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Oct 29, 2023

Google Pixel Tablet vs Apple iPad (2022): Which should you buy?

Should you buy the Google Pixel Tablet or the Apple iPad (10th generation)?

Should you buy the Google Pixel Tablet or the Apple iPad (10th generation)? Here's how they differ and what features they both offer.

The Google Pixel Tablet has some very promising specs on board, offering not only a large and premium Android tablet, but a smart home hub too when on the Dock and in Hub Mode.

The Apple iPad (10th generation) is an excellent tablet, offering a number of features, including great multi-tasking capabilities. It's a great price too for a device that performs brilliantly.

Google announced a number of devices during its I/O developer conference in May, including not only its first folding device and another excellent mid-range smartphone in the Pixel 7a, but a stock Android tablet with a couple of extra features too in the form of the Pixel Tablet.

We've compared the differences between the Pixel Tablet and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 tablet in a separate feature, but here we are focusing on how the Pixel Tablet compares to the Apple iPad. We've used the standard iPad (10th generation) for comparison, though there are of course a number of iPad options, all of which we have compared against each other in our which iPad is best for you feature.

The Google Pixel Tablet starts at $499 in the US, and £599 in the UK. It comes in three colour options of Porcelain, Hazel and Rose, and it is available globally following its announcement on 10 May. The pricing of the Google Pixel Tablet puts it within the same ballpark as the Apple iPad (10th generation), which starts at $449 in the US and £499 in the UK and comes in four colour options of Blue, Pink, Silver and Yellow.

The next model in Apple's iPad range is the iPad Air from 2022, though this is quite a bit more than the Pixel Tablet with a starting price of $599 in the US and £669 in the UK. As we mentioned though, we are comparing the Pixel Tablet to the Apple iPad (10th generation, 2022). You can see a quick summary of how their specs compare in the table below, though there's plenty more detail below on the features and what you get with each option to help you make a more informed decision.

The Google Pixel Tablet isn't the first tablet from Google, though it does take on a different approach to what the company has done in the past. It's a little bit of a two-in-one device and anyone that has seen or has the Nest Hub Max will definitely see a resemblance. The tablet itself is only one part of the offering, with a large screen featuring uniformed bezels around it. There is a camera positioned centrally at the top of one of the edges in landscape format, while the rear sees a single camera lens in the top corner.

On the edge, there is a power button with a fingerprint sensor built into it, and you'll find a volume rocker too, while charging takes place via USB-C. There's also a four-pin accessory connector too though. This allows for charging, data transfer, and audio output, and it also enables the Pixel Tablet to connect to the second part of the offering, which is the Charging Speaker Dock that comes with the Pixel Tablet.

The Charging Speaker Dock is colour matched to the Pixel Tablet and it offers a material covered base, which looks like a nice contrast to the nano-ceramic coating with soft matte look offered by the Tablet itself. The Dock also keeps the Pixel Tablet charged all the time, whilst doubling up as a speaker and it is here, when the Pixel Tablet is docked, that you might notice the resemblance to the Nest Hub Max if you are familiar with the device.

The Apple iPad (10th generation) meanwhile, has an aluminium build that's lovely and slim, as well as lightweight. It's a great device for carrying around and the colour options mean you can opt for serious, or a little more fun, depending on whether you want to use your device as a work device, or a family device, for example.

Like the Pixel Tablet, it has uniformed bezels surrounding the display and there's a front camera positioned on the edge of the iPad (10th generation) too when in landscape form - something that is unique to this specific iPad model. On the rear, there is a single lens camera in the top corner, positioned out of the way, while the power button with the Touch ID fingerprint sensor sits on the edge. There's also a Smart Connector on the iPad (10th Generation), which allows for the connection of the Smart Keyboard, and charging takes place via USB-C, though there is no equivalent charging speaker dock like the Pixel Tablet offers.

The Google Pixel Tablet has a 10.95-inch LCD display on board, which offers a pixel resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels, delivering a pixel density of 276ppi. There's a 16:10 aspect ratio on offer and you'll also find what Google calls an anti-smudge coating on the Pixel Tablet. Elsewhere, there's a 500nits peak brightness and the Pixel Tablet supports USI 2.0 stylus pens.

The Apple iPad (10th generation) has a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display, which is also an LCD panel so in terms of display size and screen technology, the Pixel Tablet and iPad (10th generation) are pretty much on par. There's a 2360 x 1640 pixel resolution on board the iPad, which delivers a pixel density of 264ppi, so slightly lower than the Pixel Tablet, though this isn't a difference the human eye would be able to spot.

Like the Pixel Tablet, the iPad (10th generation) has a fingerprint-resistant coating, and it also has a 500nits brightness. There is support for the first generation of Apple Pencil too, so both of these tablets offer many of the same features within this department.

The Google Pixel Tablet runs on the in-house Google Tensor G2 chip, which is the same chip as you will find in the Google Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7 and the most recent Pixel 7a smartphone. It's a powerful platform and it is supported by the Titan M2 security coprocessor, alongside a minimum of five years of security updates, camera and microphone toggles and anti-phishing and anti-malware protection. Storage options are 128GB and 256GB.

The Apple iPad (10th generation) runs on the company's A14 Bionic chip that has a 6-core CPU, 4-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine. Once again, it's a very powerful chip that has no issues performing day-to-day tasks, as well as more demanding ones. Like Google, Apple also takes security quite seriously, though there aren't any options for deliberately turning off the camera or microphone. Storage options are 64GB and 256GB, so the base storage is lower than the Pixel Tablet, though this is also reflected in the price.

In terms of the camera offerings, the Google Pixel Tablet has an 8-megapixel camera with 1.12µm pixels and an aperture of f/2.0 for both the front and rear. There are a number of Pixel camera features on board, as you would hope, with Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur and Night Sight all offered. There's also a feature that sees the camera automatically adjusting the lighting to keep you brightly lit when on a video call, whilst also following you around the room to keep you in the frame. Both the front and rear cameras are capable of 1080p video recording at 30fps.

The Apple iPad (10th generation) by comparison, has a 12-megapixel rear camera with f/1.8 aperture, while the front camera is a 12-megapixel sensor with f/2.4 aperture. There are a couple of features on board here too, including Centre Stage, where the front camera will track you on a video call in order to keep you within the frame even if you move around the room, similar to what Google is also offering. The rear camera offers 4K video recording up to 60fps, while the front camera offers up to 1080p at 60fps.

When it comes to battery, the Google Pixel Tablet is promising up to 12 hours of video streaming, which is a couple of hours longer than Apple promises from its iPad (10th generation), that sits at around 10. We haven't tested the Pixel Tablet as yet so at the moment, it's not clear if this claim is also the reality, but the 10 hours for the iPad (10th gen) is about right. Both have USB-C charging though, as we mentioned, so it's not a huge effort to charge them up.

While similar in their general specs, the Google Pixel Tablet and Apple iPad (10th generation) run completely different operating systems. The Pixel Tablet is an Android tablet, delivering a pure Android experience, with a number of added features like Hub Mode.

This gives the Pixel Tablet an extra level of functionality, not only acting as a standard Android tablet that you can use for working, watching, playing games, or making video calls, but you can also easily control your smart home too. One Dock comes with the Pixel Tablet, but you can also buy the Dock separately so you can move your Pixel Tablet around your home.

When in Hub Mode, you can not only control your compatible smart home devices, as you can with the Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max, but you can also use the Pixel Tablet as a digital photo frame, get answers through Google Assistant and play music through the Dock and its integrated full-range speaker. In terms of other features, the Google Pixel Tablet has the Google TV app built in, along with Google Chromecast so you can cast music and videos from your Pixel phone to your docked tablet with just a few taps.

The Apple iPad meanwhile, runs on iPadOS 16 and with that comes a range of great features, including brilliant multi-tasking capabilities, a clean and easy to use interface, and the ability do the same as the Pixel Tablet in so far as you can use the iPad for working, watching, playing games and making video calls. Apple has the Home app, which allows you to control compatible smart home devices, though the Pixel Tablet does have the advantage here as there is no docking station for the iPad as we mentioned, nor a particular smart home control mode, which it could certainly benefit from. You do get other advantages with the iPad though, such as more apps that are optimised for the larger screen, as well as apps like Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro also being an option, for example.

Elsewhere, while Chromecast isn't built-in to the iPad, you have AirPlay built-in, offering a very similar function but from iOS devices rather than Pixel devices in just a few taps.

It's not really a question of which is better out of the Google Pixel Tablet and the Apple iPad (10th generation) but more a question of which is better suited to you, your home and the devices you have. If you have Pixel devices within your home already, the Pixel Tablet makes sense, as it should work seamlessly with these devices. It's also a great option for those looking for a tablet, but also a device that can double up as a smart home hub, without requiring additional devices, like the Nest Hub or Nest Hub Max.

The Google Pixel Tablet has some very promising specs on board, offering not only a large and premium Android tablet, but a smart home hub too when on the Dock.

The same goes for the iPad though. If you have Apple devices already, it's the iPad you will want out of these two tablets as it will play nice with your other tech, whilst also offering a superb experience. There is no home hub mode on the iPad, so that is worth bearing in mind, though you get some great multitasking capabilities and a plethora of optimised apps that mean that iPad has heaps of potential and is capable of most things you might want to throw at it.

We've not tested the Pixel Tablet as yet and we will update this feature with our experience when we do, though we don't anticipate being disappointed. The Apple iPad (10th generation) meanwhile, is a superb option.

The Apple iPad (10th generation) is an excellent tablet, offering a number of features, including great multi-tasking capabilities. It's a great price too for a device that performs brilliantly.

Britta is the Deputy Editor of Pocket-lint and has been a part of the team, covering consumer technology since 2012.You'll often see her name on some of our biggest features, including many of the versus articles and the rumour round ups, but she is also responsible for ensuring all the other great features from other members of the team cover off everything you might want to know about.