Google was recently reported to have cancelled the development of the purported Pixel Tablet 3 and reassigned personnel working on the project to different divisions within the company. However, a new report suggests otherwise, claiming that the device whose development has been shelved is the Pixel Tablet 2, which was said to launch soon as the successor to the first-generation Pixel Tablet that debuted in 2023.
Google Pixel Tablet 2
A previous report claimed that Google had cancelled the development of a tablet which was internally known as “Kiyomi”. While not official, it was speculated to be the Pixel Tablet 3, but a recent report contradicts this rumour. Android Authority, citing sources, reports that “Kiyomi” is the internal codename for the Pixel Tablet 2 and not the third-generation model.
The aforementioned device is said to be powered by a Tensor G4 chip, reportedly increasing the likelihood of it being the successor to the Pixel Tablet. It was speculated to be in the prototype stage with a planned release in 2025 and two variants — Wi-Fi and 5G — were expected to debut, but that is not likely to be the case anymore.
As per the new report, this alleged move will not mark Google’s exit from the tablet market and the Pixel Tablet 3 could still very well be a possibility. The purported model is reported to be powered by a Tensor G6 processor, although it could be an inferior version of the chip. This is because Google will reportedly “fuse off defective parts of the TPU”, allowing it to use those chips on the Pixel Tablet 3. Consequently, the purported tablet could be unlikely to be as capable of handling AI tasks as the company’s other products.
The Pixel Tablet 3 might also reportedly get a second USB Type-C controller specifically meant for “tablet-only” use cases. This port is said to be USB 3.2 compliant, along with DisplayPort output support.