I don’t play video games and I want the most up-to-date and in-depth responses from my digital assistant.
When I bought my first Pixel handset back in 2017, it was the Pixel 2 XL. At that time, the Pixel line was making a name for itself thanks to Google’s computational photography. Back then, the Pixel was also the phone to get if you wanted to be the first on your block with the next version of Android. My next Pixel was the 6 Pro which suffered from a really shoddy modem, a laggy optical fingerprint sensor, an underperforming application processor (AP), and a battery that never lived up to expectations.
After several updates over the years, the Pixel 6 Pro is actually a better phone now than it was a few years ago. Originally scheduled to lose support with the release of Android 15, Google added a couple of years of Android system updates which means the device will live to see Android 17. Previous updates improved the fingerprint sensor, and the modem hasn’t dropped a call in years. Combined with the Material 3 Expressive updates for Google apps, and Google’s penchant to backport its latest features, the Pixel 6 Pro remains a useful phone despite being powered by the OG Tensor AP.
Even though the Tensor G5, the first Tensor AP designed by Google from the ground up, and the first built by TSMC (using its 3nm process node-another Pixel first) rather than Samsung Foundry, has underperformed in benchmark tests, one doesn’t buy a Pixel if they want to own a device with the most powerful chip or the longest battery life.
