Is Google finally ready for a big swing at the tablet market?
Tablets have been a “thing” for over 10 years with the biggest success clearly being the Apple iPad. There have been some very good Android tablets along the way — I still miss my Nexus 7 — also. Since screen sizes increased though, they haven’t really been great. A couple of recent actions by Google suggest it’s ready to take a big shot at the tablet market.
When it launched, Android 12L was the first acknowledgement from Google that larger screens need a different approach. This covers everything from the visual design aspects of the OS, to multi-tasking and compatibility. The onus of making the tablet experience great isn’t just on the app developers, Google has a huge part to play.
12L refines the system UI to make it more beautiful and easier to use on large screens—across notifications, quick settings, lock screen, overview, the home screen, and more.
On large screens, the notification shade takes advantage of the space by showing Quick Settings and notifications in a new two-column layout. The lock screen also uses a larger two-column layout to highlight notifications and clock, and system apps like Settings are also optimized.
A new job listing shows that Google is hunting for the right person to head the growth of the tablet experience. This is far bigger than a brief glance would reveal though for a few reasons. The one that really caught our attention is that Google considers tablets to have a part to play computing future:
We believe that the future of computing is shifting towards more powerful and capable tablets. We are working to deliver the next chapter of computing and input by launching seamless support across our platforms and hero experiences that unlock new and better ways of being productive and creative.
The other very interesting note in the job listing is more in what isn’t said. There isn’t anywhere that makes note of specific hardware product development or Google devices. The focus from the listing responsibilities is around app experiences and alignment with stakeholders which — through another Tablet focussed job listing — includes OEMs.
The increased focus from Google on Tablet and large screen compatibility undoubtedly will benefit the rumoured Pixel Notepad, but broadly speaking all Android tablets will benefit in the long term.
