Google Pixel 6 review

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Introduction

After a brief hiatus in 2020, Google returned this year to the flagship smartphone scene with the Pixel 6 Pro. But the company is no stranger to sorta flagships, and the Pixel 6 non-Pro is kinda just that if you'll forgive our overuse of Google's own terminology.

In true not-quite-there fashion, the Pixel 6 omits the telephoto camera - that one is reserved for the Pro. It does get to keep the other two in that black camera strip that makes this year's Google phones so unlike any other. Similarly, you won't be getting the ultrawide-ish 11MP selfie unit of the Pro, but the non-Pro's sorta wide (last time) selfie camera is good enough.

Other concessions await in the display section. Instead of the 120Hz QHD panel of the Pro, the Pixel 6 makes do with a 90Hz FullHD screen. It's not as big either, but at 6.4 inches, the non-Pro is not a small Pixel like we had with the earlier generations - we did like those, sigh.

That pretty much exhausts the list of principal differences between the two Pixel flavors. You do get the same brand-new in-house designed Tensor chip that enables all sorts of on-device machine learning cleverness, and while the 8GB of RAM here aren't quite the Pro's 12GB, they sure sound like plenty. Along those lines is the smaller battery and slightly slower charging.

Google Pixel 6 specs at a glance:

• Body: 158.6x74.8x8.9mm, 207g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), glass back (Gorilla Glass 6), aluminum frame; IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins).
• Display: 6.40" AMOLED, 90Hz, HDR10+, 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 411ppi; Always-on display.
• Chipset: Google Tensor (5 nm): Octa-core (2x2.80 GHz Cortex-X1 & 2x2.25 GHz Cortex-A76 & 4x1.80 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G78 MP20.
• Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM; UFS 3.1.
• OS/Software: Android 12.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.9, 25mm, 1/1.31", 1.2µm, omnidirectional PDAF, Laser AF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.2, 17mm, 114˚, 1.25µm.
• Front camera: 8 MP, f/2.0, 24mm (wide), 1.12µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps; gyro-EIS, OIS; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 4614mAh; Fast charging, 50% in 30 min (advertised), Fast wireless charging 21W, Reverse wireless charging, USB Power Delivery 3.0.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); NFC.

Google Pixel 6 unboxing

Google joins in on the no-charger trend this time around, and the Pixel 6 arrives in a half-height box as has become the norm at the high-end market segment. The lid has a print of the actual phone on top, and the sides are color-matched as well - hence boring black on our review unit.

In terms of accessories, inside the box, you'll find a USB-C cable and USB-A-to-C adapter, should you choose to plug in a USB stick or maybe transfer data from an old microUSB-equipped phone using its own cable.