All the signs point in one direction. The days of the Google Chromebook as we know it are numbered. The three key announcements which support this prediction are:

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1. September 2022, the Verge announces Google is out of the laptop business even though ahead of its annual 2022 I/O developer conference, Google hardware chief Rick Osterloh stated “we are going to do Pixelbooks in the future.”
2. May 2022, Pixel Tablet unveiled at Google IO even though stating they would no longer make those devices back in 2019.

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Much of the design language of the new tablet comes from the Nest Hub Max device. Here are the specifications for that device.

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• 10″ HD Screen (1280×800 at 150ppi resolution)
• Arm Quad Cortex-A53 at up to 1.896 GHz CPU
• Arm Dvalin MP2 (Mali-G31MP2) GPU
• Video decoding – 4K H265, VP9, and AVS2
• Video Encoding – 1080p H264 H265
• Speakers – 2x 10W tweeters, 1x 30W woofer
• Face Match – yes
• Sensors – Ambient EQ
• Camera – 6.5-megapixel camera with 127-degree wide field of view and auto-framing
• BlueTooth – v5.0
• RAM – 2GB
• OS – Google Fuchsia

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It does not require a lot of imagination to see where this is going. For example, bump the specifications as follows.

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• 10 inch Super AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+ Screen – 1600 x 2560 at 274ppi resolution
• Tensor – G2 CPU (confirmed)
• Mali – G710 GPU
• RAM – 8 GB
• Storage – 128 GB
• Battery – 6 to 8 hrs typical usage
• Connectivity – USB Type-C 3.1 & WiFi 6
• Sensors – Fingerprint (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer

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The big question is what functions will the base bring to the table? It is easy to assume charging, speakers, and a USB C port. With a consumer focus, it is not inconceivable to envision the tablet being used as a gaming console. It has already been suggested the tablet will function as a Nest device. If a 12 inch "Pro" version is offered, accessories could include a keyboard portfolio case.

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As well as this may sound, it won’t be enough to get back into the game. There will also need to be enough apps which run well in this environment to reach critical mass. 

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During a product early look, Rose Yao, Nest Product Manager, stated the tablet will run Android. I can still remember previous attempts to run Android on a tablet. That did not go well.

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