Google is done fighting the iPad for good, will focus on making laptops going forward

Google is done making tablets – Android, Chrome OS, or otherwise. Hours after multiple reports concerning the move started hitting the World Wide Web, Google’s hardware business chief Rick Osterloh, confirmed the news on Twitter, adding that the global search engine giant will now focus all its resources on building laptops instead. Long story short, the Pixel Slate is not getting a successor, the Pixelbook is going to get one though. 

Google’s has had a troubled track record with the tablet form factor. Sadly, that had nothing to do with its hardware choices. It was Google’s software that made its tablets so very unlikable. A lot of this also had to do with the modus operandi that Google employed – initially kicking things off with Android, only to follow up things with Chrome OS. While Android was never meant for tablets from day-1, Chrome OS showed promise, at least in the initial run – but Google was simply unable to make the best use of it. Chrome OS tablets like the Pixel Slate were marred by bugs, and even though Google was able to fix some of them, its latest move suggests – it was never meant to be after all. 

Google abandoning the in-house tablet (partners may continue to launch Chrome OS tablets) altogether may also have to do with how technologically forward the iPad has come to be – and it’s going to go even further ahead with the upcoming iPad OS. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s Surface continues to be a go-to tablet for those looking for a full-on Windows experience on a portable. Google’s Chrome OS based Pixel Slate was lost in translation amid all this competition – competition that eventually took the better of it.  

To an extent that Google reportedly axed two tablets that it was currently working on – two smaller Pixel Slate models that were apparently scheduled to launch sometime after 2019.     

But just because Google has announced that it will not be making tablets any more, it doesn’t mean it will stop supporting its existing tablets which means devices like the Pixel Slate will continue to receive key software and security updates as promised. Also, “make no mistake, Android & Chrome OS teams are 100% committed for the long-run on working with our partners on tablets for all segments of the market (consumer, enterprise, edu).” 

Also Read:  With New IPad OS, Desktop-class Web Browsing, Download Manager And USB Support Come To IPad