The Pixel Tablet is one of Google’s most hotly anticipated pieces of new hardware. But rumor has it that for users to make the most out of the tablet, they’ll need to spend some extra cash.
There’s been much speculation regarding the charging speaker dock that was featured in the announcement videos for the Pixel Tablet, especially since Google didn’t say much about it during the reveal. However, a recent leak seems to suggest that Pixel Tablet owners will need to buy the dock separately.
Spotted by 9to5Toys and reported on by 9to5Google, a listing for a “Pixel Tablet Standalone Charging Dock” was posted on Amazon and priced at $129. The listing is unmistakably for the Pixel Tablet — given the namedrop in the title of the listing, as well as the fact that the seller is Google itself.
But the fact that a listing like this appeared at all is a little worrying for those who were hoping for the charging speaker dock to be included with each purchase of a Pixel Tablet. It now looks like that won’t be the case. Google hasn’t said anything regarding the Pixel Tablet’s price, but based on its specs, it’s safe to assume that it’ll retail for somewhere around the $400 to $500 range.
We’ve previously heard that new Pixel Tablets will include the dock for free, but the Amazon listing may be contradicting that. It’s possible that the Pixel Tablet will come with a charging speaker dock for free in the box and that the Amazon listing is simply for those who are looking for additional docks or need replacements, but it feels like it could be a sign that Pixel Tablet owners will need to pay even more if they want to make the most out of the tablet’s experience.
If you do need to pay $129 for the Pixel Tablet’s charging dock, it seems like it’ll be a tough sell. For just $99, you could buy a Nest Audio or Nest Hub — two full-fledged smart home devices, rather than an accessory for an Android tablet to turn it into one.
Another crucial piece of information is presented on the listing: It says that the charging dock will release on May 10, the day of Google’s yearly I/O press conference. We’ve had a hunch (and heard from several leakers) for a while that the Pixel Tablet would be launching on May 10, and the fact that this is a release date from an official Google vendor account all but confirms it.
While we can say with almost certainty that the Pixel Tablet and its charging dock will be launching on May 10, we still don’t know what the deal is with what’s going to be included in the box. Hopefully, Pixel Tablet adopters won’t need to pay extra for the stand, but at this point, it seems like it might be going either way.
