5 ms·

As someone who generally likes the Pixel line of phones (not a fanboy; I just enjoy the stock+ android experience), I'm sceptical of the support on this tablet.

As someone who generally likes the Pixel line of phones (not a fanboy; I just enjoy the stock+ android experience), I'm sceptical of the support on this tablet. My old Nexus tablet (I think it's the Nexus 7) is generally useless beyond basic offline usage because it doesn't get OS updates any more. Given the price, it's going to be a hard thing to justify at AUD$899 if it's going to be a security liability after 2028. I like the dock though. Gives it a second purpose as a hub I guess.

Teslazar 3y ago
I agree with the sentiment that the devices aren't being supported for long enough but thought I'd mention that you can install LineageOS on a Nexus 7 and get OS and software updates. According to Google, Pixel tablets will get "software version updates for at least 3 years" and "Pixel security updates for at least 5 years from when the device first became available on the Google Store in the U.S." (https://support.google.com/googlepixeltablet/answer/13555449 https://support.google.com/googlepixeltablet/answer/13555449). I imagine most people here will agree that 3 years isn't long enough for something this expensive.
- vineyardmike 3y ago
  It’s crazy Google thinks that’s an acceptable time range considering apple regularly supports 7 years for devices. That said, anything longer and I’d be worried google just hallucinated that support and they’ll kill it off anyways. I vaguely believe this duration.
  - johnfernow 3y ago
    My iPhone 6S (which still receives security updates) has received more years of major OS releases than Google plans for security updates. I'm not a fan of Apple or iOS but Google's devices largely feel disposable: if I buy them on release I get less support than buying a used two year old iPhone.
  - kyriakos 3y ago
    Android and ios update cycles are different because on android most components are upgradable without OS update. Most notably the browsers get updates longer than 7 years and they tend to be the biggest security concern.
  - jeroenhd 3y ago
    The real problem is the five years of security updates, especially since these devices will be sold for a few years and not just today. Major Android version upgrades don't add much anymore, in my experience. I think they've added the "material you" theme to a recent Android version, but that was the last major change I've noticed since Android 10. Other than that, it's just a bunch of small details. All the good stuff is delivered independently through things like Play Services and general app updates. You can easily run an Android 10 tablet that's gotten all the nice bonus features of any other tablet without ever upgrading the OS itself. This is different from iOS, where any major software feature is delivered as part of an an OS upgrade. Almost all of the features I listed in the "new in iOS 16" change list would be pushed to Android as app updates, except maybe for Focus which integrates deeper (though Google can easily add it through Play Services if they cared). Take passkeys, for example: new in iOS 16, but on the Android side they've been automatically added to any device running Google Play and Android 9 or later.
- tehbeard 3y ago
  Lineage may have worked a few years after release. But in the 2020s the old nexus tablet is just too outdated. Can no longer play even YouTube videos well :( Got a cheap fire tablet to replace it. At some point I'll look at switching that to lineage to get out of Amazon's weird launcher and app store.
  - mavhc 3y ago
    My Nexus 7 v2 is mostly used to play youtube videos at 2x speed
mkozlows 3y ago
The Nexus 7 is from 2012 or 2013, depending on which one you have.
- ianai 3y ago
  And they did it very dirty after a very short time. I had one, loved it, felt burned by google after they abandoned it. I guess they thought it was going to eat into the huge phone segment.
  - p_l 3y ago
    Nexus 7 experience was positively stellar compared to Nexus 10 or Nexus 9...
mattwad 3y ago
My Lenovo Smart Display is completely borked since they removed the ability to view the web on it - simply because it's a "third party device"
zzzeek 3y ago
I had a previous generation Pixel C some years back and they absolutely don't provide software updates for nearly long enough, it became useless junk within a couple of years. contrast to iPads which work for 5+ years. i have a pixel phone but for tablets it's only Apple.
- distances 3y ago
  What made it useless junk for you? I still use my Pixel C daily.
  - zzzeek 3y ago
    whatever apps we needed to use don't run on Oreo
Jedd 3y ago
Similarly keen on sticking with Pixel handsets. As a sibling noted, LineageOS would be the answer to 'what to do when Google EOL's this', in no small part because this is going to be a popular device. My old top-of-the-line Samsung 12" lost support within a few minutes of it being released, but LineageOS support there is also good, and predictably it was faster without all the Samsung cruft. Right now to replace that Samsung device it'd be a toss-up between this tablet, and the Lenovo P11 (at half the price). I'd prefer a slightly larger screen (1:1 ratio to physical text ebooks) but I expect both would have similar after-market life (via lineage).
culopatin 3y ago
My Nexus 7 became unusable because of the storage issue. You must have a 2013. I did love it though. I got an iPad thinking I would chase that feeling but it’s too big and heavy. The display on the pixel 7 was just great at the time, the rubbery back was nice to play with while reading, it was light and fit in jeans pockets. I guess one could get a big phone and the size is almost there, but then you have to lug that around all day. I miss my nexus 7 + nexus 4 combo.
- freedomben 3y ago
  Indeed, that was my combo too and it was damn near perfect. People don't realize how awesome the Nexus 7 was. Lightweight and cheap, with pure Android. I badly miss those days of the Nexus line of products.

Teslazar 3y ago

I agree with the sentiment that the devices aren't being supported for long enough but thought I'd mention that you can install LineageOS on a Nexus 7 and get OS and software updates. According to Google, Pixel tablets will get "software version updates for at least 3 years" and "Pixel security updates for at least 5 years from when the device first became available on the Google Store in the U.S." (https://support.google.com/googlepixeltablet/answer/13555449 https://support.google.com/googlepixeltablet/answer/13555449). I imagine most people here will agree that 3 years isn't long enough for something this expensive.

vineyardmike 3y ago
It’s crazy Google thinks that’s an acceptable time range considering apple regularly supports 7 years for devices. That said, anything longer and I’d be worried google just hallucinated that support and they’ll kill it off anyways. I vaguely believe this duration.
- johnfernow 3y ago
  My iPhone 6S (which still receives security updates) has received more years of major OS releases than Google plans for security updates. I'm not a fan of Apple or iOS but Google's devices largely feel disposable: if I buy them on release I get less support than buying a used two year old iPhone.
- kyriakos 3y ago
  Android and ios update cycles are different because on android most components are upgradable without OS update. Most notably the browsers get updates longer than 7 years and they tend to be the biggest security concern.
- jeroenhd 3y ago
  The real problem is the five years of security updates, especially since these devices will be sold for a few years and not just today. Major Android version upgrades don't add much anymore, in my experience. I think they've added the "material you" theme to a recent Android version, but that was the last major change I've noticed since Android 10. Other than that, it's just a bunch of small details. All the good stuff is delivered independently through things like Play Services and general app updates. You can easily run an Android 10 tablet that's gotten all the nice bonus features of any other tablet without ever upgrading the OS itself. This is different from iOS, where any major software feature is delivered as part of an an OS upgrade. Almost all of the features I listed in the "new in iOS 16" change list would be pushed to Android as app updates, except maybe for Focus which integrates deeper (though Google can easily add it through Play Services if they cared). Take passkeys, for example: new in iOS 16, but on the Android side they've been automatically added to any device running Google Play and Android 9 or later.
tehbeard 3y ago
Lineage may have worked a few years after release. But in the 2020s the old nexus tablet is just too outdated. Can no longer play even YouTube videos well :( Got a cheap fire tablet to replace it. At some point I'll look at switching that to lineage to get out of Amazon's weird launcher and app store.
- mavhc 3y ago
  My Nexus 7 v2 is mostly used to play youtube videos at 2x speed

mkozlows 3y ago

The Nexus 7 is from 2012 or 2013, depending on which one you have.

ianai 3y ago
And they did it very dirty after a very short time. I had one, loved it, felt burned by google after they abandoned it. I guess they thought it was going to eat into the huge phone segment.
- p_l 3y ago
  Nexus 7 experience was positively stellar compared to Nexus 10 or Nexus 9...

mattwad 3y ago

My Lenovo Smart Display is completely borked since they removed the ability to view the web on it - simply because it's a "third party device"

zzzeek 3y ago

I had a previous generation Pixel C some years back and they absolutely don't provide software updates for nearly long enough, it became useless junk within a couple of years. contrast to iPads which work for 5+ years. i have a pixel phone but for tablets it's only Apple.

distances 3y ago
What made it useless junk for you? I still use my Pixel C daily.
- zzzeek 3y ago
  whatever apps we needed to use don't run on Oreo

Jedd 3y ago

Similarly keen on sticking with Pixel handsets. As a sibling noted, LineageOS would be the answer to 'what to do when Google EOL's this', in no small part because this is going to be a popular device. My old top-of-the-line Samsung 12" lost support within a few minutes of it being released, but LineageOS support there is also good, and predictably it was faster without all the Samsung cruft. Right now to replace that Samsung device it'd be a toss-up between this tablet, and the Lenovo P11 (at half the price). I'd prefer a slightly larger screen (1:1 ratio to physical text ebooks) but I expect both would have similar after-market life (via lineage).

culopatin 3y ago

My Nexus 7 became unusable because of the storage issue. You must have a 2013. I did love it though. I got an iPad thinking I would chase that feeling but it’s too big and heavy. The display on the pixel 7 was just great at the time, the rubbery back was nice to play with while reading, it was light and fit in jeans pockets. I guess one could get a big phone and the size is almost there, but then you have to lug that around all day. I miss my nexus 7 + nexus 4 combo.

freedomben 3y ago
Indeed, that was my combo too and it was damn near perfect. People don't realize how awesome the Nexus 7 was. Lightweight and cheap, with pure Android. I badly miss those days of the Nexus line of products.