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Ah, the Pixel Slate. Google’s last try at a tablet gone a bit sideways, the oft-cast-aside, easily passable Chrome OS device. This premium metal and glass slab with a detaching keyboard and pen never quite made the impact it was supposed to, and that can be blamed on a slew of factors. Be it the wonky tablet mode that was available for Chrome OS when the Slate launched over a year ago or just the fact that big tablets don’t always make sense in a world where thin and light laptops are getting so good: the Pixel Slate stumbled out the door and never really found its footing.
Of all the things that kept people from even giving this device a shot, the price was likely the #1 culprit behind extremely slow adoption. With the Core m3 model coming in at more that $1000 when you added the necessary keyboard, the Pixel Slate was yet another overpriced Google Chromebook that looked great and was built to impress, yet didn’t appeal to many buyers.
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With a better starting price, perhaps things would have been a bit different. Perhaps the expectations wouldn’t have been so high. Perhaps more people would have at least given it a shot. There have been sales on the Pixel Slate from time to time, but it never seemed like Google was really serious about moving inventory. Now that the Pixelbook Go has shown up, it seems that might be changing.
Right now, at least, it looks like Google is ready to get very intentional about selling more Pixel Slates. Maybe it is to just offload leftover inventory. Maybe they still think the device has merit at a better price. Maybe they’re just greasing the Black Friday wheel. Regardless of the reason, the deal happening with the Pixel Slate over on Amazon and the Google Store is pretty insane.
All models are $350 off MSRP plus they are throwing in your choice of keyboard (Pixel Slate Keyboard or Brydge G-Type) and adding in the Pixelbook Pen. That means you can snag the Core m3 model for only $449 and get all the needed accessories thrown in for free. FREE. That also means you can get the Core i5 model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for the same $649 that Google is asking for the entry-level Core m3 model of the Pixelbook Go. (Please note that the full bundle on Amazon is listed as Pixel Slate + Pixelbook Pen, but it does come with the keyboard, too)
Shop Pixel Slate Bundles on Amazon
Shop Pixel Slate Bundles on The Google Store
For me, the Pixelbook Go is still the better device. However, at those prices, it is insanely hard to ignore. Whether you are purchasing a Chromebook for yourself or a loved one, this makes an extremely great gift at a price that almost makes no sense. The Core m3 model will perform like a champ, so you are talking about getting a full Chrome OS experience on some of the nicest hardware available for only $449.
If the Pixelbook Go wasn’t already a thing, I’d jump on this deal. With a price this low, I can forgive everything I personally don’t like about the tablet-as-laptop form factor. The Pixel Slate was never a bad device: it just didn’t have the software it needed to be the tablet Google should have made. In the past year, that’s changed a ton, and using Chrome OS on the Slate in tablet mode is actually pretty good these days. At these prices, it’s starting to look very good.
