The first top-tier Google Pixel phone
The Google Pixel 6 Pro is an exciting challenger to some of the best smartphones on the market, and it's the company's first truly top-tier handset. If you want to experience Android software in its purest form, then this is the handset to buy now. Plus, it has a beautiful screen and a great camera - and it all comes for a price that's a touch less than its main competition.
Pros
- Amazing Performance
- Incredible cameras
- Big and beautiful screen
- Beautiful new design
- Comes running Android 12
Cons
- Limited storage
- Contentious design
- Shorter battery life than competitors
TODAY'S BEST DEALS
Google Pixel 6 Pro Review
The Google Pixel 6 Pro is the company's first serious attempt at a top-end device that could rival the best smartphones currently on the market like the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, OnePlus 9 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Launched alongside the standard - and significantly cheaper - Google Pixel 6, this new Pro variant is the best built from the company, boasting of its new Tensor chipset and other high-end internals, a great camera setup, and many more. has been packed. Improvement.
It's also built right to showcase Android 12 and its future variants, and it's safe to say that Google has pulled it off with this iteration of its smartphone.
The Google Pixel 6 Pro's design is surprisingly different - though not unique, as it shares it with the Google Pixel 6 - with a camera band that spans the full width of the phone and its powerful new camera array. keeps.
It's a look you'll either love or hate, and Google has paired the design with some bold color options for those who are bored with smartphones that look like little gray rectangles.
Google's display technology here is particularly impressive, and we guarantee it'll be one of the best smartphone displays you've ever used. It delivers great picture quality, brightness levels are consistently impressive, and it's huge at 6.7 inches.
The new Tensor chipset inside the Pixel 6 Pro is another special feature. We've yet to see if it offers any significant improvements over phones that use more traditional chipsets, but it's still powerful enough to boot up your favorite apps and games, and that's what matters.
Another highlight is the Pixel 6 Pro's camera setup; It's a versatile array that enables you to capture a wide variety of topics 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 enhance the experience.
The Pixel 6 Pro's battery life is manageable - it'll last you through a full day of normal use, but not much. It comes with fast-charging and wireless charging technology, but none of them are particularly impressive.
While the Pixel 6 Pro isn't the best smartphone one can buy right now, it comes pretty close. Google has stepped up its smartphone game over the past year, and this next-generation Android headliner is its biggest achievement.
A particularly strong camera, a great screen, and a great software experience all add up to a top-tier package. It doesn't sport the best battery life or power, but aside from those minor drawbacks, the Pixel 6 Pro finally takes Google its place in the top table in the smartphone industry.
- Top Best Selling Products You Need
- Best 5G Phone in 2022 To 2023
- Best Watch in 2022 To 2023
- Best Laptop in 2022 To 2023
- Best PCs in 2022 To 2023
- Best Camera in 2022 To 2023
- Best HeadPhone in 2022 To 2023
- Best TVs in 2022 To 2023
Top
Google Pixel 6 Pro - 5G Android Phone
Google Pixel 6 Pro - 5G Android Phone - Unlocked Smartphone with Advanced Pixel Camera and Telephoto Lens - 128GB
View & BuyGoogle Pixel 6 Pro Release date and Price
Google Pixel 6 Pro was officially launched on October 19 after more than a month of teasers and disclosures from the company. The Pixel 6 Pro's release date was October 28 in the US, UK, and Australia.
Prices for the Pixel 6 Pro start at $899 / £849 / AU$1,299 for the 128GB storage model. There are other storage variants, but these are limited to certain colors and will depend on the market in which you are buying the phone.
The 256GB model costs $999 / £949 / AU$1,449 while the 512GB model costs $1,099 / AU$1,599. The 512GB model isn't available in the UK, and we don't currently expect the company to bring it at a later date.
It's a bit more expensive than the Google Pixel 6 announced with the Pro, which starts at $599 / £599 / $999; But it's notably cheaper than other top-end handsets like the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra or the iPhone 13 Pro Max, which cost $1,100 / £1500, or more than AU$1,800.
The Pixel 6 Pro is a relatively affordable phone compared to other top-end handsets, but it's still one of the more expensive smartphones you can buy. If your budget is tight, you may want to look elsewhere.
Google Pixel 6 Pro Design
Google Pixel 6 handsets look quite different from most current phones, with the horizontal camera strip taking up a large part of their rear. It's the most notable element of the design, and it's an acquired taste, and something sure to divide opinion.
The stripe pops out from the back of the phone in some way, which is likely to put some people off – though it undeniably gives the handset a unique look. This means your phone won't sit flat on a desk as it would sit on a slight incline, though you don't get an amazing movement that you do with phones that have camera bumps on one side of the device.
The handset is large, so if you're looking for a smaller device you'll want to pick up the standard Google Pixel 6. It has a glass rear that is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus technology, which should ensure that it doesn't get scratched easily.
It's also IP68 water and dust resistant, so it should be able to survive the odd dip in the water with ease, but we wouldn't encourage fully submerging your phone for long periods.
Its curved edges ensure that the phone sits comfortably in your hand, though some may find it a touch slippery to hold – we found a case that alleviated that issue.
There is a USB-C port on the bottom edge of the handset, with speakers on either side. The power button and volume buttons are on the right edge of the phone.
The color options for the Pixel 6 Pro are sorta Sunny (yellow and gold), Cloud White (white and grey), and Stormy Black (black and grey), though you'll be able to buy the 128GB version in all three colors. , 256GB / 512GB versions are limited to a few colors.
Our review model was the Stormi Black, which is undeniably the least interesting finish. We especially like the sorta Sunny design, which makes it one of the most attractive smartphones you can buy in 2021.
We love the design of the Google Pixel 6 Pro, and you'll have a good idea that you're going to love it from the photos you can see above alone.
Google Pixel 6 Pro Display
The Pixel 6 Pro sports a 6.7-inch QHD+ display, which is quite large and offers decent picture quality - a notable step up from the 2020 Pixel 5 and its 1080 x 2340 screen with a resolution of 1440 x 3120.
We found it to be one of the sharpest-looking displays we've seen on a smartphone in 2021. Its 512 pixels per inch is a rarity on a smartphone with a QHD display, and we've only beaten it with handsets like the Sony Xperia. 1 III with its 4K screen.
The screen is capable of impressive brightness levels, and we didn't struggle to see the phone's screen in bright sunlight. You'll probably want to adjust the brightness manually on a few occasions, but we found that auto-brightness often works well.
The display has a 120Hz refresh rate, which means when gaming or scrolling social media feeds the picture on the screen will refresh twice as fast as compared to handsets with a 'standard' 60Hz screen.
It's not an essential feature for many people, but we enjoyed it, and it complements the impressive display quality, and you'll notice a difference if you're swapping with a phone with a 60Hz refresh rate.
The screen also houses Google's first in-screen fingerprint scanner, though we found it a little difficult to use in our testing. The position is fine, but on some occasions, we have to make several stabs with our digits before being able to unlock the phone.
After a while, we got used to the placement, and where we needed to put our finger, but we recommend you to set multiple digits or enable Face to Unlock to make sure you access your phone quickly. will advise.
Google Pixel 6 Pro Cameras
 |
| Credit: gsmarena |
Google's smartphones are built around the company's camera technology, and on paper, the camera setup on the Pixel 6 Pro looks to be the best from the company, with a 50MP wide camera, a 12MP ultrawide camera, and a 48MP telephoto shooter. Is.
The good news is that the company has built a more powerful camera setup here, and we've found it to be far more versatile than previous Pixel phones, with more options to play with.
We'll start by talking about camera technology, but the software here is another highlight and something you won't experience on any other current phone – although we may see Google rolling out some of these features to older Pixel phones. While we might see other brands copying them on future devices.
The 50MP main shooter, which has an f/1.9 aperture and 1.2µm pixels, is the camera you'll be using the most. We found that it was capable of taking high-resolution photos with good details and true colors.
It's an impressive point-and-shoot camera, and we found it to produce great results in a variety of scenarios.
Night Sight, which enables you to take good pictures in dark settings, comes back here. It's similar to the Google Pixel 5's ability to light up dark scenes, but you'll need to hold the camera still for it to work fully.
The telephoto camera is capable of up to 4x optical zoom, and in testing, we found that it produced detailed images of distant subjects. Again you have to hold the phone still for best results but this is the case with all telephoto modes.
Google Pixel 6 Pro Specs & Performance
The Pixel 6 Pro is the company's first phone to run on Google's silicon instead of Qualcomm's Snapdragon chipset. The chipset here is called Google Tensor.
The thinking behind Tensor is that a processor designed and manufactured by Google itself can be optimally optimized to work with the company's phone hardware and software for a better all-round experience — and the good news is, The chip is very powerful if not the most powerful on the market.
In benchmarking, the Pixel 6 Pro returned an average multi-core score in Geekbench 5 of 2760. It is behind the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra's 3440, the OnePlus 9 Pro's 3685, and the iPhone 13 Pro Max's 4549.
Benchmarking isn't necessary for real-world use, and we found that the phone was capable of running all the apps and games we wanted. The whole experience was smooth, and it always felt like there was enough grunt on the back of the phone.
Don't let those benchmarking scores weigh you down; The Google Pixel 6 Pro is still a powerful phone, and the Tensor chipset isn't a bad choice.
The Pixel 6 Pro is disappointingly only available in the UK in either 128GB or 256GB variants (the 512GB model is available elsewhere, such as in the US and Australia). Keeping in mind that this is the brand's first real attempt at a top-tier phone that has higher-end specs than anywhere else, we'd recommend 512GB of more widely available or even 1TB of storage for true power users. Would love to see the option.
There's no microSD support here either, which isn't surprising but would have compounded the storage problem.
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 permits. Things are a little complicated if you live in the US, but in the rest of the world, any version of the Pixel 6 Pro will be ready to go straight away.
If you live in the US, the 5G coverage available to you will depend on where you buy your handset. For example, on Google's store, you can only buy handsets that have Sub-6 5G technology.
At the time of writing, purchasing from AT&T or Verizon will get you a version that comes with built-in mmWave technology. This is something worth investigating before buying your handset, with mmWave technology now more prevalent in the US.
Google Pixel 6 Pro Software
Android 12 is ready and waiting for you on this handset, and it looks great. If you want to experience the latest and greatest version of Google's software, in its purest form.
Unlike previous Pixel devices, this update deserves special attention here. With its stunning display, the Pixel 6 Pro is the perfect showcase for Android 12's new Material U feature, and it's one of the real highlights of this smartphone.
Materials allow you to choose your wallpaper for the device, and the colors of that wallpaper will then be accentuated on your phone's menu. For example, your quick settings at the top of the phone will take on a yellow shade in your wallpaper.
It's a touch gimmicky, but it's a one-of-a-kind upgrade that enables you to uniquely customize your smartphone for a more personalized experience.
As you would expect, Android 12 runs well on the Pixel 6 Pro. Google has also confirmed that the phone will receive three full software updates, so you should expect the handset to continue to be supported through Android 13, Android 14, and Android 15 upgrades.
It will also get at least five years of security updates, so expect it to be a secure smartphone experience until at least the end of 2026.
Google Pixel 6 Pro Battery life
 |
| Credit: gsmarena |
Battery life is one of the weak points of the Pixel 6 Pro, though not to the extent that it should deter you from buying this smartphone. We found the battery to last a full day of normal use, but if you're pushing your phone harder you might find it struggled to make it through the end of the day.
For example, we found that the phone had about 10% leftover at the end of the day we went to charge it. This isn't the kind of phone that's going to last you several days unless you're a particularly light user.
If you're pushing your phone harder, for example using GPS features, or shooting a lot of videos, you may need to top it up before the day is over.
The battery capacity is 4,905mAh, which seems apt for a smartphone of this size. Google also says that you can get 48 hours of usage using its Extreme Battery Saver mode. We haven't tested it yet, and we don't think you'll be able to do very well with a smartphone in that mode, but it will probably come in handy in an emergency.
There's fast charging here, though it's not as fast as you'll find with some other Android phones. It tops out at 30W, with the phone being able to charge from zero to 50% in about 30 minutes. In our testing, we found that a 30W charger was able to take the phone from zero to 20% in 15 minutes and 40% in 30 minutes.
He's using a charger rated for 30W, so you'll want to invest in one if you want those speeds. There's no charger of any description in the box, so you'll have to use an existing USB-C charger, buy a separate one, or stick with wireless charging.
Wireless charging is supported at up to 23W, and while we weren't able to hit that speed during our testing, if you have a compatible charging pad, you should be able to fully charge your phone in about an hour and a half. should expect. ,
Do you want a great camera?
The Pixel 6 Pro has a great rear camera which we found useful in a variety of scenarios. Its main sensor is great, telephoto is strong and it also has exciting new software features.
You need a big and beautiful screen
The Google Pixel 6 Pro has one of the best screens you'll find on a smartphone, and whatever you're doing, you'll get a bright and bold picture. This is a big deal for many, and for some, it could be reason enough to buy the phone.
You want the purest Android experience
Android 12 comes automatically on the Google Pixel 6 Pro, and we'd heartily recommend this handset to anyone who wants the purest Android experience on the market. Future software updates are likely to look equally good and perform equally well.