Google will stop producing its own tablets, according to a report from Computerworld, pulling back from a competitive and stagnant market that includes more prominent players like Apple and Microsoft. The decision includes halting work on a pair of tablets in development and deciding not to produce a follow-up to the Pixel Slate.
Rick Osterloh, Google’s senior vice president of devices and services, confirmed in a tweet that Google will stop making its own tablets, and said that hardware teams will instead focus on building laptops. But he pledged that Google’s Android and Chrome OS teams will continue to support its tablet partners.
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
Google released its first tablet roughly seven years ago. It’s latest device is the Pixel Slate, unveiled last October at a starting price of $799. Osterloh noted in a follow-up tweet that Google will continue to support Pixel Slate long after it halts tablet production.
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
Tablet makers are competing fiercely for a shrinking audience. Apple is repositioning the iPad to compete with lower cost laptops, and Microsoft’s line of Surface tablets have always toed the line between laptop and tablet.
