The Pixel 6 and 6 Pro have finally arrived; here's what you need to know

Joe Maring

from Android Central RSS Feed on 2021-10-21 15:30 (#5QZR2)

No more leaks and speculation: here are the facts.

The Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro have arrived. During Tuesday's Pixel 6 launch event, Google showed off the new smartphones in all their full glory. And we now know how much they'll cost: $599 and $899, respectively. That's well below what we expected for Google's upgraded flagships.

We've officially known about the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro since August 2, when Google unveiled its striking design and Samsung-made Google Tensor chipset. Both phones will dramatically improve on the mid-range Pixel 5, offering true flagship specs and improved camera sensors. Plus, exclusive Android 12 features like Dynamic colors for the new Material You UI should be available at launch.

Pixel sales haven't come close to competing with Apple or Samsung sales in past years, but this Pixel series could make Google flagships stand out from the crowd. Check out our in-depth Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro hands-on to see how these phones perform in action, or read on to find out all the crucial details about these new phones before you buy one.

Affordable flagshipGoogle Pixel 6

$599 at Amazon $599 at Best Buy $599 at Google Store

Mid-range price, disproportionate performance

The base Pixel 6 offers a 6.4-inch OLED display with 90Hz, 50MP main sensor, Android 12, Google Tensor, Gorilla Glass Victus, and lightning-fast AI tools.

Curved upgradeGoogle Pixel 6 Pro

$899 at Amazon $899 at Best Buy $899 at Google

A proper flagship

The new Pixel 6 Pro is a step up on Google flagships of the past, thanks to its 6.7-inch OLED display with 120Hz, tri-camera setup with 48MP telephoto camera, and more RAM for better performance.

Jump to:

Google Pixel 6 Announcement & release date

The Pixel Fall Launch took place on Tuesday, October 19 at 10 am PT/1 pm ET/6 pm BT. During the event, Google officially announced both new phones, which will be available for preorder shortly. You will be able to buy it through the Google Store; it may also appear on some retailers like Best Buy, though the Pixel 5a is currently a Google Store exclusive.

Google typically sells Pixels in far fewer countries than other OEMs. For instance, the Pixel 5 launched in nine countries: Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, the U.S., and Canada. For Pixel 6 availability, we expect the phone to stick to those countries.

As for the actual Pixel 6 release date, it'll be available starting on October 28.

Google Pixel 6 Price

The Google Pixel 6 price is $599/599, while the Pixel 6 Pro price is $899/849. Despite leak after leak suggesting a much higher price, this news has proven everyone wrong. Google is continuing to sell flagships at more reasonable prices than its competitors; except this time, the specs belie those low prices.

In August, Google hardware chief Rick Osterloh told The Verge that Google didn't consider its past couple of phones "flagship tier," but that the new Pixel "will be different" as a "premium-priced product." So we'd expected the Pixel 6 to cost much more than the Pixel 5 ($699 / 629 at launch) and Pixel 4 ($799 / 749). Instead, the new Pixels actually cost less than phones that underwhelmed consumers in many ways.

The Pixel 6 will cost much less than the iPhone 13 ($799) and the upcoming Galaxy S22 (unknown, but likely $799 as well), while the Pixel 6 Pro will cost less than any other "Pro" handset at this time.

If you don't want to pay these prices upfront, there is a new Pixel Pass subscription for $45 a month (for two years) that bundles a new phone, Google One, YouTube Premium, YouTube Music Premium, Google Play Pass, and optional Google Fi service. The Pixel 6 Pro with these bundled services will cost $55/month.

Google Pixel 6 Design

If you live in New York City, you can see the Pixel 6 design for yourself! It's on display at the Google Store in Chelsea. Otherwise, we have the rundown on how the Pixel 6 will look and feel.

The Google Pixel 6 is available in Sorta Seafoam, Kinda Coral, and Stormy Black - it gets the more playful colors. With the Pixel 6 Pro, you get more "serious" colors with Sorta Sunny, Cloudy White, and Stormy Black. Upgrading to get better specs means missing out on some of the better color options, which is too bad.

The Google Pixel 6 has a flat, 6.4-inch OLED display that's better suited for one-handed use and screen protectors. As for the Pixel 6 Pro, you'll get a 6.7-inch curved OLED display, which deemphasized the thick black edges of the Pixel 6, plus a glossier finish. And with the Pixel 6 Pro LTPO display, you'll see much smoother scrolling animations.

One interesting design omission: the Pixel 6 lineup has lost the trademark colored power button found on every other Pixel phone. But in our hands-on, we noted "a wonderfully sculpted groove between the power and volume buttons to help you distinguish which is which on feel."

Both phones have very similar weights (210g vs. 207g), so opting for the Pro won't weigh you down. The curved display could also make it easier to hold one-handed; still, it is 6.7 inches, which will be too large for some small-handed people.

Google Pixel 6 Specs

The Pixel 6 Pro has some decent upgrades on the Pixel 6 that might make you want to upgrade. Let's dive into what both phones offer.

Device name	Google Pixel 6	Google Pixel 6 Pro
Chipset	Google Tensor	Google Tensor
Memory	8GB	12GB
Storage	128GB or 256GB	128GB, 256GB, or 512GB
Display	6.4-inch, 1080 x 2400, OLED, 90Hz	6.7-inch, 1440 x 3120, LTPO OLED, 10-120Hz
Rear Camera	50MP, f/1.85, 1.2m (wide-angle) 12MP, f/2.2, 1.25m (ultra-wide)	50MP, f/1.85, 1.2m (wide-angle) 12MP, f/2.2, 1.25m (ultra-wide) 48MP, f/3.5, 0.8m, 4x optical zoom (telephoto)
Front Camera	8.0MP, f/2.0, 1.12m	11.1MP, f/2.2, 1.22m
Battery	4614mAh 30W Fast Charging 12-23W Wireless Charging 5W Reverse Wireless Charging	5003mAh 30W Fast Charging 12-23W Wireless Charging 5W Reverse Wireless Charging
Weight	207g	210g
Water and dust resistance	IP68	IP68
Colors	Stormy Black, Kinda Coral, Sorta Seafoam	Stormy Black, Cloudy White, Sorta Sunny

Both phones get all the same Google Tensor processing upgrades, main camera sensor, water resistance, and charging speeds. Still, you'll get faster performance on the Pixel 6 Pro thanks to the 4 extra gigabytes of RAM. If you're a gamer, you may want it for extra display space as well as the speed boost.

With the Pixel 6 Pro display, you upgrade from 1080p to a 2K display, 90Hz to 120Hz, and standard OLED to an LTPO (low-temperature polycrystalline oxide) OLED. That gives you a variable refresh rate, so you can use 120Hz when you need it but drop down to as low as 10Hz when more static apps don't need it. That, plus the larger 5,003mAh battery, could help the Pixel 6 Pro battery performance.

In terms of camera improvements, both get a 50MP main camera that dramatically improves on the 12MP sensor on the Pixel 5, plus a 12MP ultrawide sensor. The Pixel 6 Pro gives you an extra 48MP telephoto lens, plus a few extra MP for the selfie cam.

Regardless of which phone you pick, Google is emphasizing AI improvements to its camera processing as well as hardware improvements. Magic Eraser will let you erase people or objects from photos, using AI to accurately fill in the blanks. Face Unblur will use multiple photos to fix blurry faces in moving shots. And Real Tone will offer better facial recognition and photo quality when capturing photos of people with darker skin - which Google has historically struggled with.

Specs aside, Google Tensor could be the most important update for both phones. Google spent the majority of its livestream showing off its upgraded AI capabilities, including live translation, faster text-to-speech, five years of security upgrades, and other performance boosts with Google Assistant.

Google Pixel 6 Software

Alongside the Pixel 6 launch, the Android 12 stable build launched the same day. Anyone with a Pixel 3 and up can download the software now. And the Pixel 6 will have Android 12 out of the box.

Alongside the other Pixel phones, the Pixel 6 will get exclusive access to the new Material You color picker tools. You'll also see software improvements like a proper one-handed mode, scrolling screenshots, faster auto-rotation, improved privacy tools, new emojis, and other cool perks that other flagships won't see for several months.

What matters most here is Google Tensor. Not only will it offer much faster speeds than the Pixel 5 chipset, but it'll also receive four OS updates up to Android 16, plus five years of security updates. Just as Apple can support its iPhones for longer because it creates and controls its own chips, Google will do the same with Tensor, no longer restricted by Qualcomm hardware.

Most current Android phones only get two or three years of support, with Samsung recently promising three OS updates and four years of security updates for future phones and tablets. With the Pixel 6, you'll get an extra year plus faster Android OS updates down the line.

Which Pixel to buy now

Now that Google has discontinued the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G, you have three Google phone options today: The Pixel 6, 6 Pro, and 5a.

Back when we thought the Pixel 6 would be an expensive flagship, the Pixel 5a seemed like a decent downgrade option. It's affordable, has a long-lasting battery, performs well with mid-range hardware, and comes at an affordable price. However, the Pixel 6 costs just $150 more and gives you plenty of perks for the extra money.

With the Pixel 6, you get the Google Tensor AI upgrades, 90Hz refresh rates, 2GB extra RAM, a much-improved main camera sensor, slightly better water resistance (IP68 vs. IP67) plus better protection with GG Victus (instead of GG 3), and five years of support instead of just 3. Unless you're on a strict budget, the Pixel 6 seems like the phone to buy here. Unless, of course, you want even more power with the Pixel 6 Pro.