Google’s Pixel 6 phones are finally official, as the company unveiled the two handsets during its Made by Google event on Tuesday. Google’s Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro reveal has been unique in the industry. The company announced the two phones in early August before Samsung and Apple unveiled their flagships. Google did not reveal the full specs, price, or release date at the time. Instead, we got the design and Tensor chip details. Google promoted the Pixel 6 phones heavily in the months that followed, even though buyers could not order them. At the same time, many Pixel 6 leaks filled in the blanks, giving fans all the missing details — including impressively affordable prices.
Fast-forward to October 19th, and Google finally revealed everything about the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro during its October 19th event. You’ll find everything you need to know below, plus you should read our Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro reviews.
Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro design
In August, Google teased the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, confirming the exciting new design that appeared in rumors. The phones feature hole-punch displays with built-in fingerprint sensors. Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus glass protects the screens, and both devices feature IP68 water and dust resistance.
The phone’s rear panel is genuinely striking, thanks to the camera module bump that goes across the back. The Camera Bar is a recognizable design element that serves two purposes. First of all, Google’s Pixel 6 series features the first triple-lens camera system in a Pixel phone — but only the Pro gets it. Secondly, the horizontal bump is a signature design feature that makes the Pixel 6 instantly recognizable.
The Google Tensor chip
It’s not just the bold design that stands out with the new Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. The new phones are Google’s first Pixels to ship with a custom System-on-Chip (SoC) made by Google. The Tensor SoC might not match the performance of the iPhone 13’s A15 Bionic. But it’s a huge step up from the Pixel 5’s mid-range Snapdragon 765. Leaked benchmarks have shown that the processor will deliver a flagship experience, and Google stressed that on stage.
The Tensor chip is about speed, security, and adaptability. The SoC should deliver a fast overall experience, and the handsets feature all-day adaptive battery technology. That means the phone will adapt performance to conserve battery life, and the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro might last up to 48 hours on a charge.
The Tensor chipset also comes with a new Titan M2 security chip and a Security hub app. These should enhance privacy and security, with Google promising five years of security updates.
Google’s new chip also comes with powerful machine learning (ML) abilities that allow it to perform ML tasks on-device, without connecting to Google’s servers. That includes translating messages and videos. The Tensor’s custom image processor also plays a massive role in the Pixel 6’s computational photography, which is hardly surprising.
Google’s high-end Pixel 6 specs
Speaking of cameras, the Pixel 6 features a dual-lens camera system that includes a new 50-megapixel wide camera and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens. The primary camera features a bigger sensor (1/1.3 inch) than the Pixel 5, allowing the phone to capture 150% more light than last year’s handset. The Tensor will help with Portrait Mode, Night Side, Magic Eraser, Face Unblur, and Motion Mode features.
The Pixel 6 Pro also packs a third 48-megapixel telephoto lens that supports 4x optical zoom or 20x Super Res Zoom. When it comes to selfie cameras, we’re looking at 8-megapixel wide and 11-megapixel ultra-wide cameras for the two handsets.
The Pixel 6 Pro also gets a larger, better screen. It’s a 6.7-inch OLED Smooth Display that supports adaptive refresh rates. The LTPO screen goes as low as 10Hz and as high as 120Hz to maximize battery life while improving content consumption. The Pixel 6 has a 6.4-inch OLED Smooth Display with 90Hz refresh rate support.
When it comes to the battery, both phones support fast wireless and fast wired charging. Wireless charging goes up to 21W (Pixel 6) and 23W (Pixel 6 Pro) but requires a special charger. Wired charging goes up to 30W. The phones also need just 30 minutes to reach 50% capacity, and they support Battery Share.
Both Pixel phones support 5G and Wi-Fi 6E connectivity. They feature 8GB (Pixel 6) or 12GB (Pixel 6 Pro) of LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB/256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. The Pixel 6 Pro will also come with up to 512GB of storage.
Finally, the handsets ship with Android 12 preloaded, which includes the new Material You theme that allows buyers to customize the user interface on the fly. You’ve already seen Material You in all the Pixel 6 promos that preceded the press event.
Pixel 6 price and release date
The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro will be available for preorder on October 19th from Google, carriers, and electronics retailers. Pricing starts at $599 for the Pixel 6 and $899 for the Pixel 6 Pro. Colors include Cloudy White, Seafoam Green, and Stormy Black.
The phones will ship to buyers on October 28th, which gives you plenty of time to read our full Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro reviews.
