Did the Celeron version of the Google Pixel Slate go to tablet purgatory?

The good thing about the Google Pixel Slate is its processor choices — $599 gets you in the door with a Celeron processor, while spending more gets you beefier processors. The bad news is that the Celeron variant hasn’t been available since, well, not long after the Pixel Slate’s October 2018 launch.

Keep in mind that the Celeron version — the version that costs $599 to $699 with different RAM and storage amounts — is only available on the Google Store. Best Buy and Amazon also offer the Pixel Slate and sell the $799 Core m3, $999 Core i5, and $1,599 Core i7 versions.

Curiously, 9to5Google noticed that an advertisement that ran on its site didn’t mention the $599 Celeron version. Instead, the ad stated that the Pixel Slate started from $799.

When 9to5Google reached out to Google for comment, the company said: “We’re currently out of stock of some Pixel Slate variants, and don’t have an estimate of when they will be available for purchase again. We’ll keep the site updated when more information becomes available.”

As for why we haven’t seen the Celeron version for almost half a year, one theory is that the Pixel Slate’s lukewarm reception may have postponed stock replenishment. Even though our own Lahn Nguyen mostly enjoyed his time with the Pixel Slate, the same can’t be said about other reviewers who found it to be lackluster.

Also, 9to5Google pointed out that product reviewer Marques Brownlee got his hands on the Celeron version of the Pixel Slate and didn’t recommend the device to anyone. Perhaps the Celeron processor simply wasn’t powerful enough for day-to-day use.

Android Authority reached out to Google for comment. The company reiterated its original statement sent to 9to5Google.