The Pixel C is Google's laptop-tablet hybrid and it's pretty cool

Google's press conference event just ended on a very casually served high note – after presenting the new Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P, talking about the new Chromecast and Chromecast Audio, the company showed us its brand-new laptop-tablet hybrid, which it calls the Pixel C.

The Pixel C is a very interesting-looking piece of tech – it consists of the well-known combo of tablet and detachable keyboard, however, there are no ports, latches, or any types of connections to be done between the two devices – ever. The keyboard and tablet stick to each other via powerful magnets – as was demonstrated on stage, the user can either carry the hybrid by holding its tablet portion, or clutching the keyboard, and the two pieces would not detach from each other. When the keyboard is not in use, it can either close over the front of the tablet — classic laptop style — or be tucked over the tablet's back, allowing the user to use the screen in the classic touch manner.

The keyboard connects to the Pixel C via Bluetooth, and the tablet is smart enough to know to hide the Android virtual keyboard whenever it detects that the user is ready to use the physical accessory. However, this is not where the “partnership” between the two devices ends. Being a bluetooth keyboard, the accessory would, naturally, require a battery to function. The user is not to worry about recharging it, however, as the keyboard will be inductively charged by the Pixel C whenever the hybrid is in the “closed” state.

Hardware-wise, the tablet is nothing to sneeze at, too. It packs a quad-core Nvidia Tegra X1 CPU, with a Maxwell GPU, and 3 GB of RAM, and Google was especially proud of the device's prowess. Its screen has a 10.2-inch diagonal and a bit of a weird resolution – 2560 x 1800, which results in a pixel density of 308 PPI – pretty crisp! Additionally, the display is said to be able to achieve a 500 nits brightness level, which sounds very well usable even under direct sunlight. Of course, it will also depend on actual screen reflectiveness. The device's knack for media consumption is rounded off by its stereo speakers, perched on either side of its frame.

As far as software goes – of course, it's going to run Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box. More interestingly, Google promised regular software updates every 6 weeks, which sounds just a bit curious – how far are these updates going to take the device down the line?

The Google Pixel C's launch is supposed to happen some time around this holiday season, priced at $499 for the 32 GB model, and $599 for the 64 GB one. Unfortunately, the keyboard is a separate accessory and will set you back another $149.

Any takers?