Pixel 6 review: The best Android value ever | Laptop Mag
Our Verdict
The Pixel 6 takes the lessons learned from the more affordable Pixels and adds just enough loftier-end features to appeal to flagship fans who don't desire to spend $one,000.
For
- Excellent software support
- Unique AI software features
- Bright 90Hz display
- Affordable toll
- 30W fast charging
Against
- Unproven processor
- No telephoto lens
Laptop Mag Verdict
The Pixel 6 takes the lessons learned from the more affordable Pixels and adds just enough high-end features to appeal to flagship fans who don't want to spend $i,000.
Pros
- +
First-class software support
- +
Unique AI software features
- +
Bright 90Hz brandish
- +
Affordable price
- +
30W fast charging
- +
Cons
- -
Unproven processor
- -
No telephoto lens
- -
Google Pixel 6 Specs
Toll: $599
Os: Android 12
Display: 6.4-inch FHD+ (2400x1080) OLED at upwardly to 90Hz
CPU: Google Tensor
RAM: 8GB
Rear cameras: 50MP wide-bending f/one.85; 12MP ultra-wide f/2.two
Front cameras: 8MP f/2.0
Storage: 128, 256, 512GB
Battery: 7:47
Size: 6.ii ten 2.9 x 0.35 inches
Weight: 7.3 ounces
The Pixel six has finally arrived, and while leaks spoiled its features, i big surprise changes everything.
The telephone has an amazing new 50MP primary sensor, information technology uses Google's new custom Tensor fleck and features a premium (though polarizing) design. But we knew all that already. So what inverse? The price. At $599, the Pixel 6 is not a flagship phone and Google didn't refer to it that way, instead, it positioned information technology every bit the continuation of Google's "value proposition" lineup.
This puts the Pixel 6 in an interesting position in the market equally the almost affordable big-screen telephone nosotros've seen from a mainstream manufacturer. Adding to the value proposition is Google'due south promise to evidence v years of security updates.
The Pixel 6 offers the well-nigh polished design and advanced hardware we have ever seen from Google, and at a toll that is sure to draw attention. In this Pixel six review, I got over what it has been similar to apply the phone for about a week.
Pixel half-dozen price and configurations
The Pixel half-dozen starts at an aggressive $599 for the 128GB base of operations model with 8GB of RAM and a 6.4-inch OLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate. Yous'll pay another $100 to upgrade to 256GB of RAM, and if you are on Verizon or AT&T, the base price is $699 as those models include mmWave 5G while the standard unlocked model is limited to Sub-6GHz.
Even the pricier carrier models undercut almost all mainstream competitors — simply the iPhone xiii mini and Milky way S20 FE retail at the aforementioned $699 price. If the Pixel 6 isn't enough to convince people that Google is serious about its hardware efforts, the cost should do it. This is a value at to the lowest degree equal to the Galaxy S20 FE, our favorite affordable flagship of 2022. The Pixel 5a remains an impressive offer if you desire to stay beneath $500, but if you can afford the actress $150, the Pixel 6 is absolutely worth it.
In the U.S., the Pixel Laissez passer subscription is a new alternative for those who want to go all-in on Google services and hardware. The subscription allows you to upgrade to a new Pixel every two years bundled with a subscription to YouTube Premium, YouTube Music Premium, Google Play Pass, and a 200GB Google One storage plan. It's available through Google Fi or the Google Store and starts at $45 a month for 24 months for the Pixel 6 or $55 a month for the Pixel half dozen Pro.
Pixel 6 design
There aren't many tepid opinions about the Pixel 6 design — you either honey information technology or hate information technology. But that'southward a good thing for Google. Pixel blueprint has more often than not elicited indifference in the past, or even negative reactions from those who thought the bezels were too large or took issue with the rear fingerprint sensor.
I suspect the biggest complaint levied at the Pixel six this twelvemonth will exist that it is besides big. Our ain Phillip Tracy is struggling with this as a Pixel fan. The 6.4-inch Pixel 6 is the largest Pixel that Google has ever made (excluding the new Pixel half dozen Pro). At 6.ii x 2.ix 10 0.35 inches and seven.iii ounces, it is irrefutably a huge phone. That dwarfs its competitors, including the iPhone xiii (5.78 ten 2.82 x 0.3 inches, 5.vii ounces) and the Galaxy S21 (six ten 2.8 ten 0.31 inches, half-dozen ounces).
I'm sympathetic to the complaint. After reviewing the iPhone xiii Pro, I was reminded of how nice it is to hold a 6.i-inch phone. I wish Google had come up closer to that size with the Pixel 6, instead of offer y'all the choice of large or bigger. The massive size will eliminate the phone from consideration for some buyers. At the same time, the market has shown its preference for larger phones, so perhaps an affordable 6.iv-inch option gives the Pixel six the broadest appeal.
When it comes to the expect of the phone, the rear camera assortment spanning the back console is the dominant element, and the ii-tone finish above and below the module makes the Pixel 6 instantly recognizable. It isn't for everyone, just I'm a fan of the look. It's even a throwback in some ways to the two-tone terminate on the Pixel 2 and the full-width rear camera on the Nexus 6P.
Some of the colour options on the Pixel 6 brand the wait pop, like the Kinda Coral and Sorta Seafoam, just Stormy Black volition be more your style if you want something traditional.
The Pixel six offers IP68 grit and water resistance certification, and then it will survive being dunked for upwardly to 30 minutes in around six feet of water. Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protects the display, while the Gorilla Glass vi back should continue information technology prophylactic from the occasional scratch or drop.
Looking around the outside of the Pixel vi, you won't find much in the way of ports or buttons. Only a USB-C port at the bottom and the power and volume upwards and down located on the correct side.
Pixel 6 display
The Pixel 6 features a 6.four-inch FHD+ (2400x1080 pixel) OLED with Google'due south "Smooth Display" which offers up to a 90Hz refresh rate. Information technology includes HDR support, a high brightness mode, over a million-to-1 contrast ratio and full 24-bit depth for 16 one thousand thousand colors. While it is shown upward by its larger sibling, this is easily the all-time brandish on a Pixel to date.
While we have now seen plenty of 120Hz displays on more affordable phones, the 90Hz of the Pixel vi isn't to be sneered at. It gives y'all enough of a refresh rate boost to discern smoother animations, especially for those coming from a 60Hz panel. The traditional apartment display of the Pixel half dozen gives you more noticeable bezels than the waterfall display of the Pixel 6 Pro, but it reduces the likelihood of accidentally swiping or tapping on something at the edge of the screen.
I pulled upwardly Life in Colour with David Attenborough and watched some of the "Hiding in Color" episodes. The detail, brightness, and colors were all fantastic. A yellow spider perched on a white flower petal shows off all of these elements at one time. The bright and crisp white of the flower petals, downwards to the vein construction in them, is clearly visible, while the translucent yellow legs and trunk of the spider testify a very precise color range equally information technology tries to alloy into the yellow center of the flower.
Our lab testing was a bit up and down for the Pixel half-dozen with the phone reproducing 71.5% of the DCI-P3 color gamut in its Natural color setting. The iPhone 13 (78%) and Milky way S21 (76.4%) have an edge in that location, but as with other Android phones, you lot have the option to switch to a boosted color mode for a more saturated await.
The Delta-E color accuracy test results (lower is ameliorate) are middle-of-the-road with a 0.28. That is only behind the iPhone 13 (0.26) and slightly alee of the Milky way S21 (0.29).
The Pixel 6 hits it out of the park when it comes to brightness with an average peak of 843 nits. Despite the heave to the iPhone xiii (795 nits) it still came upwards short and the Galaxy S21 (702 nits) didn't come close.
Pixel 6 performance and graphics
With the introduction of Google's custom Tensor chip, the Pixel 6's performance is one of the biggest questions on Pixel fans' minds. When information technology comes to raw power, we know where it stands, only it is less clear how this will concord upwardly in the long term.
Google said the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are the fastest Pixels ever and that is unquestionably true. Last year'south Pixel 5 dropped to a mid-tier Snapdragon 765G processor and the previous flagship-form Pixels featured the Snapdragon 855 processor from 2022. Defeating that contest isn't going to put fearfulness into the hearts of Apple or Samsung.
However, Google spent years developing Tensor with a focus on delivering superior performance through advanced on-device AI for faster and better speech recognition and improved image processing. Some of this volition require more extensive testing, but in roughly a calendar week with the phone, the investment appears to have paid off.
My typical review gauntlet for phones includes loading a couple of dozen Google Chrome tabs, running a Netflix video in the background, and then swapping betwixt several other apps including Twitter, YouTube Music, and Gmail. None of this proved a problem for the Pixel half-dozen. I was able to quickly switch betwixt tabs and apps without whatever stuttering in the operating arrangement or video.
I installed Call of Duty Mobile to see how Tensor would hold upwardly to some reasonably intense gaming and was pleasantly surprised. Even with the graphics topped out at their "very loftier" setting, the game ran smoothly and the half-dozen.4-inch brandish with a 90Hz refresh charge per unit makes it one of the best affordable phones for gaming. While it may take a hard time in a couple of years keeping upwardly with the latest games at their superlative settings, for at present, the Pixel vi is more up to the task.
Looking at our performance criterion tests, Geekbench v wasn't overly kind to the Pixel 6 with a multi-core score of ii,696. That is so far behind the iPhone 13 (4,436) that it'southward hard to imagine we used the same test. Even the Milky way S21 (three,302), despite finishing \backside the iPhone xiii, was well ahead of the Pixel 6.
Where things get more interesting for the PIxel vi is graphics and existent-earth benchmarking. In the Wild Life Unlimited graphics test, the Pixel 6 managed 34 fps, matching the Milky way S21. The iPhone xiii easily beat them both at 56 fps.
In our Adobe Premiere Blitz test that has the phone convert a 4K video to 1080p, the Pixel 6 delivered one of the best results we've seen from a non-iPhone. It converted the video in just 48 seconds, which is 14 seconds faster than the Galaxy S21, and while the iPhone 13 (26 seconds) takes another piece of cake victory, it's a stiff showing for the most affordable phone in the group.
There are two fundamental advantages to Tensor that aren't actually being captured in our tests. The first is Google's ability to tune this chip to its ain priorities, which should yield faster real-globe performance than benchmarks may prove. The second I'll address further in software, merely information technology is the length of back up that Google tin can offer for a fleck that it knows and controls within and out.
Pixel half-dozen battery life and charging
Later perennially coming up short on battery life, Google seemed to finally learn its lesson with the last round of Pixels, and the Pixel 6 appears to keep that trend with a 4614mAh battery. Google boasts that the phone should deliver "Beyond 24-60 minutes battery life" and up to 48-hours of battery life if yous utilise Extreme Battery Saver.
I've had no difficulties making it through a typical total review day with the telephone. This usually means running from around vii:30 a.m. to ten:thirty p.chiliad. with ii hours of Netflix and/or YouTube streaming on Wi-Fi, spider web browsing, using social media, gaming for about xxx minutes, and capturing photos and videos. I dipped to 20% battery remaining on a more strenuous mean solar day with the phone, only I haven't killed it completely.
Our Laptop Mag Battery test was considerably less positive for the Pixel 6. Set to its 60Hz refresh rate, the phone managed 7 hours and 47 minutes of continuous web browsing with the screen at 150 nits of brightness. This is a horrible result compared to either the iPhone 13 (10:33) or Milky way S21 (9:54).
I'll need to spend more time with the phone to get a amend feel for where it falls between those two extremes. Given my experience thus far, I feel that Google'southward adaptive battery software may be especially poor at our web surfing test, but it'southward possible my existent-world results have been fool's gold and will get worse equally time goes on.
Charging finally gets a nice bump up to 30W fast charging. Excitement over fast-charging may be tempered by the lack of the necessary 30W USB-C charger in the box. Once you pick up Google's 30W USB-C charger with USB-PD iii.0 support (or any compatible charger), the telephone will charge to fifty% in about 30 minutes. It's no OnePlus Warp Accuse 65W, merely it surpasses the charging wattage for Apple or Samsung.
Support for Qi wireless charging, fast wireless charging, and battery share are all available and the latter is quite handy if you have a pair of wireless headphones or a Qi-uniform smartwatch that tin can be topped up on the go.
Pixel 6 cameras
While it doesn't boast the telephoto of its flagship sibling, the Pixel half dozen cameras notwithstanding represent a massive leap forward with a 50MP Octa PD Quad Bayer lens with an f/1.85 aperture and ane.2µm pixel width. The new sensor is ane/i.31", one of the largest in whatsoever smartphone on the market. The 12MP ultra-wide is a more incremental upgrade, but the larger 1.25µm pixel width, f/2.2 discontinuity, and wider 114-degree field-of-view yield better results than the predecessor.
These cameras are identical to the Pixel 6 Pro, meaning you are losing nothing past choosing the $300 cheaper Pixel 6 when information technology comes to photography other than the 4x optical zoom and 20x digital zoom. Even equally someone who regularly advocates for telephoto lenses on phones, I concede that the Pixel 6 is a hard value to pass on.
Google'due south computational photography has lost nothing in its transition to these new sensors, and the combination puts Google back in the conversation for the best phone cameras on the market. What we tin can say for sure is that information technology hands wins that title in the sub-$600 price range.
Broad-angle camera
The new broad-angle camera is an absolute game-changer for the Pixel six in every regard. For the last few years, the Pixel cameras have been beautifully tuned sports cars trying to race with a ten-yr-old engine; there's just so much that can be washed. Now, the low-light performance that was being done solely with computational photography is boosted by a sensor that also excels at low-light.
The detail captured with the 50MP is fantastic likewise; the photo of a beholder statue at my gaming convention this week can be scrutinized for every last inch of the bizarre animal. While it doesn't completely make upwards for the lack of a telephoto, it does a good enough chore that extracting a 4-5x zoom is possible.
Ultrawide camera
While the ultra-broad isn't as transformative, information technology nevertheless represents a step forward from earlier. The loss in resolution is less of a concern given that, with ultra-wide, y'all are likely shooting landscapes, cityscapes or group photos. These aren't situations where you need to punch in on a photo.
I was glad to see a lack of distortion that tin be prevalent in ultra-wide shots equally you can see in the shot of the landscape on a nearby eatery. The ace up Google's sleeve for its ultra-wide is actually a new software feature, Magic Eraser. It can automatically eliminate unwanted elements from your photos. Information technology makes photobombers a problem of the past and the results are absolutely remarkable.
I frequently apply Photoshop for this feature, just Magic Eraser achieves similar results in seconds by merely highlighting whatever yous want to exist removed from the photo. The characteristic works with any of the lenses, but it's more than common to grab stray elements on the ultra-broad lens that y'all tin can then apace remove. It isn't limited to photos from the Pixel 6 either; ringlet dorsum through your Google Photos timeline and you may be able to salvage some dandy shots from the past.
Front end-facing photographic camera
The front-facing photographic camera on the Pixel 6 is the only i that differs from the Pixel vi Pro, but despite a lower megapixel count, it really has a better aperture at f/2.0. The 84 degree field of view is more limiting than the 94 degrees of the Pixel half dozen Pro, but it shouldn't exist a problem unless you have a lot of group selfies.
The results from the forepart-facing camera are outstanding when using portrait style. Google's ability to parse the background despite its lack of depth sensors (like what you encounter on the iPhone) is remarkable. It seemed to non miss a single particular, even my unruly hair, while applying a beautiful bokeh to the background.
Video
Video quality on the Pixel continues to lag behind Apple, and the gap has merely widened with the new advanced video features found on the iPhone 13. . There's nil wrong with the basic video capture from the Pixel 6, though. It's capable of 4K or 1080p at 30 or 60 frames per second, while the front-facing photographic camera is limited to 1080p at 30fps.
The video itself looks expert, benefitting from the improvements to the camera sensors. Nevertheless, those are all pretty much table stakes for a modern smartphone. Some of the new image stabilization options like Cinematic Pan and more unique options like the astrophotography timelapse are interesting, but Google fails to make them every bit accessible every bit Apple tree. For capturing family videos, the Pixel 6 is admittedly up to the job, but for most creators, this remains a weak point.
Pixel 6 software
The Pixel six runs Google'southward slightly modified version of Android 12. Our review of the updated Bone will give you a detailed look at the updated user experience and user interface, just the Pixel 6 gives you even more. It's something Google is finally playing up more with its Pixel marketing in referencing the regular "feature drops."
While some of these features are legitimately quite useful, the upgraded software support should get the most attending. Google volition now offer 5 years of security updates for the Pixel, nearly matching the six years that Apple typically provides. Even so, major OS updates are limited to three years, well shy of what Apple offers.
The Pixel vi can accept some of the hurting out of calling businesses with its Await Times, Direct my Phone call and Agree for Me features. These show you optimal times to telephone call a item business, transcribe automatic menu options for you, and notify you lot when someone picks upwards your call after putting you on agree. I've used Google'due south phone call screening on my Pixels since it first became available and have come to really miss these touches when I'k using other devices.
If you like going hands-costless with your phone, the improved Assistant vox typing should be a benefaction. Now you tin can just say, "Hey Google, type" when you are in a messaging app, and it will let you dictate and send messages, including precise cursor motility, spelling out unusual words or names, and emoji.
Alive Interpret is more than impressive than e'er with the ability to translate messages (eleven languages) or media (5 languages) on your phone in real-time. The camera mode using Google Lens will translate annihilation information technology sees into 55 languages offline and 104 languages when online. Using Interpreter Mode, Assistant will interpret back and forth for you in up to 48 languages online.
Google's robust at a glance characteristic is also more powerful than always and will try to show you lot contextually relevant information on your home screen and lock screen. This includes weather, local alerts, travel details that it pulls from your email, appointments, and traffic to relevant destinations. It's all almost Pixel beingness smart enough to show you what yous need to know without y'all having to inquire for it.
Bottom line
While the Pixel 6 Pro is the true flagship Google phone, the Pixel 6 is clearly the phone meant to pb Google'southward phone armada.
The Pixel six, at $599, creates a clear upgrade path for Pixel fans coming from the Pixel 3a or Pixel 4a, who were underwhelmed by the Pixel 5a and wanted more without spending $1,000. The budget realm has been Google's staff of life and butter over the concluding few years and the Pixel six may perfectly fit into an underdeveloped price range in the market.
While it may lack premium features found on the Pixel 6 Pro and some and other flagship phones from Samsung or Apple, the large 90Hz display, incredible primary photographic camera and potent software support from Google may be plenty to finally push button a Pixel device into the mainstream.
Source: https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/pixel-6-review-the-best-android-value-ever
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