Google killed the Pixel Tablet. So why is it hiring engineers for Pixel tablets?

Pixel phones continue to give us reason to pay attention to them, year after year, but Google hasn’t quite been able to recreate that same magic for the Pixel Tablet. Earlier this month, we saw Google take a pressure washer to its online store, scrubbing it clean of not just the Pixel Tablet itself, but also its entire “Tablets” section. But if Google is just so utterly, thoroughly done, then why is the company actively recruiting engineers to work on Pixel tablets?

Google’s always on the lookout for talented new staff, so the company’s regularly posting detailed job listings soliciting qualified applicants. For instance, Google would like to hire an engineer for the Pixel Core USB team, working on the software stack that powers USB connectivity between Pixel devices and all of our favorite accessories. In that posting, the company specifically mentions development “across Pixel phones, tablets, and accessories” and references “current and upcoming Pixel phones and tablets.”

That’s also far from a one-off, and searching around Google Careers, we find numerous listings containing similar references, like a Pixel Display role working on “next-generation display solutions across phones, foldables, and tablets.”

So, what’s with the apparent mismatch between Google’s hiring priorities and the Pixel devices it’s actually selling? Well, we could be looking at several things here. Despite Google’s claims to the contrary, maybe there really is a next-gen Pixel Tablet waiting in the wings, or at least somewhere along the pathway between an idea and commercial product. Or failing that, maybe Google’s just open to the idea of getting back into the form factor, and is keeping its options open.

It’s very possible that some of these listings may not contain wording that’s 100% representative of the actual positions being filled, and the roles could involve Android tablet work that just isn’t Pixel-specific. We also can’t ignore that we’ve got this whole new Android-based Googlebook platform just debuting now, one that includes some convertible devices that definitely dip a toe in the “tablet” pool.

Other listings more clearly telegraph Google’s broader tablet interests beyond the Pixel series, like a role seeking engineers for its advanced face unlock Project Toscana effort to work on “the Face Auth (Toscana) feature in Android laptops/tablets (Aluminium).” And as we know, Aluminium is now formally Googlebook OS.

None of this constitutes a smoking gun, and we can largely rationalize even the more direct “Pixel tablet” references we’ve found. But that’s not going to stop us from thinking that maybe, just maybe, Google could finally bring Pixel fans the next-gen tablet they’ve craved for so long. We can always dream!