I'm using a Pixel tablet running GOS. On the official Google support page, it says that the charging dock automatically gets updated when you place your tablet on it.
Is this true on GOS as well? I do use Play Services on my tablet. Do I need to give it any specific permissions or anything else in order for these dock updates to work on GOS?
That link is based on stock OS and would not apply to GrapheneOS. It also states that you'll get a notification on your (stock) Pixel Tablet when an Android update is available and that you can also install updates in your (stock) tablet's system settings.
This iFixit thread is the most I've seen so far as to figuring out how the Pixel Tablet's speaker dock works.
No photos, but apparently it's possible to somewhat reversibly open the speaker dock & close it back up. (I don't think anyone who makes quality teardown videos like Hugh Jeffries is going to open this up anytime soon, though.)
It's worth noting that Google sells the speaker dock separately, so anyone who has $129 (before tax) and is willing to do a teardown (to possibly sacrifice it in the process, if doing it blind/for the first time) has that option available to them.
The pogo-style connector pins have some sort of data transfer; but since the device can only be used in-person and the dock itself has no wireless capability, I think it's relatively safe enough for most to "ignore" updates and the dock by itself isn't likely to be exploited wirelessly - especially if some users never the dock and just get another 30W charger and USB-C cable set from Google. (I also suppose any Pixel Tablet running stock Google Android could update the speaker dock, since the dock doesn't seem to be serialized to the Pixel Tablet sold in the same box.)
However, I don't really think/expect the updates for the speaker dock are a big deal. My impression is that the best balance to updating the speaker dock firmware (I guess that's what I'd call it?) is this: best to update the speaker dock via the stock Google Android, before installing GrapheneOS on the Pixel Tablet.
According to Wikipedia and the Pixel 8a press release announcement, Google started selling the Pixel Tablet without the dock on May 14, 2024.
Maybe I should reset my Pixel Tablet to the stock Pixel UI to update the dock and/or to determine if updating the dock for GrapheneOS will make a noticeable difference.
Also, random find: I finally found the Google support page about how long OEM support will last.
