Google unveils Pixel 6 and 6 Pro smartphones
While the phones haven’t yet launched, Google has officially confirmed the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are coming.
The excellent Pixel 5 is Google’s current flagship phone, but time stands still for no device, so we take a look forward at what to expect when its successors – the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro – arrive. In this article, we’ll explore the expected release date, price and the new specs suggested to appear on Google’s next flagship phones.
RELEASE DATE
Google officially announced the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro in a press release published in August – see fave.co/3grDv53. While it
didn’t make mention of a specific release date, it repeatedly promised an autumn arrival, in line with past Pixel releases.
PRICE
Pricing is a bit less reliable when looking at past releases. Back in 2018, the Pixel 3 cost £739, but when the Pixel 4 came along, its price was £669. The cost of ownership dropped even lower with the Pixel 5, which, at the time of writing, you can buy for £599.
Sadly, we don’t see this descending trend continuing, with the company’s hardware executive, Rick Osterloh telling German site Der Spiegel, that the next Pixels “will be expensive”.
While Osterloh didn’t throw out any specific figures at the time, he did allude to the fact that recent Pixels haven’t readily intended to compete with the top-tier devices pushed out by rivals.
As for the Pixel 6 Pro, we imagine it will be at least £100 more than the Pixel 6.
DESIGN
While Google’s August announcement didn’t reveal everything the Pixel 6 line would be bringing to the table, it did confirm a number of previously-leaked details, covering both the phones’ design and hardware (as well as putting to bed the debate over whether the larger phone’s name would be the ‘Pixel 6 XL’ or ‘Pixel 6 Pro’).
The company calls the jutting camera arrangement across each phone’s back a “camera bar” and it’s reportedly needed to accommodate the ‘upgraded’ rear camera system. Google says it features “improved sensors and lenses” that are “too big to fit into a traditional square”.
Google didn’t get into specifics, but it did state that both phones “have new materials and finishes, too – like the Pro’s light polished aluminum [sic] frame, and the 6’s matte aluminum [sic] finish”.
These Pixels also appear to be reverting back to glass-backed designs, similar to the first three generations of
Pixel; with contrasting colours on either side of that distinctive camera bar.
Speaking of colours, Google’s characteristically quirky names for the colourways shown above haven’t yet been published, however, tipster TechScoreNY has put forward ‘Sorta Orange’, ‘Arctic Blue’ and ‘Mostly Grey’. These names were originally in reference to the 6 Pro specifically, however, assuming the images Google has since supplied are the only finishes for each model of phone, it’s thought that ‘Arctic Blue’ might relate to the blue/green finish seen on the standard Pixel 6 depicted on the previous page.
While Google’s initial round of official images does include shots featuring a centrally-positioned front-facing hole-punch camera, it looks like the Pixel 4a/4a 5G/5/5a’s reinstated rear fingerprint scanner has gone, this time replaced with an in-display alternative.
SPECIFICATIONS
Google hasn’t yet handed out a complete spec sheet for these freshlyteased phones, but here’s what we know so far.
Google Pixel 6
• 6.4in (2,340x1,080; 403ppi) AMOLED, 90Hz, HDR10+ display
• Android 12
• Google Tensor (5nm) processor
• Octa-core CPU
• 12GB RAM
• 128GB/256GB/512GB storage
• Two rear-facing cameras: 50Mp, (wide), PDAF, OIS; 12Mp, (ultra-wide)
• Selfie camera: 12Mp
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
• Bluetooth 5.2, A2DP, LE, aptX HD
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, BDS
• NFC
• USB Type-C 3.1
• Fingerprint scanner (under display, optical)
• Non-removable battery
• Fast charging
• 160.4x75.1x8.2mm
Google Pixel 6 Pro
• 6.71in (3,120x1,440; 512ppi) AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+ display
• Android 12
• Google Tensor (5nm) processor
• Octa-core CPU
• 12GB RAM
• 128GB/256GB/512GB storage
• Three rear-facing cameras: 50Mp, (wide), PDAF, OIS; 48Mp, (telephoto), PDAF, OIS, 4x optical zoom; 12Mp, (ultra-wide)
• Selfie camera: 12Mp
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band,
Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
• Bluetooth 5.2, A2DP, LE, aptX HD
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, BDS
• NFC
• USB Type-C 3.1
• Fingerprint scanner (under display, optical)
• Non-removable lithium-polymer 5,000mAh battery
• Fast charging
• 163.9x75.8x8.9mm
PROCESSOR: TENSOR SOC
Google has revealed some of what we can expect from the custom silicon, destined for its flagship phones; sporting what it calls “Tensor” – a name we’ve already seen affiliated with a number of other Google projects, in relation to AI computing and machine learning.
An official statement states: “Tensor enables us (Google) to make the Google phones we’ve always envisioned – phones that keep getting better while tapping the most powerful parts of Google, all in a highly personalized [sic] experience. And with Tensor’s new security core and Titan M2, Pixel 6 will have the most layers of hardware security in any phone.”
While that doesn’t shed a huge amount of light on just how exactly Tensor pulls away from the Snapdragon chips the company was previously sticking into Pixel devices, leaks leading up to this announcement referencing the chip’s code name ‘Whitechapel’ add a little extra illumination.
GS101 ‘Whitechapel’ (GS likely meaning ‘Google Silicon’) supposedly shares in Samsung’s latest Exynos chip design and architecture, along with some of its software components.
It’s supposedly made on a 5nm process (matching the 888 and Exynos 2100) and – as subsequently reiterated by
Google – focuses on AI and machine learning tasks, which means users can expect improvements in areas such as photography.
One thing we can predict is that the Pixel 6 will come with an UltraWideband (UWB) chip and – combined with NFC – will support the new Digital Car Key feature in Android 12, allowing you to unlock a compatible vehicle with your phone.
POWER AND CHARGING
It seems the US and Japan-only Pixel 5a will be the last of the company’s phones to ship with a charger, meaning the Pixel 6/6 Pro won’t come with an adapter. Google’s argument is in favour of reduced environmental impact, but it’s hard not to ignore the cost benefits such a change also brings to the company.
At the same time, it’s been reported that Pixel 6 test devices have been spotted plugged into 33-watt fast chargers, which if refilling Google’s next smartphones at full pace will render the Pixel 6 line the fastest-charging phones in Pixel history, with devices previously topping out at 18 watts.
It also seems Google is working on a new wireless charging stand for the Pixel 6, that will include a cooling fan. There’s no word on power output, but the fan will help keep the phone cool while it charges and looks like it will slow down if you wake the Google Assistant, presumably so the microphones can hear you better.
Designated ‘Luxuryliner’, it will be a follow-up to the £69 Pixel Stand’.