Pixel 6 and 6 Pro main site hands-on: Google returns to the flagship market

After an earlier round of previews, Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are now finally officially here. This generation of Pixel can be said to be Google’s most anticipated product recently. In addition to the mysterious self-made Tensor processor, it has finally updated the camera system, not only the lens hardware upgrade, but also the calculations brought by the Tensor processor. Strength blessing.

Other new features include a faster screen, exclusive Android 12 features and many AI and voice recognition enhancements. We will discuss these one by one during the hands-on play on the main site of this article, but I have to mention its price-Pixel 6 Pro is 899 US dollars, and Pixel 6 is only 599 US dollars, which is relatively broken. The recent flagship mobile phones have been trending upwards.

Hardware differences between Pixel 6 and 6 Pro

For Pixel 6, the specifications that can be bought for $599 are not weak. In addition to the 6.4-inch Full HD board with a 90Hz refresh rate, there are also a 50MP main camera, a 12MP wide-angle camera and an 8MP selfie mirror. The $300 expensive Pixel 6 Pro brings a more detailed 6.7-inch 1440p panel, narrower bezels, an additional 48MP quadruple optical zoom telephoto lens, and an upgraded to 11.1MP selfie camera with a wider viewing angle. In addition, the 6 Pro also has a larger battery, 12GB of memory (6 is 8GB), an option of 512GB of storage space, and an ultra-wideband chip.

Most of the other functions are shared by the two flagships. This includes the eight-core Tensor processor composed of two large, two medium, and four small cores, in-screen fingerprint recognition, IP68 waterproof and dustproof, Sub-6 and millimeter wave 5G, and most of the features that 2021 flagships have.

Return to high-end body design and playful colors

Pixel 6 and 6 Pro also have subtle differences in appearance, and both have the same significant differences with Google’s two generations of design language on Pixel 4 and Pixel 5. This time the Pixel 6 series has abandoned the matte texture and replaced it with a sleek glass back cover, bringing a sense of luxury to a flagship phone. The editors of the main website don’t really appreciate the newly designed square shape, especially the Pro feels a lot like Samsung Note 20 Ultra, at least Pro is a little lighter than Note 20 Ultra or iPhone 13 Pro Max.

The two Pixel 6 are also larger than the Pixel 5. Although the screen size is quite different, the difference in the size of the phone itself is not so significant. Both have a conspicuous black banner on the back, and inside are two or three cameras respectively. Although this bar protrudes a lot to the back, it is actually very stable when placed on the table face up, unlike some models that protrude on one side.

On the front, the frame of Pixel 6 is more obvious than that of 6 Pro. At the same time, the middle frame of Pixel 6 is treated with a matte surface, while the Pixel 6 Pro is made of shiny metal. Both models have three colors to choose from, especially the different tones above and below the black belt, which are a bit more interesting than the monotonous Pixel in the past, but here is still a little more color selection for Pixel 6, outside of black. There are also pink and pink green, but Pro is only black, white/silver and a subtle orange.

Android 12 and speech recognition

Of course, the Pixel 6 series uses Android 12 as the operating system, and there are some features exclusive to Pixel. The most obvious one is the new Material You UI. This new UI will take the tones from your wallpaper, apply it to the components of the entire system, and come first on the Pixel. This means that the colors of your keyboard, menu buttons, setting pages and notification boxes will automatically get colorful and harmonious colors, so you don’t need to study how to match colors yourself. In addition to Pixel 6, Pixel phones after Pixel 3 can also try this new feature today.

But since Google has specially developed its own processors, it is naturally impossible to have some voice recognition or camera functions unique to Pixel 6. First, Google has improved the voice recognition on Pixel 6, adding a layer of learning capabilities. For example, suppose you have a friend whose name is “Bryan”. In the past, the system would probably be called “Brian” by the system. But now if you misheard the Pixel several times, and all of them are corrected by you, the system will start to use the correct version when you hear “Bryan” again.

Google is also starting to allow you to type emoji by voice. For example, saying “smiley face emoji” will insert a smiley face emoji. You can also say “send” to send, “clear” to clear the message, or when you see a typo in the content of the dictation, you can click on the typo and repeat it without switching in and out of the dictation mode.

Furthermore, Google can also perform two-way real-time translation for text chats-just like the English-Japanese example above, you can enter English in the text box, and the text input area of ​​the app will appear after translation. Japanese, and the Japanese that the other party typed will automatically change to English for you to see. As for whether this feature supports Chinese, you will ask Google later.

One feature of the Pixel phone that is difficult for us to use is the phone-related assistant feature, such as “hanging up” for you while waiting for the service, and notifying you when someone answers. Pixel 6 will also add new such features, including a “waiting time” display, letting you know the waiting time of each of the top 5,000 companies in the United States; and converting many companies’ automated voice options into text for display in on the screen. In addition to not forgetting the number mentioned above, this should also help the hearing impaired friends.

Desperate camera update

Finally, of course, the camera update that many people are looking forward to. The 12MP sensor that Google has used for many years can’t be said that the resolution is not enough (the latest iPhone is also full 12MP), but it is true that the number of years is getting longer and it is no longer prominent in the new generation of flagships. This time Google has finally updated all the lenses, but in addition, it still does not forget to bring new software features such as Motion mode, Object eraser, and Real tone to match.

Said it is a new software function, but in fact, many of them have already tried it in his brand of mobile phones. For example, the object eraser (object eraser) has appeared on Samsung mobile phones in the past, basically you can click on the object in the photo in the Photos app, and then the phone will erase it for you. At the scene, Google has edited the demo for the main site to eliminate people in the background. Except for the faint edge lines, Pixel 6 eliminates people quite naturally.

Motion mode is some tools for extending the shutter. In the past, we have seen similar functions on mobile phones such as Huawei and Sony. One use is to rely on long exposures to achieve the afterimage effect, such as the taillights of vehicles passing by at night. Since the scene is not at night, the demo seen by the editor of the main station is to take pictures of the waterfall on the projection screen, which can also bring silky smooth water. The mode of the second Motion mode is called “Action Pan”. This is the reverse of the previous usage, which is to set the subject on a fast-moving object, while making the background blurry and creating a sense of speed.

With the launch of Pixel 6, Google will also put more emphasis on the “racial tolerance” of the camera. Google mentioned this part in I/O. Basically, for users with darker skin, Pixel 6 will be able to expose more accurately, and this function called “Real Tone” is built-in. A switch. As for the effect, you have to wait until you get the real machine to test it.

Pixel 6 Pro has an extra telephoto lens compared to Pixel 6. The editor of the main station uses both iPhone 13 Pro and Pixel 6 Pro to maximize the size, and shoots a small Android doll in the distance, and finds that Pixel 6 Pro seems to be slightly better. Both phones have captured Android puppets, but after zooming in, it is found that Pixel 6 Pro retains more details, such as the gap between the puppet’s head and body, while the iPhone is all stuck together.

In the front lens part, Pixel 6 is 8MP, while Pro is up to 11.1MP, and the latter can also shoot selfie videos at 4K/30p. The main camera of both mobile phones can shoot video in 4K/60p. On Pixel 6, Google is equipped with a new “voice enhancement mode” that can reduce background noise and enhance your voice. Similarly, this function has to be tested before knowing whether it is good or not.

Other things to be tested include power, the performance of the Tensor processor, and the sensitivity of the fingerprint reader under the screen. These may have to wait for a formal evaluation to be answered.

Main specifications

Specification	Pixel 6	Pixel 6 Pro
Screen	6.4-inch 2,400 x 1,080 (20:9) OLED, 411ppi, up to 90Hz	6.7-inch 3,120 x 1,440 LTPO OLED, 512ppi, up to 120Hz
size	158.6 x 74.8 x 8.9 mm； 7.3 oz / 207 g	163.9 x 75.9 x 8.9 mm； 7.41 oz / 210 g
Processor, memory and storage space	Google Tensor connected to Titan M2 secure co-processor; 8GB LDDR5 memory; 128GB / 256GB UFS 3.1	Google Tensor connected to Titan M2 secure co-processor; 12GB LDDR5 memory; 128GB / 256GB / 512GB UFS 3.1
Rear camera	50MP octa PD Quad Bayer main camera, 1.2μm pixels, 1/1.31″ sensor, f/1.85 12MP ultra wide angle, 1.25μm pixels, 114 degree FOV, f/2.2	50MP octa PD Quad Bayer main camera, 1.2μm pixels, 1/1.31″ sensor, f/1.85 12MP ultra wide angle, 1.25μm pixels, 114 degree FOV, f/2.2 48MP telephoto, 4x optical zoom, 0.8μm pixels, f/3.5
Front camera	8MP, 1.12μm pixels, f/2.0, 84 degree FOV	11.1MP, 1.22μm pixels, f/2.2, 94 degree FOV
Battery	4,614 mAh, fast charge (including Google 30W USB-C charger) Qi wireless fast charging, battery sharing	5,003 mAh, fast charge (including Google 30W USB-C charger) Qi wireless fast charging, battery sharing
Sensor and connection	Under-screen fingerprint recognition, dual SIM (nano and eSIM), NFC, WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2	Under-screen fingerprint recognition, dual SIM (nano and eSIM), NFC, WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, UWB
Dustproof and waterproof	IP68	IP68