A month ago, when I unboxed the Google Pixel Tablet and installed it in my kitchen as a replacement for my second-generation Nest Hub, I knew I was making a gamble. The kitchen is a shared space and, since my husband cooks more often than I do, he uses the Nest Hub more. And he doesn’t like frustrating technology. I, on the other hand, am a little more forgiving of beta products and unfinished functionality. I was aware of the Pixel Tablet’s limitations and knew that it had an uphill battle to win him over.
Last week, after many frustrating attempts to make it work, my husband simply unplugged the Pixel Tablet’s dock, silently brought it to my desk, took the Nest Hub back, and peace was restored in the kitchen. I couldn’t argue with him because even I had grown impatient. The Pixel Tablet will, admittedly, need many updates before it can work for us as a hub for our smart home setup. Until then, it’s lost the battle to the much cheaper, underpowered, but more reliable Nest Hub.