Google to stop making tablets

LONDON: Google has confirmed it is to stop making tablet computers to instead focus on building more of its own laptops.

The tech giant has responded following reports that suggested it would not release a new version of the Pixel Slate tablet it launched last year. The company said it would continue to support the current Pixel Slate as well as third-party tablets that use Google’s Chrome OS software to power them, but would no longer focus on building its own.

The change of focus is likely to mean new versions of the company’s Pixelbook laptops are in development. The firm has struggled to make an impact in the tablet market, an area that is still dominated by Apple’s iPad and Microsoft’s tablet/laptop hybrid device, the Surface. Google also builds its own smartphones — the Pixel range — which run on Google’s Android OS.