Google’s Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro appear to be the company’s first real attempt at competitive hardware in a long time. Here’s what we know so far.
The latest tech news Your sardonic source for consumer tech stories Human-centric AI news and analysis Driving the future of sustainable mobility No-nonsense stories about startup growth Inside money, markets, and Big Tech The hottest new jobs in tech Help build the bank of the future Coding for Public Service Small country, big ideas Google‘s Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro will officially be launched on October 19, and in typical fashion, we know a ton of details about the phones well before their release. That’s in part due to unintentional leaks, but also because Google itself has already told us a ton of information about the device’s hardware. There’s a lot to be excited about with the Pixel 6, as it seems Google is taking hardware for the first time since… well, ever. Pixel phones have always been vehicles to show off Google’s software and AI chops as opposed to hardware showcases, but the Pixel 6 appears to be a dramatic pivot in the specs department. While we do still expect Google to keep some surprises up its sleeve — at least, we hope so — here’s what we know about the phones so far. To keep your expectations in check, we’ve divided this list into the details that we know directly from Google and what we’ve learned from the rumor mill. By far the biggest news about the Pixel 6 is the confirmation Google has designed its custom processor, dubbed Google Tensor. The chip will be present in both the regular and Pro models of the device, and it’s supposed to enable many cool new software tricks. Google Tensor will be “competitive” in raw processing power, but its real strength is AI and machine learning tasks, which Google claims will improve the camera, voice commands, translation, captioning, and dictation. Pixel phones have essentially looked the same since 2019’s Pixel 4, with a ‘squircle’-shaped camera bump and a matte body design. The Pixel 6 takes a completely different direction with a massive ‘camera bar’ that indicates the phone will finally use a larger camera sensor, as well as a two-tone color scheme above and below this camera bar.
