Pixel 6 reveal reaction: Charging up underdog mountain

 

Google has officially revealed the design and partial specs of its upcoming Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Several tech journalists and youtubers such as Dieter Bohn of The Verge and MKBHD went to briefing for some hand-on with the phone. The result of these meetings and their respective videos is that we now know that Google is officially calling the GS101/Whitechapel SoC being used in the Pixel 6 "Tensor". The branding currently used in their server chips. In this article I've going over the official renders from google, the confirmed tensor SoC, some other unconfirmed leaks, and my concluding thoughts on the Pixel 6.  

 
 

NOTE: Here are the videos I could find of journalists and Youtubers who have had a hands-on with the Pixel 6. 

Renders and Design

Image Credit: Google

Google shockingly released official renders of the Pixel 6 on the google twitter account and I wanted to take a moment to discuss said renders. My first thought was to realize that most of the leaks were true. The camera is in a horizontal stripe, there is a two-tone glass design, and the screen has a hole-punch in the middle. I will mention that I am very against the square design the Pixel 6 seems to be using. The more rounded design of the Pixel had been my preference for years but when I think about the screen it looks oddly a lot like Samsung Note 20 screens. Could Google be using leftover Note 10-20 Screens from Samsung? It certainly would explain the sudden changes in design and would also explain how Google was able to source these panels in the highly competitive screen market. However, those are just my thoughts and are not confirmed by Google or even sourced from any leak, pure speculation.  

 

Image Credit: Google

 

I've also noted that there are increased color options with the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. The like of which include a nice pink gradient, a nice gold/yellow tint, and an odd sky blue/lemon. I honestly like everything but the subtraction of the rounded corners. Android Central has an article that points out the way how Pixel 6 incorporates design aspects from most earlier Pixel phones; here's the link: androidcentral.com/pixel-6s-colors-are-clear-nod-googles-past-present-and-future. I agree with their assessment, and I feel like Google forced this design onto the Pixel 6. I think Google knows that the Pixel line has kind of had a bad name in the phone market for years. Making a Pixel with a contemporary design looks like Google's way of burying their troubled past to make way for a brighter future.  

Confirmed Specs

There are some "confirmed" specs that have been released but not by Google. These have been confirmed by tech publications such as The Verge and others but could be subject to change by Google. While highly unlikely it's still possible. Screen size and resolution comes in at 1080p for the Pixel 6, 1440p for Pixel 6 Pro, and screen sizes coming in at 6.4 -inches and 6.7 -inches, respectively. Refresh rates come in at 90Hz for Pixel 6 and 120Hz for Pixel 6 Pro; 120Hz being the highest refresh rates ever confirmed in a Pixel phone. We are also supposed to see an in-display fingerprint scanner in both phones. This unfortunately makes sense as in-display fingerprint scanners are being mass-produced by most part makes, the screen their most likely using (*cough* Note 20/Note 10) supports it, and the camera bump makes a traditional scanner impossible,    

 
 

Some camera specs have also been confirmed with the Pixel 6 being equipped with a main and ultra-wide and Pixel 6 Pro being confirmed with an extra 4x telephoto to go with the array from the Pixel 6. The Verge mentioned that the main camera is a new sensor and not the 12MP one currently being used in the Pixel 5 and borrowed from the Pixel 2 that's currently in my pocket. This might prove to be a huge upgrade for video; Google has been trying to improve video for years, but a better sensor and the tensor processor may soon show us the best video processing ever seen on a Pixel.  

 

Image Credit: Google

 

Some specs that have not been confirmed but rather rumored include the resolution of the selfie cam. Rumor has it that the Pixel 6 will include an 8MP selfie cam while the 6 Pro will include a 12MP selfie cam. Another spec is RAM, the rumor has also guessed 8GB in Pixel and 12GB in Pixel 6 Pro. Storage configurations will go up to 256GB for Pixel 6 and up to 512GB on Pixel 6 Pro. One item that no one has been able to rumor is price and I expect the Pixel 6 to go up to $1000 and the Pixel 6 to go up to $1200 for their respective top-notch configurations. Pixel 6 needs to be extremely competitive to get past the inherent brand bias that they'll have to face when going up against Samsung and Apple. 

 
 

My thoughts

I think the Pixel 6 is Google's last chance to have success in the flagship phone space. With the age of the Tensor SoC just beginning Google is probably going to want at least one more shot with tensor before bowing out of the market, but the war of public opinion is certainly hinging on the Pixel 6. Google hasn't said if tensor is flagship-level SoC, but last year's Pixel 5 proved that we don't need an 888 to make an ok phone. Tensor is focusing on the TPU for processing data and that opens so many doors for Pixel 6. Photo processing will of course be better but as mentioned before video is getting a huge boost from tensor. For example, tensor is now able to translate languages locally instead of sending the request to the cloud.  

 

Image Credit: Google

 

Tensor makes the Pixel unique in the way that we can no longer just ignore Ai + machine learning performance in our phones. Tensor is bringing more than just pure brawn performance. Tensor is brought something that most other phones don't use (Qualcomm has a small neural processing unit in most of its chips). Google integrating Android into tensor is one of the best ways of sticking out in a sea of Qualcomm templates and designs. Pixel 6's success relies on tensor delivering; anything less won't stop progress but won't do much to restore faith in Pixel phones. Google is putting its best foot forward with the Pixel 6. Let's hope it's enough.