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It’s been a while since Google has announced its mid-tier smartphone Google Pixel 6, released on October 28, 2021. The phone is priced at $599 in the United States, offering a similar experience to the iPhone 13 at $799.
The Pixel 6 has a new competitive edge for the smartphone market in North America after LG Electronics has decided to withdraw from the smartphone industry. The phone offers a 6.7 AMOLED full HD display suitable for HDR+ starting from 128GB of storage.
Most notably, the phone features Google’s first chipset ever: the Google Tensor chip. The Tensor chip is similar to Apple’s A15 chip (used in iPhone 13 lineup) introduced this year. It aims for optimization and efficiency without consuming much battery life.
Camera Performance and Quality
Camera performance is heavily dependent on the chip’s performance and Google wants to emphasize their AI technology to embrace the photo quality without the hassle of having bulky cameras on the phone.
Despite the inferior camera compared to iPhone 13, the chip recaptures the “missing” details with fewer artifacts as possible. According to DXOMark, “The Pixel is ahead in terms of exposure and texture.”
In video recording, the Pixel 6 manages to compete with the top-tier flagships Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and the iPhone 13 Pro, providing quality in 4K with color-accurate dynamic range to the real world though marginally less crisp, detailed footage.
“I am surprised how good the camera is even though it is couple hundred bucks cheaper than the iPhone 13,” said Alex G., a sophomore at AISG. “Honestly, I don’t mind about the crisp details on phone cameras. I just want it to take photos and shoot videos in a somewhat decent manner. I say this phone is a great deal when it comes to that.”
Performance and Battery Life
Speaking in terms of raw performance, the Pixel 6 offers up to 80% faster CPU performance and 370% faster GPU compared to Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G that ran in the Pixel 5.
Although this may not translate to real-world performance, the Pixel 6 outperforms its predecessor in multitasking and battery life.
The physical battery capacity has drastically increased from 4080 mAH to 4614 mAH. As a result, according to GSMArena, the phone lasted an hour more in daily usage lasting 12 hours and a half in full charge.
Frankly, it is not as perfect as other competitors as some suggest that it can barely last a day. Thus, a full charge from 0% takes about 110 minutes reported by AndroidAuthority, disappointing many users in the community.
Software and User Experience
Last but not least, the Pixel 6 offers an excellent user experience with the help of Android 12. The software adds niche in real life with automation services such as voice transcription in the surrounding environment.
Voice transcription can also detect different languages and offers live translation without an internet connection. Furthermore, create to-do lists from phone calls or messages.
The phone “learns” the user’s daily patterns and prioritizes notifications that are more important at different times throughout the day. For instance, during working hours, social media notifications are muted while emails or other work-related apps alert the user.
“I think this is a great idea that Google implemented,” commented Christine L., a freshman. “It’s tiresome switching ‘Do Not Disturb’ on when I am at school and I forget it turn it off after that.”
Verdict
The Google Pixel 6 is an excellent choice for general users. Although the specs are not cutting-edge when compared to other flagships, the price of $599 offers a reasonable choice to purchase.
It’s packed with the features that phones above $1,000 have and a great software experience.
However, as most of our audience live in China, this phone is unfortunately not for users here. The lack of Google services in this region defeats the purpose of owning a Google device.
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