The telephoto camera assembly rattles a little when you flip the phone over, similar to a Galaxy S21 Ultra. The fingerprint scanner is good but not quite as rapid as those on the Galaxy S21 Ultra or OnePlus 9 Pro. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian Don’t let those benchmarking scores put you off; the Google Pixel 6 Pro is still a powerful phone, and the Tensor chipset isn’t a poor choice. Magic Eraser is another big new software upgrade, which you access through the gallery element of the app. It’s designed to let you remove subjects that you don’t want to be included in your photos – for example, photo bombers.

Pixel 6 Pro review: the very best Google phone Pixel 6 Pro review: the very best Google phone

The Pixel 6 Pro has Google’s first custom Tensor processor, which performs similarly to other top-flight Android chips from Samsung and Qualcomm in benchmarks and general use. The custom elements, however, are designed to speed up and reduce power consumption when running Google’s various AI elements. Besides, the Google Pixel 6 256 GB 8 GB runs Android v12 operating system and houses a decent 4614 mAh battery that lets you use it for hours on end while watching movies, listening to songs, playing games and doing other stuff without worrying about charging it frequently.. We can at least be relieved that Google likely won’t repeat the mistake of hobbling its new phones with inadequate battery life. The Google Pixel 6 has a 4,614mAh capacity, up from the 4,080mAh of 2020’s Pixel 5, and far above the measly 2,800mAh in the Pixel 4. The most important thing to note is that the Pixel 6 is the very first handset to be powered by Google’s in-house Tensor chipset. Ditching Qualcomm and avoiding Exynos and Kirin, Tensor promises a handful of performance and efficiency improvements over last year’s mid-range Snapdragon 765G, and it represents a bold new future for Google. This Google phone is powerful to the core as it lets you enjoy a breezy-smooth performance while accessing multiple apps since it is powered with Octa-core (2x2.80 GHz Cortex-X1 & 2x2.25 GHz Cortex-A76 & 4x1.80 GHz Cortex-A55) Google Tensor. Moreover, the phone comes with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage so that you can store all your songs, videos, games, pictures and other stuff without worrying about space constraints.

Google's Tensor Chip Isn't About Benchmark Scores

Google’s display technology here is particularly impressive, and we guarantee that this will be one of the best smartphone displays you’ve ever used. It offers great picture quality, the brightness levels are consistently impressive, and it’s huge at 6.7 inches. Of course, for non-exclusive features there are now plenty of other phones with Android 12 too, but the Pixel 6 is sure to get Android 13 on day one as well, so it will maintain its software lead over most rivals. It’s really quite effective at removing stuff, too. In the below examples, I’ve removed both a lamppost and a skyscraper, and while it’s not completely seamless – you can see some clues where they’ve been deleted – the Pixel 6 got rid of what I wanted rather well. Android 12 runs well on the Pixel 6 Pro, as you’d expect. Google has also confirmed that the phone will receive three full software updates, so you should expect this handset to continue being supported through the Android 13, Android 14 and Android 15 upgrades - and that it will get those updates more or less immediately after the software launches.

Google Pixel 6 review: The smartest, best-value Pixel

The Pixel 6 supports fast charging up to 30W – and while a USB-C to USB-C cable is included in the box, there’s no plug adapter. It appears Google has joined other phone makers in the war on e-waste, so you’ll need to source one yourself.

Midrange Android Excellence

The Pixel 6 Pro’s camera setup is another highlight; it’s a versatile array that enables you to capture a wide variety of subjects in a few different ways.. The main camera’s sensor is a step up from what we’ve seen from Google before, and new software upgrades only heighten the experience.

Pixel 6 Pro – Unlocked Android 5G Smartphone with 50 Google Pixel 6 Pro – Unlocked Android 5G Smartphone with 50

A 4,614mAh battery powers the Pixel 6. In our early battery drain tests, where we stream HD video over Wi-Fi at full brightness, the phone averaged 23 hours and 11 minutes before shutting down. During a week of regular use, we only needed to charge the phone twice and didn't notice any battery depletion when there wasn't any use. The Pixel 6 supports 30W fast charging via USB-PD 3.0 and compatible third-party adapters. Qi wireless charging maxes out at 12W, but the upcoming Pixel Stand 2 supports fast charging at up to 21W. The phone also features reverse power-sharing capabilities. Sub-6GHz 5G or the Full 5G Experience? The Google Pixel 6 represents quite a departure from recent Pixel phone launches. Not only is it unashamedly premium in its design, but it costs the same amount as the Pixel 5 did at launch, is significantly faster and comes with improved cameras and a revamped UI. On the other hand, battery life isn’t the Pixel 6’s strong suit. Lasting just a bit longer than the Pixel 6 Pro, the regular model topped out at just 18hrs 34mins in our video-rundown test, which represents a stamina decrease of 19% compared to 2020’s Pixel 5 (22hrs 54mins). You’ll be charging the phone more often, which is a shame. That Motion mode is the new element here, and that’s designed for taking long exposure shots such as creatively blurred images of moving subjects. We’ve not yet tested this much, but it’s an interesting addition that you’ll find useful in some specific scenarios.The Pixel 6 Pro is 5G-ready, so you’ll be able to connect to next-gen networks with this smartphone, coverage and your plan permitting. Things are a little complicated if you live in the US, but around the rest of the world any version of the Pixel 6 Pro will be ready to go straight away.

Pixel 6 review: The smartest, best-value Pixel Google Pixel 6 review: The smartest, best-value Pixel

Magic Eraser, Real Tone, and Face Unblur are a few of the new camera features that the Tensor SoC makes possible. Except for Real Tone, which uses inclusive color science for more accurate representations of BIPOC people, none will fix a photo that's seriously messed up. Benchmarking isn’t necessarily reflective of real-world use though, and we found the phone was capable of running all the apps and games we wanted it to. The whole experience was smooth, and it always felt like the phone had enough grunt behind it. Low light performance on the main camera is very good, while the dedicated night sight mode works wonders on all three cameras in very dim scenes. The 11.1MP selfie camera is also very good and can shoot normal and ultrawide photos for when you need to fit more people into a group shot. The Pixel 6 Pro is the best phone Google has ever made. Whether that will be enough for it to be a hit remains to be seen.The combination of 8GB of RAM and the Tensor chip saw the Pixel 6 achieve an average Geekbench 5 score of 2837 – which is just above the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 at 2801, and below the Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus at 3034. Note that the Pixel 6 Pro didn’t score particularly higher at 2895, suggesting the Tensor chipset may not hit the performance levels of Snapdragon 888-powered phones. There’s fast-charging here, although it’s not as fast as you’ll get with some other Android phones. It tops out at 30W, with the phone able to charge from zero to 50% in around 30 minutes. In our testing, we found a 30W charger was able to take the phone from zero to 20% in 15 minutes, and to 40% in 30 minutes. Camera software is a big element of the Google Pixel 6 Pro. Within the standard camera app you’ll find Night Sigh, Portrait, Panorama, Camera (the standard mode), and Video modes, plus some interesting additional options such as Motion, Photo Sphere and Lens. With the Pixel 6 Pro, Google has finally delivered a flagship-class phone that can compete with the very best in the business in all aspects, not just the camera. At the time of writing, buying from AT&T or Verizon will get you a version that comes with mmWave technology built-in. This is something worth investigating before you buy your handset, mmWave technology is now more prevalent in the US. Google Pixel 6 Pro software