Today’s Pixel Slate isn’t the same as the device that debuted last year. A slew of Chrome OS improvements and features, combined with a $200 discount make this tablet worth the purchase consideration.
Browsing: Pixel Slate
The Dev Channel of Chrome OS is now up to version 76, bringing a simple flag to enable GPU hardware acceleration in Linux. Here’s a video of Portal in Steam on the Pixel Slate, with and without GPU acceleration.
It appears that the animation lag when using a Pixel Slate in tablet mode is vastly improved in Chrome OS 75. I snapped this short video on my Slate showing how much better it works.
Join me at 1pm ET for a livestream of the Google I/O 2019 keynote along with commentary from the folks at This Week in Google. I don’t expect new Chromebooks but there will plenty of news to discuss.
Hoping to see the Atlas Chromebook appear at Google I/O 2019 as a Pixelbook refresh? That’s not likely going to happen this week: Look for Atlas in October.
Using a Pixel Slate or Chromebook in tablet mode but can’t find the CTRL or ALT keys for the on-screen keyboard? Here’s the 30-second fix!
I’ve said more than once that most people would be better served by the Google Pixelbook than the Pixel Slate. Now you can nab one for $200 off, regardless of model directly from Google. Or get it from Best Buy with a free Home Mini.
The biggest issue to plague the Pixel Slate is the poor animation performance in overview mode. More fixes and optimizations are coming this week in Chrome OS 73.
Google is reportedly getting out of the Chromebook hardware business but we don’t know why, or if it’s even true. If it is, the negative impact is minimal and there could even be some positive aspect to come.
Benchmark tests showing a device with internal similarities to the Pixel Slate surfaced this week. It looks like another Chrome tablet option but this time coming from Asus based on Chromium code approvals.
The Asus Chromebook Flip C302 is a great device but it’s getting long in the tooth. Asus stepped up two processor generations, improved and made the display larger with 5mm bezels in the new Chromebook C434, which could be a hit if the price is right.