The Pixel Tablet 2 may be cancelled, but we’ll somehow still get a Pixel Tablet 3

Yesterday, we cited a report that stated Google had reportedly pulled the plug on the Pixel Tablet 3 — turns out that might not be the case. Instead, the tech giant might have scrapped plans for the long-awaited Pixel Tablet 2.

For reference, the Pixel Tablet came out in 2023, after a long five-year tablet release hiatus from Google (the Pixel Slate came out in 2018). Since last year’s release, leaks and rumors about the potential successor — presumed to be named Pixel Tablet 2, have sporadically poured in, even within Android 14’s QPR3 beta, giving us no reason to believe that Google would scrap plans for it.

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However, after yesterday’s report, credible Android expert Mishaal Rahman (in a report for Android Authority) got to digging and found out that ‘Kiyomi,’ the codename for the canceled Pixel Tablet, actually refers to the Pixel Tablet 2 and not the Pixel Tablet 3.

He suggests that an unnamed internal source familiar with the matter, whose claims have been accurate in the past, indicated that it’s the Pixel Tablet 2 that has recently been canceled, quoting concerns over it losing the company money. Rahman’s work speaks for his credibility, giving us little reason to doubt his claims.

This comes soon after reports suggested that an official keyboard accessory with a touchpad was in development for the Pixel Tablet 2, reportedly from the same internal source.

The report also highlights several key details that point to ‘Kiyomi’ being the Pixel Tablet 2. For example, the internal source themselves confirmed that Kiyomi indeed was the codename for the Pixel Tablet 2. Further, evidence suggests that Kiyomi would have housed a Tensor G4 chipset, the same chipset that powers the Pixel 9. This makes sense, considering that the original Pixel Tablet was released after the Pixel 7 series, with the latter’s Tensor G2 chipset.

On the other hand, the Pixel Tablet 3, adhering to the series’ reported bi-yearly release cycle, would have been equipped with the Tensor G6 sometime in 2027, following after 2026’s presumed Pixel 11 series. This suggests that the presumed Tablet 3 couldn’t have been codenamed Kiyomi.

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The original leak we reported on also suggested that teams working on the supposed Pixel Tablet 3 have already been divested, and reassigned to different projects within the company. It seems odd that the tech giant would have already started work on the Pixel Tablet 3 when the Pixel Tablet 2 wasn’t even close to launching — Rahman suggests that the latter, before being canceled, was still in its “prototyping stage” — adding further credence to the claim that Kiyomi, indeed, was the codename for the Pixel Tablet 2.

There is, however, a glimmer of hope for the tech giant’s tablet series. According to the report, it isn’t entirely clear if planning for the Pixel Tablet 3 has been entirely suspended. It could very well be that Google wasn’t convinced about the direction it was heading with the Pixel Tablet 2, resulting in concerns about losing money on it, and the project eventually being scrapped. It could be that the blueprint for the Pixel Tablet 3, with further advanced specs and features, aligns more closely with its long-term tablet strategy.

We’re speculating that internally, the device known as the Pixel Tab 3 might be released as the Pixel Tab 2 later in 2027, making it look like the 2nd gen device was majorly delayed from an outside perspective, while in reality, it would just be the Pixel Tablet 3 disguised as the Pixel Tablet 2.