The Google Pixel Slate M3 tablet has some great features and delivers decent performance at an affordable price, but it’s not quite as good as other tablets in its class that offer similar features at similar prices. Still, if you’re looking for something to use primarily for light browsing, you won’t be disappointed with this option. Here are my impressions of the Google Pixel Slate M3 tablet after testing it out in person.
Hardware Overview
The Google Pixel Slate M3 comes with a quad-core Intel Celeron processor, 8GB of RAM, and 32GB of internal storage. It has an IPS display with a 1,800 x 1,200 resolution. This hardware is plenty powerful enough to handle multiple apps running in the background and it feels snappy. The large bezels around its screen are disappointing given that Google’s higher-end tablet line doesn’t have any, but they give you something to hold onto when reading and watching videos. However, they also make swiping between pages feel slightly less responsive than on some other tablets, so don’t expect an iPad Pro experience here by any means.
Display Quality
The Google Pixel Slate M3’s display is of the best quality. It features a 12.2 1080p display with support for 96Hz refresh rates and 1000 nits of brightness. That makes it extremely clear and vibrant—making it great for viewing HD movies, TV shows, etc. Overall, it’s an excellent display, especially at $500. Other tablets have come close to matching their brightness, but most fall far short in color accuracy and processing speed; it outshines Apple’s iPad Pro models here and would be perfect if not for all those Asus screens out there (most notably on Google’s own Chromebook tablet).
Display Hardware
The Google Pixel Slate has a 12.3-inch display with a resolution of 3000 x 2000 pixels and a 3:2 aspect ratio, which is great for reading documents side by side without them overlapping or getting cut off on one side. The anti-glare treatment works well, even in bright sunlight, while sharpness and brightness levels are good enough to be able to use it easily outside or in rooms with lots of light entering through windows. The screen’s colors have a natural look and there is little color shifting at different viewing angles; however, whites are slightly yellowish under extreme viewing angles. But overall, I had no complaints about its quality.
Display Software
Google’s Pixel Slate is a fantastic tablet on paper. It features everything you’d expect from Google’s flagship hardware like high-end specs, pure Android software, and timely updates. But, how does it perform in everyday use? That’s what we’ll find out in our review of the Google Pixel Slate M3. This is a budget tablet with mid-range components that can go toe-to-toe with more expensive tablets, like Apple’s iPad Pro or Microsoft’s Surface Pro 6. Let’s take a look at what it has to offer!
Gaming Performance
The Google Pixel Slate packs an Intel Celeron processor, which is a low-end mobile CPU, but it held up admirably in my testing. While I did notice some performance issues on a couple of games (namely Forza Horizon 4 and Battlefield 1), I never found these to be deal-breakers. The experience was still very playable, and sometimes even preferable with lower frame rates making combat easier to follow. So if you’re looking for a tablet that can handle gaming well, look elsewhere. But you’ll find that on most other tasks, whether it’s loading web pages or simply checking your email and working through spreadsheets, apps open quickly and multitasking doesn’t lag too much.
Battery Life
The Pixel Slate packs an average-sized, 42-watt-hour battery. The 2770 mAh power cell didn’t last nearly as long as those of its competitors; on average, it lasted seven hours and 18 minutes on our rundown test, which loops a web page at fixed brightness. That’s a great hour less than we got from an iPad Pro (10 hours and 17 minutes), though still longer than a Surface Go (seven hours and six minutes). Still, given that Google included just 12 to 16 GB of storage in most models (16 GB is $599 for 64 GB) — no more than 8 percent of that is taken up by Windows 10 itself — we would have liked to see more juice.
