference in 2022. Official details are still scarce — we really only know it’ll have a Tensor G2 chipset and a charging dock — but rumors have been plentiful. We’re expecting a two-in-one device that doubles as a standard Android tablet and a Nest Hub-like smart display. Google’s said the tablet is set for a 2023 release.
