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Google may revive Home displays, but the Pixel Tablet is the better bet
Google is still committed to smart displays, but TechRadar argues a new Pixel Tablet would be a stronger 2026 smart home hub.
Image: TechRadar
Google appears likely to return to the smart display category, but TechRadar makes the case that a better move for 2026 would be a true successor to the 2023 Google Pixel Tablet.
Google has not announced a new device, but Anish Kattukaran, Chief Product Officer for Google Home, said last year that the company remains committed to the format. Speaking on The Vergecast, he described the appeal of a smart display as a mix of microphone, speaker, screen, and voice interaction, and tied that vision to Gemini for Home.
“If you think about the properties of a smart display: a microphone, which means audio in, a speaker, so audio out. It’s got a screen, which complements a voice modality, you can interact with it and visualize information.”
“As I see where Gemini for Home is going and Gemini more broadly, all of the things Google is investing in building, for me it feels like almost the ultimate form factor to be able to deliver a really great home experience. So, that’s why we are going to continue to invest in that category, so I think it’s going to be awesome.”
TechRadar’s argument is that the Pixel Tablet already showed why a fixed smart display may be too limiting. Unlike a standard Google Home Display, the tablet can detach from its magnetic speaker dock and move around the house, while still acting as a smart home controller for lights, switches, robovacs, and cameras.
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It also doubles as a full Android tablet with access to the Google Play Store, making it useful for web browsing, Netflix, YouTube, recipe apps, Zoom calls, and general media use on its 10.95-inch display. TechRadar notes that the built-in speaker is weak, but says the dock speaker is far better. The catch: the device has since been discontinued.
For a 2026 replacement, the wishlist is fairly specific:
- Gemini pre-installed
- Support for Thread border router functionality
- A stronger speaker to match the new Google Home Speaker
- A lower starting price than the original $499 / £599 / AU$899
TechRadar says the current 2,560 x 1,600px display is already good enough, especially compared with the larger Amazon Echo Show 11 at 1,920 x 1,200px. The bigger issue is price, particularly if users also need a Google Home Premium subscription to get the most from Gemini.
The alternative, according to the piece, is that Google sticks with traditional smart displays while Apple continues pushing multiple screens around the home and Amazon keeps winning on price with Echo devices in every room.
Frontier Editor
Dan is our resident futurist, covering electric mobility, space exploration, and the smart home. He's interested in atoms just as much as bits. Whether it's a new battery chemistry, a reusable rocket, or a protocol that finally makes IoT devices talk to each other, Dan breaks down the engineering that pushes humanity forward.
via TechRadar
