TL;DR
- Google was working on a Pen to launch alongside the canceled Pixel Tablet 2
- The pen has a button that launches a quick note-taking app and supports handwriting-to-text conversion
When Google first launched the Pixel Tablet many people noticed something weird — it supported USI 2.0 styli, even though there wasn’t a first-party pen to go with it. That led to speculation, which was eventually confirmed by a leak — Google was, in fact, working on a stylus for its tablet.
Unfortunately, even though everything pointed to Google launching the pen, it never materialized. However, we have learned, thanks to a source inside Google, that the pen was still in active development, and would’ve likely launched alongside the canceled Pixel Tablet 2. While we don’t know the fate of the product now, we still learned a few interesting details about it.
You’re reading an Authority Insights story. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won’t find anywhere else.
Nothing you wouldn’t expect
The “Pen for Google Pixel Tablet,” as it’s officially called, has the codename “bushukan” (or “B80”) and model GM0KF. It seems like Google got quite far in its development, as it has already started the certification process at various bodies around the world.
The pen comes in two colors — white and gray (which I assume would be officially named “porcelain” and “hazel” to match the tablet) and has exchangeable tips. The pen has a button that opens a quick note-taking app when pressed, as you can see in the animation below.
The Pixel Tablet doesn’t have a place to dock the pen, so Google came up with a solution to make charging the pen easier. The pen magnetically docks into the keyboard accessory Google is also working on.
Google has been working on integrating stylus support for a while, and the result is support for handwriting-to-text conversion. Since not many apps support direct stylus input, this should make the pen much more versatile.
Lastly, the pen supports Find My Device for locating it when it inevitably gets misplaced.
Why do we need another stylus?
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
While it’s cool to see Google make more accessories for its tablet line, the Pen doesn’t seem like it has anything particularly special to offer, other than the integration with the keyboard. If you want to use a stylus with your Pixel Tablet, just grab a USI 2.0 compatible Pen now, and you’ll get a very similar experience.
If Google still decides to launch the pen, at this point in the tablet’s lifecycle, it’s hard to feel like it’d be anything other than a case of too little too late.
