Google Pixel 6 replaces a Pixel 5, which has generated a lot of debate. What awaits us with this new smartphone whose design promises to be innovative? Price, release date, fact sheet… Everything we know about it.
Google’s strategy for its latest smartphones surprised us a few months ago. Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G were released around the same time, with very similar specs. And the Mountain View company chose to equip its flagship Pixel 5 with a mid-range Snapdragon 765G SoC rather than a high-end chip. A reorientation with the objective of reducing costs and consequently the price of the final product. Another oddity, the Pixel 5 didn’t come with an XL model equipped with a larger screen, as happened in previous generations. So we’re very curious to know what Google has in store for us this year with its Pixel 6. And there should still be surprises with this next model.
How much will Google Pixel 6 cost?
For the time being, we know nothing about the price of Pixel 6. In France, Pixel 5 was in any case displayed at the price of 629 euros when it’s released. A much more affordable price than 769 euros requested for Pixel 4 a year ago.
Will Google continue to reduce the bill to attract consumers? On the one hand, the Mountain View company can’t really afford to further reduce the presence of its smartphones, or reduce its margins due to its sales volume. On the other hand, she claims that the smartphone will be “It will clearly be a top-of-the-range product”, allowing to support that its price exceeds 1000 euros. Therefore, the issue has not yet been clarified.
When is Google Pixel 6 released?
Pixel 6’s release date isn’t much of a mystery, with Google remaining very regular on its calendar. The main Pixels series will still be released in early October, except for the last Pixel 5, which officially debuted on September 30th. Pixel 6 is very likely to make its official appearance on the last days of September or the beginning of the following month. Google would have chosen to introduce Pixel 6 on September 30, 2021.
Project
For a long time, Pixels were outdated smartphones from a design standpoint: edge thickness, late transition to notch or punch system, materials used … But Google has revised its copy with the latest iterations of the range and their smartphones are no longer out of date in a generation or two compared to the competition from that point of view. We felt that the acquisition of part of HTC’s design division and the acquisition of engineers and designers from the iconic manufacturer paid off.
Pixel 6 therefore takes a sweep at the past, offering a completely new design. On the back shows a strip that spans the entire width, in which the two photosensors and the flash are housed. Also, no traces of the fingerprint sensor found on the back of the Pixel 5. In fact, it will now be under the screen now. Also new, the materials: the Pro model is dressed in a lightly polished aluminum frame, while the standard model has a matt aluminum finish.
Coming back to the photo, TechDroider youtuber managed to get his hands on two units of the Pixel 6 and the Pixel 6 Pro. The opportunity to confirm the position of the punch selfie sensor in the center of the screen, while we can see this huge block of photos in the part back of two devices. As a reminder, the leaks mention a 50 megapixel main sensor, which is a big improvement over the Pixel 5’s 12 megapixel module.
Screen
According to the leaks, the Pixel 6 is covered by a 6.4-inch AMOLED screen. In turn, the Pixel 6 Pro would have a 6.71-inch touchscreen. The definition of the image is beyond doubt: we will stay in Full HD + 1080p, more than enough for the expected diagonal of Pixel 6 and which has the merit of not consuming much on the battery. For refresh rate, Google has moved to 90Hz since Pixel 4. Two years later, it wouldn’t be surprising that we’re moving towards 120 Hz, especially since there are rumors that Google would like to greatly improve the Pixel 6 display. The Pixel 6 would offer a 120 Hz FHD + OLED screen, versus QHD + for the 6 Pro.
Performance and memory
We may have a big surprise on this side. It’s been known for some time that Google has been working on its own chip to equip its devices. Sundar Pichai himself confessed that the American group is in the process of putting on a helmet in terms of hardware. Google also inadvertently confirmed the arrival of the SoC.
Google has teamed up with Samsung, a semiconductor giant with experience in smartphone chip design that has gained experience over the years with its Exynos chips. These equipped many of the brand’s mobile phone models, including the top-of-the-range Galaxy S and Note in Europe.
The result of this collaboration is the SoC turnbuckle, which is based on a 5nm recording process developed by Samsung with the Exynos 2100. This chipset includes two Cortex-A78 cores, two Cortex-A76 cores and three Cortex-A55 cores and one Mali-G78 GPU. However, we should expect performance close to that of the Snapdragon 870, a processor released in January 2021 and recorded at 7 nm.
To compensate for this lack of power compared to the competition with the Snapdragon 888, Google would therefore bet on software optimizations based on artificial intelligence and machine learning. Through this algorithmically doped home chip, Google would be able to promise 5 years of Android update.
Pixel 6 will necessarily be 5G compatible. When it comes to memory, Google has moved from 6GB to 8GB of RAM from Pixel to Pixel 5 and should stay that way. 8 GB of RAM for Pixel 6. Storage should start at 128GB, with possibly a 256GB configuration variant. The Pixel 6 Pro would have 12GB of RAM. Finally, Google would offer Ultra Wideband for its Pixel 6.
For information, Qualcomm announced that its partnership with the company Mountain View has not ended yet, suggesting future models with a Snapradron SoC.
Autonomy, battery and recharge
The Pixel 6 will be powered by a 4,614 mAh battery, while the Pro version will come with a 5,000 mAh battery. But the battery capacity won’t be the only one to determine the autonomy of Pixel 6. If Google goes from a screen of 90 Hz to 120 Hz, the consumption should increase, unless an adaptive system of automatic variation of the refresh rate is configured as we expect. the iPhone 13 Pro. The chip is also a key element that drives the phone’s power consumption as well as software optimizations. For wired and wireless charging, don’t expect a disproportionate power spike, Google is very careful about that.
Camera
The part of the photo is, without a doubt, the one that most made the reputation of the Pixel smartphones. They’re known to be very good photophones, even if Google isn’t very generous in terms of hardware or number of sensors, thanks to the Mountain View company’s excellent software processing.
If Pixel 6 is necessarily good at photos thanks to the software, we expect Google to move up to the hardware level, where the shoe tightens. The manufacturer recycles a photographic module dated three generations ago. Sony IMX363 12 MP. Yes, you read that correctly: Pixel 5 has exactly the same sensor as Pixel 3 released two years earlier. With a better sensor, photo quality should improve even more.
The Pixel 5 got an ultra-wide-angle sensor, which should make a comeback in the Pixel 6. This feature has become almost essential these days. In addition, our colleagues at the XDA Developers site discovered in the Google Camera app’s APK files several lines of code related to Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. In fact, the Pixel 6 Pro was supposed to deliver a 48 MP periscopic telephoto lens capable of displaying a zoom of 5x. On the other hand, the Pixel 6 will only benefit from a dual photo sensor consisting of a 50 MP main lens and a 12 MP ultra wide angle lens. Furthermore, the presence of an LED flash on the front sensor is also mentioned. A first for Pixels.
Anyway, according to the latest available renderings, it looks like the photo module will be particularly thick, so we can expect a change. Limited to 1080p so far, the front camera can record in 4K quality on Pixel 6. This is in any case what the Google Camera 8.2 app’s APK source code suggests.
Software
Pixel 6 will launch directly on Android 12, the next major mobile OS update scheduled for late August or early September. This release brings many interface and design changes, and could be the most important evolution in the field in years. Settings, notification bar, screen always on, lock screen, home screen: everything will happen with the Material NEXT UI. A theme system that adapts to the chosen wallpaper is also under development.
A one-handed way to more easily use the biggest smartphones should also appear. An addition that might make you think the Pixel 6’s screen diagonal will grow, or that a Pixel 6 XL is planned, but that’s just a guess. A smart game mode will be there, as in many Android overlays already.
In the program, we should also find the following features:
For the first time, Google would guarantee 5 years of updates on its smartphones. With this extended software support, the Mountain View giant would tackle Apple’s iPhone practices.