Tech history is messy. It’s cluttered with gadgets that were either way ahead of their time or launched so poorly they never stood a chance. The Google Pixel Slate i5 is both. Honestly, when Google dropped this in late 2018, the tech press absolutely shredded it. Most of that vitriol was directed at the entry-level Celeron model, which, to be fair, was a disaster of laggy animations and stuttering software. But if you actually spent time with the mid-range Core i5 version, the story was different. It was a weird, ambitious, and surprisingly capable machine that people are still buying used in 2026 for a reason.
Let’s be real: ChromeOS on a tablet was a gamble. Google wanted to kill the iPad Pro and the Surface Pro at the same time. They built this beautiful, "Midnight Blue" slab of aluminum with a 3000 x 2000 Molecular Display that still looks better than half the laptops sold today. But the software wasn't ready. It felt like trying to run a marathon in hiking boots. You could feel the potential, but the friction was everywhere.
Why the Google Pixel Slate i5 was the actual "sweet spot"
Most people looking at the Slate back then were torn between the m3, the i5, and the top-tier i7. The i7 was overkill for ChromeOS, and the m3 felt just a little too thin on power when you had twenty Chrome tabs and a Linux container running. The Google Pixel Slate i5 hit that specific nerve of performance. It packed an 8th Gen Intel Core i5-8200Y. Now, this wasn't a "full" laptop chip—it was a Y-series, fanless processor. That meant no fan noise. Silence. Even when you were pushing a heavy spreadsheet or editing some photos in Lightroom’s Android app.
It had 8GB of RAM. In the world of Windows, 8GB is the bare minimum. In the world of ChromeOS, 8GB is plenty. It allowed for smooth multitasking between the desktop-class browser and the somewhat janky Android app integration that Google was still trying to figure out.
The display was the real hero. Google called it a "Molecular Display" because of its 293 ppi density. It was sharp. It was bright. Watching 4K video on that thing felt like a luxury experience that surpassed the MacBook Airs of that era. But a screen alone doesn't make a productivity tool. You needed the keyboard, and that's where things got expensive and complicated.
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The keyboard drama and the Bluetooth savior
If you bought a Google Pixel Slate i5, you likely also shelled out nearly two hundred dollars for the Google Pixel Slate Keyboard. You know the one—the circular keys. It looked like a typewriter from the future. It connected via pogo pins, which was great for zero-latency typing, but the "folio" design was a nightmare for "lapability." If you weren't sitting at a perfectly flat desk, the whole thing would wobble and collapse. It was a ergonomic disaster.
Brydge eventually stepped in with their G-Type keyboard. It turned the Slate into a literal laptop. It had hinges. It was stiff. It made the Google Pixel Slate i5 feel like the premium Chromebook Google should have made in the first place. This is a crucial lesson in hardware: sometimes the first-party accessories are actually the worst way to experience a product. Many long-term Slate users swear by the Brydge setup because it fixed the one thing Google couldn't—stability.
The Linux Factor
What most casual users didn't realize was that the i5 model was a secret weapon for developers. Because ChromeOS supports Crostini (Linux on ChromeOS), you could run VS Code, GIMP, or even some lightweight IDEs directly on the tablet. The i5 processor had enough overhead to handle a Linux terminal and a few development tools without turning into a toaster. It was a niche use case, but for people who wanted a "pro" tablet that wasn't locked into Apple's iPadOS ecosystem, it was one of the only games in town.
Acknowledging the flaws: It wasn't all sunshine
We have to talk about the bugs. Early on, the Bluetooth on the Google Pixel Slate i5 was, frankly, garbage. Your headphones would disconnect if you looked at the tablet wrong. The software would frequently forget how to handle the transition from "laptop mode" to "tablet mode," leaving you with a half-frozen screen. Google spent two years patching these issues, and by the time the Slate was actually "good," they had already decided to stop making tablets altogether.
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There's also the issue of the battery. Google claimed 10 to 12 hours. In reality? You were lucky to get seven or eight if you had the brightness up. The high-resolution display was a power hog. If you were doing heavy work, you needed to stay near a USB-C charger.
Where does the Slate stand in 2026?
You might be wondering why anyone would care about an 8th-gen Intel tablet today. The answer is value and the secondary market. You can often find a used Google Pixel Slate i5 for a fraction of its original $999 price tag. For a student or a writer who just needs a "distraction-free" machine with a world-class screen, it's a steal. ChromeOS has matured significantly. The gesture navigation is fluid now. The Android app support isn't perfect, but it's miles ahead of where it was in 2018.
However, support is the ticking clock. Google's Auto Update Expiration (AUE) is the date when a device stops receiving official security and feature updates. For the Slate, that date is June 2026. If you're buying one now, you are at the end of its official life cycle. While you can still use it after that date, you won't get the latest Chrome features, and eventually, certain websites might stop playing nice with an outdated browser.
Comparing it to the competition
When you put the Google Pixel Slate i5 up against something like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 or the iPad Pro, the differences are stark.
- The Screen: The Slate’s 3:2 aspect ratio is better for reading and documents than Samsung’s 16:10.
- The OS: ChromeOS gives you a "real" browser with extensions, something the iPad still struggles to replicate fully.
- The Build: The Slate feels denser and more "industrial" than the thin-and-light tablets of today. It has a certain heft that feels premium, even if it's a bit heavy for one-handed reading.
The Surface Pro is probably its closest spiritual relative. But while the Surface runs full Windows—with all the baggage and power-hunger that entails—the Slate was trying to be something leaner. It was for the person who lived in Google Docs, Slack, and Figma, not the person who needed to run heavy CAD software or AAA games.
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Real-world performance today
If you boot up a Google Pixel Slate i5 today, you'll notice it still handles 2026's web standards surprisingly well. The 8GB of RAM keeps it from choking on heavy sites like Google Maps or complex Notion boards. You can still stream 4K video without dropped frames. The dual front-firing speakers are still some of the best ever put in a tablet—they are loud, clear, and actually have a bit of bass. It’s a fantastic media consumption device.
What you should do if you own one (or want one)
If you currently have a Google Pixel Slate i5 sitting in a drawer, it’s time to dust it off. Even with the AUE date looming, it makes for a dedicated "focus" machine. Many writers use old Slates specifically because they can't easily play high-end games on them, but the keyboard and screen are perfect for long-form drafting.
If you’re looking to buy one, keep these things in mind:
- Check the battery health. These devices are getting old, and lithium-ion batteries degrade.
- Avoid the Google Folio keyboard if possible. Look for a Brydge G-Type or just use a high-quality Bluetooth mechanical keyboard.
- Don't overpay. Do not pay more than $200-$250 for an i5 model in 2026, regardless of the condition. There are better modern Chromebooks for $400 that will be supported for another eight years.
- Linux is your friend. If you’re tech-savvy, enable the Linux container to get more utility out of the device once ChromeOS updates stop.
The legacy of the Google Pixel Slate i5 is one of "what could have been." It was the hardware peak of Google's tablet ambitions, sabotaged by software that wasn't quite ready for the spotlight. It remains a fascinating piece of tech history—a beautiful, flawed, and surprisingly resilient tablet that proved Google could build premium hardware, even if they couldn't quite figure out how to sell it.
Actionable Next Steps
- For current owners: Verify your specific AUE date in the ChromeOS settings under "About ChromeOS" > "Additional Details." If you're approaching the cutoff, start looking into MrChromebox.tech to see if your device is eligible for custom firmware to run a standard Linux distro like Fedora or Ubuntu.
- For potential buyers: Scour eBay or Swappa specifically for the i5/8GB/128GB configuration. Avoid the 4GB RAM models at all costs; they are essentially paperweights for modern web browsing.
- For everyone: If you're using it for video calls, remember the Slate has an 8MP front camera that is actually better than many modern laptop webcams. It’s a great dedicated Zoom or Google Meet station.