There will be no more tablets from Google
Google is getting out of the tablet-making business, but says that it will continue to produce smartphones and laptops.
The announcement means that Google is ceasing work on two unreleased Pixel tablets, with the company's head of hardware saying: "Google's hardware team will be solely focused on building laptops moving forward". While ditching tablets is not entirely surprising, Google is said to have been working on two new tablets until as recently as this week.
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The news, later confirmed by Google, came courtesy of Computerworld -- but it certainly does not mean that Android or Chrome OS tablets are dead. Third parties will still be free to produce such devices, but there will be no Google branded options available.
On Twitter, Rick Osterloh, SVP of Devices and Services at Google, wrote:
Hey, it's true...Google's HARDWARE team will be solely focused on building laptops moving forward, but make no mistake, Android & Chrome OS teams are 100% committed for the long-run on working with our partners on tablets for all segments of the market (consumer, enterprise, edu)
— Rick Osterloh (@rosterloh) June 20, 2019
He later went on to stress that owners of Pixel Slates are not being forgotten:
Some articles have made this a bit unclear so wanted to clarify. And of course we will fully support Pixel Slate for the long-term as well.
— Rick Osterloh (@rosterloh) June 20, 2019
Image credit: rvlsoft / Shutterstock