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[Android Authority] I've run out of patience with the Pixel Tablet as a smart hub
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this post was submitted on 17 Jul 2023
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So her biggest issue is that the tablet wasn't on the dock when it needed to be used. Because she took it and wanted to use it for herself. Having a smart home hub means you can't take it away and use it to surf the web.
But the point that the reviewer makes (and that many others have made as well) is that it doesn't have to be like that. When undocked, the decision could have been made to allow the base to be a self-functioning smart speaker, like a Google Nest Mini. This is the functionality that most reviewers have wanted - so that it you undock the tablet, you could still use the speaker for voice commands or playing music.
π―
It's what stopped me getting one. There's just no way I'm gonna bother listening to media on the thing, only to have it stop if I want to pick up the tablet and sit on the couch.
I assume they did this to keep the speaker cheap enough to include for free and at a compelling price for as many people as possible. Here's hoping they, or a third party, release a premium version at some point!
And because the base costs $130, it should have been like that: a smart speaker that can occasionally hold and charge a tablet, instead of an overpriced charger with a proprietary connector.
Completely rely on the tablet software is janky, and only works if someone lives alone.
Is this to downplay the pain points she encountered? Because reading it another way it seems like a total indictment of the concept behind merging a tablet with a smart hub.
I don't think it's an indictment of the concept, but rather a failure to realize it. I think there are two big improvements to be made, that would solve the author's issues:
Because it's the opposite of how I would do it. I see the value in using a tablet off the shelf to control a smart home, but if it were me id probably mount it in a case to prevent it from walking away. I wouldn't want somebody picking it up and using it around the house, that's what their own tablet is for, but this one stays stationary in the kitchen.
So not a tablet?
Then why make it a tablet?
But also it doesn't support more than one user (it requires screen interaction to change the user before speaking the command, at that point could just directly type on a phone in the pocket)
Easy fix: get two tablets. Better yet, get the number-of-people-in-the-household plus 1 tablets, so everyone has their own plus one to be the hub.
Congratulations, you've passed Capitalism 101.
They got ya.