Gboard support will certainly make typing in tablet mode a more enjoyable experience. Although Chrome OS has a built-in software keyboard (that even recently gained support for a floating keyboard mode), its keyboard offering lacks many of the features that keyboards like Gboard offer. The Pixel Slate will eventually support Android IMEs such as Gboard.
Google has consolidated Instant Tethering, Easy Unlock, and Android Messages integration under a single banner, code-named “Better Together.” Android Messages integration on Chromebooks takes things a bit further: Android Messages is installed as a Progressive Web App and integrates notifications with the message center. Google is adding a third integration to the mix, first hinted at with the release of the Google Pixel 2, which lets you use your Chromebook to send SMS to and from your phone’s contacts.Įarlier this year, Google introduced a web client for Android Messages, the default SMS app on Google devices, which let you scan a QR code on a PC running any desktop browser to send and view your received text messages.
Google also introduced a feature called Easy Unlock which uses a Bluetooth handshake to unlock your Chromebook. Last year’s Google Pixelbook introduced an Instant Tethering feature to allow your Pixelbook to automatically tether to your Google Pixel if your Pixelbook disconnects from the network. If you own an Android phone and buy a Chromebook, Google wants to reward you with a few nifty integrations. Chrome OS is finally ready for tablets, and the Google Pixel Slate is here to prove it. The latest version of Chrome OS that ships on the Pixel Slate (Chrome OS 71) has large buttons in the Google Chrome browser, a full screen launcher in tablet mode with smart shortcuts up top, a redesigned system tray with larger, rounder icons and contrasting colors (reminiscent of Android Pie), a centered app shelf, gesture support in the multitasking screen, support for Android IMEs like Gboard, lock screen notifications, and much, much more. The Google Pixel Slate comes after Google has completed their major tablet-centric overhaul in Chrome OS 70.
Google didn’t rush their device to the market, though, as they are releasing the Pixel Slate at the perfect time in Chrome OS’ development. As a result, the first reviews for both devices suffered. When the HP Chromebook X2 and Acer Chromebook Tab 10 were first released, they were running a version of Chrome OS that was hardly suitable for tablet use. Detachable laptops are far from a new concept - the Microsoft Surface line has done it for years - and even though HP and Acer beat Google to the market with the HP Chromebook X2 and Acer Chromebook Tab 10 respectively, Google has refined the concept of a detachable Chromebook. The Google Pixel Slate is a detachable Chromebook - a “Chromeblet” - that can be used as a tablet or a laptop.
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