Google Pixel 6 — Review & Full Phone Specifications
Google is back with this new Pixel 6 and this model brings some major changes compared to what we saw last year including a custom chipset and new dual cameras there are some downgrades compared to the pro model though so is this one still worth getting. the Pixel 6 stands out from the crowd and his predecessors with this uniquely designed camera bump which extends as a black bar across the whole back panel this allows Google to go for a two-tone look with a different color above and below the camera strip it’s not quite as noticeable in our stormy black finish though the camera bump sticks out quite a bit from the back and can be a lint magnet
but at least since it’s all the way across it doesn’t make the phone wobble while it’s sitting on a desk Google has gone in a different direction from last year’s Pixel 5 rather than plastic it’s now a premium gorilla glass 6 panel with a rounded matte aluminium frame at 207 grams it’s a bit chunkier than the Pixel 5 2 and overall it feels sturdy in hand but something it does share with the previous model is ip68 rated dust and water resistance for peace of mind the Pixel 6’s display is a flat 6.4 inch amoled with a 1080p resolution a punch hole for the selfie cam and gorilla glass victis protection some people might prefer this flat screen to the pro model’s curved one
but there are some downgrades here too a slower 90 hertz refresh rate and a lower 1080p resolution even so the regular Pixel 6’s display is quite decent it’s sharp enough and smooth enough even without those higher end specs the picture is contrasty thanks to amyloid technology and there’s hdr 10 plus support the color presets can deliver ok accuracy and max brightness is good too we measured up to 860 nits in auto mode when in bright light you also get an under display fingerprint reader for your biometrics rather than a capacitive
it’s reliable but not the fastest we’ve used for audio the Pixel 6 has a pair of stereo speakers with one bottom firing speaker and the other that doubles as the earpiece the pair earned a good score on our loudness charts and the sound quality is good too comparable to that of the iphone 13. you don’t get a traditional headphone jack on the Pixel 6 or expandable storage either there is a choice of 128 or 256 gigs on board though one of the major developments of this year’s Pixel phones is that they feature the new 5 nanometer tensor chipset built in-house by Google
Specifications of the Google Pixel 6
it seems that Google wants to stand out from other android manufacturers and provide a more proprietary experience since this is the first generation software-wise the Pixel 6 doesn’t feel so different from other high-end android phones except for the fact that it runs the new android 12 which provides things like color themes for your icons and menus there are a couple of neat features made possible by the tensor chip’s machine learning capability Google’s automatic speech recognition is more advanced than ever before and real-time translation is becoming even more of a reality both in actual conversations as well as the captions for videos that you’re watching it’s not perfect but is impressive nonetheless
the other major differences here are behind the scenes like with the camera processing in particular in benchmarks the tensor’s performance is excellent comparable to the high-end snapdragon 888 chipset demanding games run pretty well too but i wouldn’t call this a gaming phone thermal management could be better and we measured thermal throttling in our stress tests which could become noticeable during long gaming sessions the Pixel 6 isn’t a battery champion either but it does a decent job with this 4600 mAh battery scoring an endurance rating of 86 hours in our proprietary tests the phone doesn’t actually come with a charger in the box we will be able to charge it to 41 in half an hour with an 18 watt one there’s also support for wireless charging
the Pixel 6’s new dual cameras include a main camera with a larger 50 megapixel sensor and also a 12 megapixel ultra wide cam you don’t get a telephoto zoom like on the pro model though during the day photos from the Pixel 6’s main camera are great there’s excellent sharpness and plenty of fine detail with a characteristic Pixel style rendition plus there’s high contrast and wide dynamic range as well as vivid but not over saturated colors portrait shots are decently sharp and have generally good subject separation there are still some mix-ups from time to time though although there’s no zoom lens the digital zoom does a decent job at least at two times magnification
you just see a bit of extra softness if you look closely we did try the new motion mode which is powered by the tensor chipset but is still in beta and has some kinks to be ironed out with the action pan function it wasn’t easy to catch a moving subject in the frame and the subject detection and detail leave more to be desired the long exposure function is easier to work with and produces ok results the ultra wide cam captures very good photos with lots of detail good contrast wide dynamic range and pleasing vibrant colors there is some noise present and the field of view isn’t as wide as on some competitors if you’re shooting with the main cam in dark conditions the Pixel 6 will apply auto night sight processing by default
Camera Features of the Google Pixel 6
the night side mode on the photos have good sharpness and detail even in shadows and point light sources are well preserved the overall exposure is bright too which is a neat effect even if not the most natural looking disable night sight mode on the main camera and the results are still good there’s enough detail and accurate colors and the exposure has a more realistic look dynamic range is actually pretty wide with well-developed highlights but shadows are a bit mushier in comparison the ultra wide camera struggles without night sight mode
the images are underexposed with deep and noisy shadows with night sight on things are looking a lot better there’s a big improvement in the exposure and noise levels and more detail in the shadows the Pixel 6 has an 8 megapixel selfie camera and it produces sharp and detailed images with minimal noise colors are pleasant and the dynamic range is excellent with even backlit scenes coming out okay video can be captured with the main cam and up to 4k resolution at 60fps 4k footage is very good with competitive sharpness and detail accurate exposure and superb dynamic range colors are quite lively too
the ultrawide cam’s footage is also quite nice sharp and detailed and matching the main cam in colors and dynamic range and here’s how the electronic video stabilization looks in 4k from either camera it produces very stable clips with well-ironed footsteps and pans for more shaky situations there’s an active vis mode it only works in 1080p but its results are extra smooth so that’s the Pixel 6. like last year you get a nice 90 hertz amoled good stereo speakers ip rated waterproofing
Google software support but the Pixel 6 also breaks away from last year’s model in quite a few ways delivering a more premium experience not only with a glass design but with a custom flagship chipset and the new and improved cameras the only real shortcomings to mention are that the battery life and charging speed are just decent and you don’t get the higher refresh rate and resolution or the zoom lens of the pro model but for what it has to offer the Pixel 6 has a pretty competitive price and if you’re able to find it available in your neck of the woods it’s worth recommending.
Originally published at https://www.technews20-21.in on February 15, 2022.
