Elain Brown Tech 05.30.2022 05:May AM EDT

Throwback Tablet: Rumored Google Pixel Tablet May Come With Stylus

A stylus? In this time and age?

Google has recently announced that they are indeed working on a Google Pixel tablet that they will be launching next year. Google first made this announcement during Google's I/O 2022 event.

Details such as features and specifications are a little bit scarce at the moment, although we know for sure that it will be running on Android.

Now, they just secured the support of the Universal Stylus Initiative (USI).

The goal of the USI, as its name suggests, is to establish a standard for active pen input, making it possible for any attachment to being used with any device that has been certified.

Google Pixel

Google became a member of the Universal Stylus Initiative in 2018, which is an organization that has developed two criteria for how active styluses should be constructed and how they should operate.

According to Slash Gear, the most notable advancement in Version 2.0, which was released on the very last day of February of this year, was the ability to wirelessly charge a pen through the use of NFC. When you combine this feature with the magnetic attachments found on both the tablet and the pen, you end up with a charging system that is already operational on the HP Chromebook x2 11.

Google looks like it is now moving its Pixel tablet in a fast. Just recently, an entry from Google with the label "Device," as opposed to "Stylus," may now be found on the USI Certified Products list. Also on the list is the product name of the device, which says "Tangor," which refers to a hybrid citrus fruit, and the model name is listed as "Tablet."

The appearance of the USI certification does not add any supporting naming evidence, nor does it definitively confirm that what Google showed at I/O is the same thing that appears on the certification list.

However, as reported by 9to5Mac, as seen in the USI certification, the only definitions that were provided are the product's name, which is Tangor; the model, which is a tablet; the type, which is a device; and the company name, which is under Google. It is not 100% confirmed that this device is the same Pixel tablet that the company revealed at the I/O 2022 event.

Google's USI Certification for Tangor

For those who do not know, Google's USI certification, or the USI, is a consortium of businesses that collaborate to maintain a specification for interoperable active styluses. As explained by Nugiz, "Basically, they envision a future in which you can simply pick up a USI stylus, and it will work with every touchscreen device you own, regardless of the platform or manufacturer."

Since Google is a member of the USI and because it has already integrated USI support into Chrome OS, dozens of Chromebooks are now able to support styluses that have been certified by the USI. However, USI support has not yet been added to Android.

As a result, in order for Google to add support for USI to the Pixel Tablet, it is assumed that the company will also add support for USI to Android. This USI support is a first for Android, but some third-party devices will certainly beat Google to the market.

It is now apparent that if the Google Tablet seen on the USI listing is the same as the Google Pixel the company announced during I/O 2022, its official codename is "Tangor."

A future Android version will also very likely add USI specification support.