The Pixel Tablet got a major discount during Amazon's Labor Day sale, but is it still worth buying?

There are plenty of tech products out there. Some are great buys offering excellent value, but others aren't. Most fall somewhere in the middle.

Unless you have the means to buy one of everything, you have to decide if something is the right fit for you. That can be hard; the companies making them will tell you that you need one to make your life complete, people who got a lemon or just didn't like it will say the product is garbage, and reviewers simply can't cover everything.

Often, it's good to take a step back and see what you're going to get inside that pretty package. Was it worth what you paid for it? Will you get enough use from it to justify the purchase? Or maybe you should hold off and see what's coming next.

We can't make those decisions for you, but we can tell you what we think and maybe where you should start your decision-making process.

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Why buy a tablet?

There are some good reasons why you might want to buy a tablet.

Most of us think they're just a great big phone, and while that's not wrong, the form factor is a lot better for a handful of things like watching video, playing some games where you need that screen real estate, scrolling through social media on the couch, or even getting some work done. Yes, you can do real work with a good tablet.

Another reason is familiarity. One of the ways a tablet is a really big phone is that the software is almost the same. There will be changes to the look and feel to make it easier to use, but if you know how to do "everything" on your Galaxy S24 (for example), you know how to do the same on a Samsung Galaxy Tab. Of course, iPads are much like iPhones and Google's Pixel Tablet is very similar to its Pixel phones.

And that's where the value question comes in. If you decide you do want a tablet, or need to pick up a new one because you already use them, is the 2024 Pixel Tablet still worth buying, especially when it's on sale for $249 at Amazon?

The Pros

The Pixel Tablet does a pretty good job at most tablet tasks. YouTube or Netflix looks great on it, streaming Xbox games works without a hitch, and the work will get done if the software you need for your job is available for Android. There are a few extra reasons why you might want a Pixel Tablet, too.

Of course, I have to say AI. For everything a Google Pixel lacks or doesn't do as well as the competition, when it comes to crunching Gemini's on-device AI, they are the king. That's exactly what they were designed to do well, and this is something Google got right.

There's also a fancy speaker dock. You can use it for charging, to display your screen's content, or to listen to music; it's a good little device if you want something like a Chromecast.

When docked, it's like a Google Home Hub. If you are into smart home gear (guilty), Google Home is worth the frustration of setting up for a decent experience without any nerd wizardry like installing a special operating system. It's not perfect, even a year later, but it's the best ready-made consumer solution for this one.

The cons

There are a few good reasons to buy a different tablet, too.

It's a big Pixel phone. Everything that a Google Pixel phone isn't very good at doing, the Pixel Tablet will be the same way. For game streaming, it's great. For playing local games, it's not. This is just one example of Google's AI focus overshadowing performance in other areas. If you love a Pixel phone, you'll love the Pixel Tablet. The same goes if you don't like them ...

Battery life can be hit or miss. Some people claim the battery life on their Pixel Tablet is great. Other people say it's terrible. It's not my tablet of choice, so I can't chime in here, but seeing this tells me that how long the battery lasts depends a lot on what you're trying to do with it. That's pretty standard, but I'm not seeing people with complaints who are trying to do anything crazy; it seems that sometimes, "normal use" is too much for the battery.

There are (still) some weird bugs. After almost a year's worth of updates, the software - especially anything to do with the Hub functionality or the Google Home app - is glitchy and often hard to set up. If you're a Pixel phone fan, you understand; Google is always messing with its stuff when it comes to software.

There are plenty of other good tablets to buy. I'm not big on tablets; I tend to use a Chromebook flipped in half instead. But I've been around enough to know that Amazon, Apple, and Samsung make products that fit a lot of people better. The Galaxy Tab S line and Apple's iPad are little powerhouses that seem to be able to do anything, no matter how intensive, and Amazon's Fire Tablet is hands-down the best tablet you can buy for streaming video. My wife buys a new Galaxy Tab S every other year, and she swears by it - even when compared to my iPad.

My verdict

Do you love Google's Pixel phones? Do you want to set up a docked music streamer that can also control your thermostat or lights? Do you use Google Gemini a lot?

If you answered yes to any of the above, it's a good deal. Google isn't bringing a new version any time soon, and the Labor Day sale price of $249 is about the same as some of the other tablets that won't perform as well.

If you want a tablet to kick back on a lazy weekend and watch Disney+, get an Amazon Fire Tablet. They're really cheap - Amazon sells them at a loss to get you to buy into Prime - and they perform well enough when doing other things.

If you need power and productivity, look towards Apple or Samsung. You'll pay more (maybe a lot more), but in the long run you'll be glad you did.

Google Pixel Tablet: $399 $249 at Amazon

A giant-sized Google Pixel phone, the Pixel Tablet has some other tricks up its sleeve, too. It's good at a lot of things, but it's the best way to use Google Gemini on a tablet.

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