Pixel Tablet vs. Apple iPad: Which is the best tablet?

Google just unveiled the Pixel Tablet, the most notable new tablet on the market, so naturally we’re going to pit it up against the Apple’s iconic iPad. Let’s see which is the best tablet.

This is a look from afar kind of face off, so don’t expect to walk away with a 100% accurate reading. However, it’s usually tough to dethrone an Apple tablet, especially considering how much consistency and quality they offer. But keep in mind that you’re paying a fortune for said quality.

Here’s a brief look at the Pixel Tablet vs. Apple iPad.

Pixel Tablet vs. Apple iPad: Price

The Pixel Tablet starts at $499, which includes the bundled dock — a charging station and 43.5mm full-range speaker, while the Apple iPad 10th Gen starts at $449, which does not include a cool dock.

Oh, and the Pixel Tablet starts with 128GB of Storage. What does the iPad start with? Well, 64GB, and the only other upgrade you can get is 256GB, which brings us up to $599.

Sorry, Apple ain’t winning this won.

Winner: Pixel Tablet

Pixel Tablet vs. Apple iPad: Design

So which metal slate looks better? Honestly, there’s not a lot going on here apart from small size differences and colors.

The Apple iPad has a more metallic look, offering up colors like silver, blue, pink, and yellow. It’s nice to see some more color options beyond silver, but what does the Pixel Tablet do to counter that? The Pixel Tablet features a soft matte aesthetic with more pastel colors, such as Porcelain, Hazel, and Rose. This comes down to personal preference, but I like the subtlety of the Pixel Tablet over the Apple iPad.

When it comes to size and weight, the Apple iPad (16.8 ounces, 9.8 x 7.1 x 0.3 inches) is lighter than the Pixel Tablet (17.4 ounces, 10.2 x 6.7 x 0.3 inches), but they’re roughly the same size. The iPad is wider, but the Pixel is longer, both by 0.4 inches.

Where the Pixel Tablet takes the victory lap is its magnetic docking interface with pogo pin connection. That’s such a neat design choice. It even attaches to a 43.5mm full-range speaker. Apple could never.

Winner: Pixel Tablet

Pixel Tablet vs. Apple iPad: Display

Both the Pixel Tablet and Apple iPad offer virtually the same size display, at 10.9 inches, but which is looking better?

The Apple iPad clocks in at 2360 x 1640 with 504 nits of brightness and 101% sRGB and 71.7% DCI-P3 coverage. Meanwhile, the Pixel Tablet slides in at 2560 x 1600 with 500 nits of brightness. Both tablets support stylus pens.

We don’t have exact numbers for the Pixel Tablet because we haven’t tested it yet, but from afar, there seems to be little different between these displays.

Winner: Draw

Pixel Tablet vs. Apple iPad: Cameras

When it comes to cameras, size matters, but it also doesn’t. It’s a mix between who has the biggest lens and who has the better software, which makes the Pixel Tablet vs. Apple iPad fight complicated.

Apple has the bigger lenses, at 12MP per camera, while the Pixel Tablet resorts to 8MP for each. However, Pixel phones are notorious for its stellar camera software. So it’s going to be impossible to judge this from afar, but since this isn’t a final test, I’m going to give it to Apple for now. The Apple iPad has 1.5x bigger cameras. That’s a big increase.

Winner: Apple iPad

Pixel Tablet vs. Apple iPad: Performance

Google is launching the Pixel Tablet with the Pixel 7‘s new Google Tensor G2 chip, and that’s going up against the Apple iPad A14 chip. Technically, we’ve tested products with the Google Tensor G2 chip, so let’s get a little sneak peak at the A14 vs. Google Tensor G2.

On the Geekbench 5 benchmark, the A14 scored 4040, while the Google Tensor G2 scored 3021. That’s a rough difference.

On the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme synthetic graphics test, the A14 score 2112, while the G2 hit 1847.

This isn’t the most accurate, since these results come from the Pixel 7, but it doesn’t look good for Google.

Winner: TBD

Pixel Tablet vs. Apple iPad: Battery life

On our battery test, the Apple iPad lasted 10 hours and 58 minutes, but how does that compare to what Google claims the Pixel Tablet can do?

We can’t verify the company’s claim just yet, but apparently the Pixel Tablet can last up to 12 hours of video streaming. If the claim is accurate, the Pixel Tablet has a whole hour on the Apple iPad. We’ll give it to the Pixel for now until we can verify otherwise.

Winner: Pixel Tablet

Outlook

We haven’t gotten the chance to get the Pixel Tablet through our lab, so we don’t have definitive answers just yet about how the Apple iPad will fare against it. However, from how it’s shaping up to be at a glance, the Pixel Tablet might very well dethrone the Apple iPad as the go-to tablet. A better price and better features could be key to Google reigning in a win.