WEBVTT - Google Pixel Slate Combines iPad, Surface & Chromebook 0:00:04.400 --> 0:00:07.360 Google's pixel Slate combines the best of a tablet and 0:00:07.400 --> 0:00:08.039 a laptop. 0:00:08.080 --> 0:00:10.879 What's going on, I'm Rich Demiro. This is Rich on Tech. 0:00:11.039 --> 0:00:14.160 Google recently unveiled a new device called the pixel Slate. 0:00:14.280 --> 0:00:16.720 It's a tablet that becomes a laptop once you snap 0:00:16.760 --> 0:00:19.840 it into a specially designed keyboard cover, and it also 0:00:20.000 --> 0:00:24.000 has a stylus sound familiar while pixel Slate combines aspects 0:00:24.040 --> 0:00:28.080 of the iPad Pro, Microsoft Surface, and a Chromebook all 0:00:28.200 --> 0:00:30.360 into one. I went hands on with the device at 0:00:30.400 --> 0:00:33.440 Google's Made by Google launch event earlier this month in 0:00:33.440 --> 0:00:36.280 New York City, and although I personally dream of having 0:00:36.280 --> 0:00:38.199 an all in one device like this that would let 0:00:38.240 --> 0:00:41.440 me go from productivity on the plane to Netflix before bed, 0:00:41.840 --> 0:00:44.280 I'm a rare use case scenario since I edit a 0:00:44.280 --> 0:00:46.559 lot of video on the go and I rely on 0:00:46.600 --> 0:00:49.080 a MacBook Pro for that. But the pixel Slate is 0:00:49.120 --> 0:00:51.879 a good contender if you're doing mostly business stuff like 0:00:51.960 --> 0:00:54.920 email and spreadsheets, then want to unwind a bit with 0:00:54.960 --> 0:00:57.600 a tablet to read or watch video. I talked to 0:00:57.640 --> 0:01:01.400 Matt vacone product management director at Google, about why a 0:01:01.480 --> 0:01:02.080 two in one. 0:01:02.320 --> 0:01:04.360 We see a lot of people very interested in you 0:01:04.800 --> 0:01:07.319 as your life blends together more between work and play. 0:01:07.920 --> 0:01:10.640 More and more hybrid type of devices are coming out, 0:01:10.680 --> 0:01:13.600 and people want the flexibility both in the operating system 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:16.440 as well as in the hardware itself for getting work 0:01:16.480 --> 0:01:19.440 done sometimes or just kicking back and watching a movie 0:01:19.440 --> 0:01:22.640 at times. So really focused on two main things is 0:01:22.840 --> 0:01:27.200 the brilliant display in front, firing speakers so that entertainment experience, 0:01:27.640 --> 0:01:31.039 but then bringing Chrome OS into a full tablet experience 0:01:31.240 --> 0:01:32.679 so you can actually use it to get work done 0:01:32.720 --> 0:01:34.279 as well as using all your favorite apps. 0:01:34.360 --> 0:01:36.240 Pixel Slate is thin and sleek. 0:01:36.560 --> 0:01:38.640 It has a substantial feel though when you pick it 0:01:38.720 --> 0:01:42.600 up it's seven millimeters thick and one point six pounds heavy. 0:01:42.720 --> 0:01:45.280 The display is just over twelve inches and it does 0:01:45.319 --> 0:01:47.240 take up most of the front of the device. 0:01:47.640 --> 0:01:49.400 It's also a really clear screen. 0:01:49.560 --> 0:01:52.440 The pixel Slate runs a more touch optimized version of 0:01:52.520 --> 0:01:55.120 Chrome OS, and you can run Android apps too. 0:01:55.160 --> 0:01:57.240 It's actually the same operaing system as what's on all 0:01:57.280 --> 0:02:00.600 chromebooks is what's on pixel book, but we now have 0:02:00.680 --> 0:02:03.240 it we've really enhanced if we use on a touch screen. 0:02:03.440 --> 0:02:05.360 There's actually a long journey we've been on to bring 0:02:05.400 --> 0:02:08.880 great touch support into their all the great applications as well. 0:02:09.120 --> 0:02:10.880 So it's actually the same experience when it's really cool. 0:02:10.880 --> 0:02:12.760 When you try out the device, when you're holding it 0:02:12.760 --> 0:02:14.600 as a tablet, you know, it looks like a traditional 0:02:14.600 --> 0:02:16.760 tablet experience, and then we pop it into the keyboard, 0:02:17.120 --> 0:02:19.560 it looks just like a typical Chromebook experience. 0:02:19.880 --> 0:02:22.720 Important to know, pixel Slate also runs a full version 0:02:22.800 --> 0:02:24.520 of the Chrome web browser. 0:02:24.520 --> 0:02:25.160 This is key. 0:02:25.440 --> 0:02:27.840 You're not limited to mobile versions of sites, and you 0:02:27.880 --> 0:02:30.440 can install all of your favorite extensions just like you 0:02:30.480 --> 0:02:32.400 would on the desktop. Now, you're still going to be 0:02:32.480 --> 0:02:35.040 making some compromises with the device like this, but as 0:02:35.040 --> 0:02:38.080 technology and software gets more advanced in this form factor, 0:02:38.280 --> 0:02:39.280 we're making less of them. 0:02:39.320 --> 0:02:41.040 But we don't think it's true anymore in what we've 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:42.600 done with pixel Slay, and that was a key thing. 0:02:42.600 --> 0:02:44.600 We want to have no compromise, that you can actually 0:02:44.600 --> 0:02:46.679 get down to one device that you really need to use, 0:02:48.080 --> 0:02:50.960 and so that's why it was important to have a 0:02:51.000 --> 0:02:54.720 great keyboard option, full proactivity operating system, you know, not 0:02:54.840 --> 0:02:57.240 something that's kind of a phone operating system. Really trying 0:02:57.240 --> 0:03:00.400 to stretch up and also for your personal time, having 0:03:00.480 --> 0:03:02.560 all the great application supports. 0:03:02.200 --> 0:03:05.280 The keyboard doubles as a folio case. That's a two 0:03:05.400 --> 0:03:08.120 hundred dollars add on. It has rounded keys and in 0:03:08.160 --> 0:03:11.160 my limited hands on time, felt very comfortable and easy 0:03:11.160 --> 0:03:14.120 to type on. Very unlike my MacBook Pro, which I 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:16.800 don't like what Apple did to the keyboard this time around. 0:03:17.040 --> 0:03:18.280 The keys don't move very much. 0:03:18.320 --> 0:03:21.360 I'm always making mistakes and it is super duper loud. 0:03:21.440 --> 0:03:24.440 We're really really proud of the pixel Slate keyboard that 0:03:24.600 --> 0:03:28.320 folio and how awesome the keyboard is. Our team takes 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:31.400 a lot of pride in being geeks about keyboards. We 0:03:31.440 --> 0:03:33.880 made an awesome keyboard and pixel book we brought that 0:03:33.960 --> 0:03:37.720 into a folio, so it just feels great. It's super quiet. 0:03:38.560 --> 0:03:42.160 We call them hush keys. Yes, so we think being 0:03:42.320 --> 0:03:44.560 very very quiet and a good feel. So we're really 0:03:44.520 --> 0:03:45.960 really proud of the work that we did there. 0:03:46.200 --> 0:03:48.360 Pixel Slate has a camera on both the front and 0:03:48.400 --> 0:03:50.520 the back, as well as front firing speakers. 0:03:50.800 --> 0:03:53.240 There's also a USB sport on each. 0:03:53.040 --> 0:03:55.520 Side of the tablet and the power button is also 0:03:55.560 --> 0:03:57.760 a fingerprint scanner to unlock the device. 0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:00.040 So the two cameras we put on a really so 0:04:00.080 --> 0:04:02.000 the front one is when we really focus on for 0:04:02.080 --> 0:04:04.680 a very very wide field of view because everyone's using 0:04:04.680 --> 0:04:06.640 these devices, like me and my family to do a 0:04:06.720 --> 0:04:09.000 video chat, and it's annoying, like at least my my 0:04:09.040 --> 0:04:10.720 son's need to cram in around me, what my wife 0:04:10.720 --> 0:04:13.160 needs to cram in. So we really went for having 0:04:13.480 --> 0:04:16.280 a very very wide field of view. And then Duo 0:04:16.440 --> 0:04:18.080 is launching on Chrome West at the same time as 0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:20.120 we're launching, as we're renouncing pixel Slate, and they really 0:04:20.160 --> 0:04:22.640 took advantage of this for a great video chat experience. 0:04:23.560 --> 0:04:26.320 And then in back camera, a lot of the actually 0:04:27.680 --> 0:04:29.839 similar things we've learned from the pixel phone. 0:04:29.560 --> 0:04:31.480 Camera we've implemented into our camera as well. 0:04:31.520 --> 0:04:32.920 So that's why on the tablet you can actually now 0:04:33.000 --> 0:04:35.600 take photos when you take a photo on a tablet 0:04:36.160 --> 0:04:37.400 in portrait mode. 0:04:37.640 --> 0:04:39.599 Okay, but what about battery life. 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:41.760 Battery life, we're really excited we're at twelve hours of 0:04:41.800 --> 0:04:43.640 battery life, and you know, that was the main goal 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:46.200 of ours, to get full all day, because if you're 0:04:46.200 --> 0:04:48.400 gonna carry on one device and with a versatility life, 0:04:48.400 --> 0:04:51.360 we really really wanted great long battery life. So we're 0:04:51.360 --> 0:04:53.599 really proud that we've we've hit we've hit twelve hours. 0:04:53.800 --> 0:04:56.440 Safety and security always a big benefit of Chromebooks, and 0:04:56.480 --> 0:04:59.080 that extends to the pixel Slate. It's going to boot 0:04:59.160 --> 0:05:01.920 up fast, the soft is always up to date automatically, 0:05:02.120 --> 0:05:04.960 and there's no worry about viruses. One funny thing, there 0:05:05.000 --> 0:05:07.440 was a lot of talk about this secure enclave chip 0:05:07.480 --> 0:05:10.520 Google calls Titan m has a fancy name, but Matt 0:05:10.560 --> 0:05:12.839 says they actually had it in last year's devices too. 0:05:12.920 --> 0:05:15.520 Security has always been a core tenet of promos. You know, 0:05:15.600 --> 0:05:18.480 antivirus is built in the operating system automatically updates in 0:05:18.480 --> 0:05:20.080 the background. That's why it's really getting a lot of 0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:22.520 great traction across a lot of user segments. 0:05:22.600 --> 0:05:27.600 Is a security and so we have a titaned security chip. 0:05:27.720 --> 0:05:29.760 We actually had it in pixel Book last year as well, 0:05:30.040 --> 0:05:31.719 and it's the same chip we're actually using in pixel 0:05:31.720 --> 0:05:34.840 Slate this year to really lock down once of your 0:05:34.839 --> 0:05:36.720 core data and keep it on device in a very 0:05:36.800 --> 0:05:37.520 very protected way. 0:05:37.920 --> 0:05:39.960 And when I asked Matt about the biggest challenges in 0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:42.160 creating a device like the pixel Slate, I got a 0:05:42.160 --> 0:05:45.320 little insight into Google and how it works. Keep in mind, 0:05:45.480 --> 0:05:48.159 this is a software company first and foremost, and not 0:05:48.240 --> 0:05:50.960 even apps really and things like that, but really search 0:05:51.080 --> 0:05:54.520 technology coding, So doing hardware is a bit different from 0:05:54.560 --> 0:05:58.320 what Google is typically used to versus say, Apple, which 0:05:58.360 --> 0:06:01.360 is a leader in marrying hardware and software to work together. 0:06:01.440 --> 0:06:03.520 Google is definitely getting better at it. You can see 0:06:03.520 --> 0:06:06.279 that evidenced in their hardware like the Pixel, but you 0:06:06.360 --> 0:06:09.200 can tell they are learning from past experiences where things 0:06:09.320 --> 0:06:12.080 might not have lined up. Keep in mind, Google designs 0:06:12.120 --> 0:06:14.960 its software to run on devices from a wide variety 0:06:14.960 --> 0:06:18.839 of manufacturers, whereas Apple is only concerned about how something 0:06:18.920 --> 0:06:21.880 runs on their devices, So that definitely presents a challenge 0:06:21.880 --> 0:06:22.760 for a company like Google. 0:06:22.880 --> 0:06:26.479 Biggest challenge is always what's great about we're working at Harvard. 0:06:26.480 --> 0:06:28.040 Part of Google is, you know, we get a chance 0:06:28.080 --> 0:06:30.640 to represent all of Google in our product and kind 0:06:30.640 --> 0:06:33.200 of ship all of Google. But that's you know, big 0:06:33.240 --> 0:06:36.760 ambitious goals that we had. We had a hardware efforts. 0:06:37.080 --> 0:06:39.520 Chromos have this very very large effort to really bring 0:06:39.520 --> 0:06:43.480 out a great touch oriented experience. The assistant team did 0:06:43.480 --> 0:06:45.280 a lot of work, The duo team did a lot 0:06:45.320 --> 0:06:48.200 of work to really optimize the great wide field of 0:06:48.240 --> 0:06:49.640 view of camera that we have on the front. 0:06:50.000 --> 0:06:50.800 So it's a. 0:06:50.800 --> 0:06:54.680 Coordination of all these awesome teams at Google aiming for 0:06:54.760 --> 0:06:56.880 a day like today to announce all of our work. 0:06:57.160 --> 0:06:58.200 So it's probably, you know. 0:06:58.160 --> 0:07:01.200 It's what's it's so cool about getting to do this 0:07:01.240 --> 0:07:03.159 work at Google. But it's also a big challenge just 0:07:03.200 --> 0:07:05.800 to orchestrate all these teams of land everything at the 0:07:05.800 --> 0:07:06.520 exact same time. 0:07:07.200 --> 0:07:08.800 Like I said earlier, I would love to have a 0:07:08.839 --> 0:07:10.960 two in one device. I find myself not wanting to 0:07:11.000 --> 0:07:13.760 take both a laptop and a phone and a tablet 0:07:13.800 --> 0:07:14.680 on business travel. 0:07:15.040 --> 0:07:17.680 Then when I'm on personal travel, I want a tablet. 0:07:17.360 --> 0:07:19.520 For the entertainment value, but it's nice to have a 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:22.080 laptop in case I want to get some real work done. 0:07:22.280 --> 0:07:25.000 And device like the pixel Slate definitely solves this dilemma. 0:07:25.040 --> 0:07:27.880 But with me, I am editing video, which is getting 0:07:27.920 --> 0:07:30.840 easier on tablets and devices like this thanks to apps 0:07:30.840 --> 0:07:32.040 like Adobe Premiere Rush. 0:07:32.240 --> 0:07:34.200 But I don't think we're there just yet. 0:07:34.480 --> 0:07:36.840 But if you're a business person that doesn't require highly 0:07:36.880 --> 0:07:39.480 specialized apps for your line of work and you do 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:42.720 mostly web based stuff, this is sort of perfect. 0:07:42.520 --> 0:07:44.560 A lot of people who want just a great, awesome 0:07:44.600 --> 0:07:47.880 Google experience. You know, we haven't really focused on the 0:07:47.880 --> 0:07:49.800 tablet space the last few years, so now there's a 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:52.080 lot of users out there who really want you know, 0:07:52.080 --> 0:07:56.040 the full g suite, Google Google Play Store experience. You 0:07:56.120 --> 0:07:59.720 know types of users you see, you know a lot 0:07:59.720 --> 0:08:02.480 of who have grown up going you know, on their chromebooks, 0:08:02.480 --> 0:08:05.400 are now getting older and buying their own devices. So 0:08:05.440 --> 0:08:08.520 that's a great grace of users we think about there. 0:08:08.800 --> 0:08:11.120 And then you know, a busy on the goal professional 0:08:11.480 --> 0:08:14.440 that needs to have something thin light that they're carrying around, 0:08:14.760 --> 0:08:16.360 but also if they're on the road, want to be 0:08:16.400 --> 0:08:18.480 able to watch you know, content and on things like that. 0:08:18.520 --> 0:08:20.360 So those are two users i'd highlight. 0:08:21.120 --> 0:08:23.200 Finally, one more fun feature for the road Warrior. 0:08:23.280 --> 0:08:25.680 The Peloton app is going to launch on Android with 0:08:25.680 --> 0:08:28.280 the pixel Slate later this year. If you're not familiar 0:08:28.320 --> 0:08:30.680 with Peloton, this is sort of a live and on 0:08:30.760 --> 0:08:34.560 demand spinning class. The bike is several thousand dollars, so 0:08:34.600 --> 0:08:36.320 the fact that you can just fire up the pixel 0:08:36.360 --> 0:08:39.080 Slate and take a class on there is pretty cool. 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:40.440 They'll launch this later this year. 0:08:40.440 --> 0:08:42.720 They've been outside is coming soon and so yeah, when 0:08:42.760 --> 0:08:45.040 you're on the road, just going to the hotel gym, 0:08:45.559 --> 0:08:47.319 put pixel Slate right in front of the bike and 0:08:47.360 --> 0:08:48.760 then get your workout in there. 0:08:48.760 --> 0:08:49.079 You have it. 0:08:49.160 --> 0:08:52.480 Google's pixel Slate going on sale later this year, and yes, 0:08:52.520 --> 0:08:55.120 you can adjust the folio cover to any angle you want. 0:08:55.480 --> 0:08:58.280 The device starts at six hundred dollars, then add another 0:08:58.320 --> 0:09:00.880 two hundred dollars for the keyboard and another one hundred 0:09:00.880 --> 0:09:03.000 dollars for the pen. You're looking at close to one 0:09:03.000 --> 0:09:05.480 thousand dollars for a device that functions as a tablet 0:09:05.600 --> 0:09:08.040 and a laptop. You can see more of the pixel 0:09:08.120 --> 0:09:11.439 Slate on my website, Rich on tech dot tv. I've 0:09:11.440 --> 0:09:13.880 got the hands on demo there, or just look for 0:09:13.920 --> 0:09:15.840 the link in the show notes. Thanks so much for 0:09:15.880 --> 0:09:17.280 listening to the show. I'm Rich Demiro. 0:09:17.440 --> 0:09:18.600 I'll talk to you real soon.