What you need to know
- The Pixel Tablet is like a Nest Hub Max, but it’s missing a few cool features like Look and Talk and Quick Gestures.
- Google’s apparently working on an update to bring these cool features to the Pixel Tablet, allowing you to control the tablet with your eyes and hands, without having to say a word.
- These two new features would make the Pixel Tablet much more useful when it’s docked in the Charging Speaker Dock.
Google’s newest tablet, the Pixel Tablet, is a lot like the Nest Hub Max, but it doesn’t have all the same features. Two big omissions are “Look and Talk” and Quick Gestures, but a recent Google app update suggests that these features may be coming to the tablet soon.
The Pixel Tablet may soon be able to understand your gaze and start listening for commands when it is docked or plugged in, as discovered in a recent APK teardown by 9to5Google. These features are already available on the Nest Hub Max, so it’s strange that the Pixel Tablet didn’t have them at launch.
With Look and Talk, you can just look at the Nest Hub Max and ask your question without having to say “Hey Google.” It comes in handy if you want to save time, especially if you’re already looking at the screen.
Google may also be working on adding Quick Gestures support to the Pixel Tablet in a future update. This feature lets you control your device with your hands instead of your voice. It’s kind of like Look and Talk, but instead of looking at your device and saying what you want it to do, you just wave your hand. You can use Quick Gestures to do things like stop timers and control media playback, for example.
Look and Talk and Quick Gestures aren’t essential features for the Pixel Tablet, but they would be a nice touch. We’re left wondering why Google didn’t include them at launch, especially since the tablet is supposed to be a portable version of the Nest Hubs.
The Pixel Tablet’s Nest-like feature is one of its best selling points, so any improvement to those capabilities would make it more appealing to consumers than many of the top Android tablets out there.
The new Google Pixel Tablet is a true Pixel experience, with a large, high-refresh-rate display for smooth gaming and video playback, and a charging speaker dock for great audio while it charges.