Google’s Pixel C, the luxury Android tablet-cum-laptop that carried a base price of $499 for a variant with 32GB of internal storage, will no longer be available with that price and storage configuration, at least from Google. The Google Store now lists the lowest configuration of the Pixel C as the 64GB version, available for $599. This version is otherwise no different from the 32GB version, carrying the same hardware and software, just with more storage and a somewhat higher price to show for it. As it happens, that is now the only available configuration in the Google Store. This discontinuation is quite likely to mean that Google has ended manufacturing of the Pixel C, and these variants have sold out completely and won’t be restocked. That, in turn, most likely means that the Pixel C itself is getting the axe in the near future.
When the Pixel C first landed, it caused a bit of a stir; the tablet market had been stagnant to the point of being a punchline for years, with laudable efforts from the likes of Samsung and Google garnering the sales equivalent of a second glance every now and then, and Google decides to drop a huge fish into this tiny pond. Running the latest bleeding-edge stock Android on a powerful NVIDIA Tegra X1 processor with a beautifully made optional keyboard made it the Android tablet to beat, but that was a decidedly low bar. If the Pixel C is indeed being discontinued, it is likely due to both Google’s shift toward Chrome OS for anything beyond phones, and the overall tepid reception tablets receive these days.
As a reminder to those thinking of picking up the Pixel C before it’s gone for good, the machine packs a 10.2-inch screen with a 3:2 form factor, set at a dazzling 2,560 by 1,800 pixel resolution for 308 pixels per inch, which rivals many modern phones. The aforementioned Tegra X1 processor, the same one powering the first-generation NVIDIA Shield TV, is paired up with a fairly sufficient 3GB of RAM. The front camera on the device is a 2-megapixel unit, while an 8-megapixel camera graces the back. Finally, a .5 watt-hour battery may sound puny compared to most laptops out there, but for this tablet, you can expect it to get you through about 10 hours of average usage.