Google tablets division hiring spree fuels Pixel tablet speculation; unlikely anytime soon
Although Android tablets exist, there isn't a lot of excitement around them, but Google wants to change that.
As spotted by Computerworld, the company welcomed back Rich Miner, who founded Android alongside Andy Rubin, in March 2021. He now works as CTO of Android tablets. He was previously working for a Google education project but is now apparently charged with breathing a new life into Android tablets.
9to5Google reports that the company may have formed a new Android Tablets division and is currently looking to expand it. Job listings indicate that the company is looking for a Senior Engineering Manager, Android Tablet App Experience, Director, Product Management, Android Tablets, and Vice President, Product Management, Android Tablets.
Per the descriptions, the company believes that the future of computing is in 'powerful and capable tablets' and the Mountain View behemoth wants to improve the Android platform by working closely with device manufacturers and app developers. The new hires will also be tasked with creating a 'long-term strategy and roadmap for Android tablets'.
In the recent past, Google's tablet efforts have centered around the Entertainment Space and Kids Space hubs, as well as Android 12L, a version of Android meant for tablets and foldable phones.
According to the research firm IDC, Apple dominated the tablet market in the third quarter of 2021 with a market share of nearly 35 percent. Amazon was third with around 11 percent of the pie. The e-commerce giant's tablets run Fire OS, which is a fork of Android. Samsung and Lenovo were second and fourth respectively, with a share of approximately 18 percent and 10 percent.
Needless to say, there is a lot of room for Android tablets to grow, and after nearly a decade of just letting Android tablets languish, Google is seemingly all set to improve the platform. Does that mean we can see a new Pixel slate sometime soon?
In 2019, the company said it wouldn't launch a successor to the Pixel slate and had also canceled two unreleased tablets, and announced that it would instead focus on products like the Pixelbook that run Chrome OS. Currently, there isn't any indication that a new Pixel tablet is on the horizon. Meanwhile, Samsung is gearing up to launch the Galaxy Tab S8 series to take on Apple. Google does seem to be working on a foldable phone though, which will allegedly be called the Pixel Notepad.
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