Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google is still undecided on whether the Pixel Tablet will evolve into a true smart home hub, with the company evaluating its role in the market.
- Google’s current priority for the Pixel Tablet is enhancing its smart home capabilities, and the company remains cautious about launching a next-gen model until the market demand is clearer.
- Despite speculation of cancelations, a third-generation Pixel Tablet may still be in development, focussing on smart home integration rather than competing with the iPad.
The Google Pixel Tablet is approaching its second anniversary, and there’s still no sign of a refresh. Google has remained tight-lipped about a successor to its ambitious tablet-meets-smart-home-hub, even as leaks waver between reports of cancellations and new products in the pipeline. However, after speaking with a Google executive at MWC 2025, we may finally have some insight into the company’s plans for the device.
Mike Abary, VP of Devices and Services for APAC at Google, told us that the company is still evaluating the Pixel Tablet’s role as a smart home hub.
“We have to make sure that the platform itself has stabilized and that there’s acceptance. We’re at this juncture right now where we’re asking ourselves is the Pixel Tablet that home hub device? Is it going to meet the expectations of consumers to be that device for them? And the question has not been fully answered yet.
When asked whether Google might shift focus to make the Pixel Tablet a direct competitor to the iPad, Abary made it clear that the priority remains strengthening its smart home capabilities.
The Pixel Tablet will continue to be positioned as a stay-at-home device.
“Today, it is a consumption device, and what we’re thinking about is – can it act as a central hub to control other devices in the home to a much more broader degree?” he said.
“We think that it can and has the ability to do more when it comes to smart homes, and like I said, we haven’t fully answered that question yet. That’s why we still have the current generation Pixel Tablet in the market as our standard tablet today in our portfolio,” he added.
Abary stopped short of confirming any plans for a next-generation Pixel Tablet. However, his comments suggest that Google is taking a deliberate approach, and for now, the Pixel Tablet will continue to be positioned as a stay-at-home device.
We previously heard from sources that Google scrapped the Pixel Tablet 2, but a third-generation model may still be in development — possibly with significant upgrades for power users. One thing is clear, though: whatever comes next, Google’s tablets will remain deeply integrated with the smart home ecosystem.
