Google Pixel 6 test: the smartphone I was looking forward to

Google has just launched its pair of flagship smartphones for 2021 - Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro.Well, technically, the Pixel 6 Pro is the one that is marketed as "the flagship", but I got a taste for the standard Pixel 6 and I find it very easy to recommend compared to its big brother.

The "small" Pixel 6 is not that small, with its own 6.4 -inch screen, it is always built with premium materials - unlike certain companies that dress their "cheap flagships" of plastic -,,And always has a high frequency refresh screen - unlike other companies that limit their "cheap flagships" to 60 Hz.

With the same Google Tensor processor as on the pro model and the same main photo sensor of 50 megapixels, the Pixel 6 has enough assets to deserve your 649 euros hard won.Take a good glance.

In the box, we find:

Pixel 6: Design

The Google Pixel 6 sports a new look which was officially revealed for months before the launch of smartphones.Perhaps it was to prepare the public for the radical overhaul compared to Pixel 5 with a more generic look, which had a unicolore rear shell marked only by a subtle fingerprint sensor and a square of square camera.

Personally, I love the new pixel look!Unfortunately, the camera bar is not a transparent glass slab.No, it turns out that the arched sides are done with something - plastic, I think.And the glass of the camera is just a flat room that has been inserted there.Obviously, let's be realistic, if it was only one glass, it would have been incredibly expensive and difficult to produce.

You know, I'm not a big fan of a shiny glass rear shell - I think Google has missed an opportunity on this point.The rear of the smartphones in the Pixel 6 range is already two -tone, separated by the camera bar.The bottom could easily have been made of frosted glass to give it a finish aimed at reducing fingerprints, while the top could have been shiny.

Handling the smartphone is quite easy - the matt frame offers a good grip and the bump on the camera rests against your fingers on the back.It is not a very large smartphone - without being compact in any way, it is rather easy to handle than an iPhone 13 pro max, for example.

Pixel 6 has a "lower edge under the screen) slightly thicker than all its other side edges.Google could have been getting away by increasing the size of the "upper edge" and sticking a slightly larger speaker there.In general, the edges are slightly thick - thicker than on a Galaxy S21+, for example - which gives the front of the Pixel 6 a more mid -range appearance.However, it is certain that it facilitates the handling of the smartphone without unfortunate touch.

Dust and water resistant

The power button and the volume button on the side seem a little wobbly, but they sink with a deep and satisfactory click.There is a USB-C port on the lower part for data transfers and recharge.Two symmetrical openings for the lower speaker, too, but only the right is useful, the other is just for aesthetics.

You would not expect a helmet socket, I suppose.But yes, the Pixel range has gotten rid of it for a while now.Despite the fact that the cheapest "A" series have one, the Pixel 6 does not have one.

Is Pixel 6 resistant to water?Yes, IP68 is classified for resistance to dust and water, like most flagships on the market.

Pixel 6: screen

Pixel 6 comes with a screen-let's say it-medium-sized 6.4 inch at the front.According to current standards, it is not as big as a "more" size smartphone, but it is certainly not a screen that you would call "compact" or "small" in all cases.It is just ... comfortable and large enough for most use needs for smartphones.

The Full HD+resolution, or 2,400 x 1,080 pixels (therefore not QHD) is equivalent to 441 pixels per inch, which is up to other smartphones in the same price range (and even with certain more expensive options such as theGalaxy S21).But in the comparisons side by side between the Pixel 6 and its big brother Pixel 6 Pro, more expensive - which has a quad HD screen (3,120 x 1,440 pixels) - I was difficult to determine a big difference inDetails by looking at identical media (a 4K Youtube video set -up to the respective resolution of each smartphone).In fact, it was only when I approached a few centimeters from the two phones that I was able to discern a difference, and even there, it was minimal.

It is an OLED screen that offers three color calibration options in the parameters: natural, enhanced and adaptive.It doesn't matter which one you choose, the colors do not become aggressive and bad taste.Personally, I chose the "natural" option because it is more pleasant to the eye.The white balance is slightly cold, but fortunately, there is the night lighting mode to filter the blues when the sun sets.

90 Hz refresh frequency

The Pixel 6 screen has a 90 Hz refresh rate - not as fluid as a 120 Hz panel, but it seems definitely more reactive and more fluid compared to a 60 Hz screen.I have the feeling that, as long as the screen exceeds 60 Hz coupled at a high touch sampling rate, you can get this feeling of fluidity that flagships 2021 have.

The screen is very bright for an outdoor display in full sun.Overall, this is a solid experience in the most important part of a smartphone.

The only problem I have with the pixel 6 screen is the color change visible at the slightest angle change.Of course, this is more noticeable during the visualization of a white background.

Pixel 6: Performances

Google has made its own Soc, and Pixel 6 is the first smartphone to run it.This means that performance on the Pixel 6 smartphones series are more important than ever.

Now Google has not created its own chipset just to compete with devices like the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 or the Apple A15 Bionic.Of course, raw power is important, but the Google Tensor chipset focuses more on image processing and automatic learning on the device than on good performance in speed tests.

Daily performances with Google Tensor on Pixel 6 are completely correct and worthy of what is expected of a flagship in 2021.I did not notice any slowdown or lag in performance when I scrolled through social networks, took photos, changed application or played.The applications open quickly, and I have not yet reached a point where I have overloaded the device to the point where performance is starting to become a problem.

The Pixel 6 is equipped with 8 GB of RAM LPDDR5.For my use, this quantity of RAM was more than enough for the multitasking.However, if you are really looking for the most powerful Pixel 6 device, you will want to opt for the Pixel 6 Pro with its 12 GB of RAM.I think that 12 GB on the whole range would have made it possible to ensure the future of the Pixel 6 range a little more, in particular because we are not sure of the duration of the Google Tensor Chipset.

Not just the figures

If we only look at the benchmarks, Pixel 6 figures are far behind the best of the best.The performances in Geekbench 5 are just below the Pixel 6 Pro and competing flagships such as the OnePlus 9 Pro and the Galaxy S21 Ultra.So, after seeing the figures, how does Pixel 6 behave?In fact, rather good.Honestly, I cannot complain about slowness or not to be able to execute the first -rate third -party applications of the Play Store.The Pixel 6 is a high -end smartphone from start to finish and behaves as such.

Again, speed tests and benchmarks are hardly the priorities of Google in terms of treatment.The company rather focused on four main aspects when creating the first Tensor chip: automatic learning, image processing, ambient IT and security.Finally, the security coprocessor Titan M2 is an integral part of the Tensor chipset to make the Pixel 6 less vulnerable to the attacks.

I was also impressed by the pixel speakers located at the top and bottom of the smartphone.Often, smartphones that use this configuration run the risk that your hands cover the speakers when you hold the smartphone in landscape mode, but the sound product is strong and clear.

On a final note, the Tensor chipset includes a 5G modem - apparently one of Samsung Exynos 5123 modems.

Pixel 6: software

If Android 12 is now out and is formalized, all Android smartphones are not made in the same way.The Pixel 6 obtains exclusive intelligent features, which Google claims to have been able to implement only thanks to the Tensor chip and its cores dedicated to AI for Google Assistant operations on the device.In other words, other smartphones will probably not get them, which will help Google differentiate the Pixel range in the Android smartphones tide.

Ok, so what can Pixel 6 do again?

First of all, vocal synthesis - AI is now surprisingly good to take your vocal dictation (or your vocal entry) and transform it into a text message.If Android was good on this subject in the past, the Pixel 6 goes even further and carries this characteristic to another level.He understands intonation, diction, intention.He can put his own punctuation and he remembers the names of your friends.This smartphone actually encourages you to use the vocal entry just because it does so well.

The same technology has been improved for live translation - with the translation application, you can now have two people who hold a conversation in two different languages, speaking in the smartphone.Of course, it's always a bit annoying, but it's terribly effective.Indeed, if you are blocked in a foreign country, you could thank the sky for this functionality.

In general, Pixel 6 is more aware of the context and - for certain scenarios - you can speak to him without even calling "Hey Google".For example, if an alarm sounds, or if someone calls you, you can simply tell the phone to "stop" or "answer" and react.In addition, automatic learning is supposed to improve your interactions with google assistant over time.And, according to Google, everything is done on the device, thanks to the power of Tensor, so that you should not worry that your voice recordings are stored and analyzed elsewhere ...

La gomme magique !

The Photos Application now has a magic gum tool, which is exclusive to the Pixel 6 range, at least for the moment.Basically, you can touch a photobomber or any unpleasant object in a photo and the AI will delete and "fill" it with what she thinks should be behind.Really magical!

Does it work?For small objects, yes.It sometimes looks like a "bad work of Photoshop", but the fact that it is a bad work of Photoshop carried out by an AI which understood the edges and the shape of an object, then supposed what'is the background behind him, always amazes me.

Android 12

Android 12 is a bold new OS with lots of new personalization advantages.Everyone seems to love how the user interface can take up the dominant colors of the wallpaper you have chosen, then distribute them in the interface as accentuation colors.This feature is all the more interesting since Google's wallpaper is rich and you will never run out of images to put in the background.

The new tiles in the fast parameters will probably be an acquired taste.Google has made them much too large and now you can only have up to 8 tabs per page in the drop -down list of quick settings.I am not a big fan of this choice, but it is the decision of the American giant.

Google wants you to know that it takes confidentiality problems seriously and it has somehow exaggerated with certain features in Android 12.You literally have ON/OFF buttons for access to the microphone and access to the camera in the drop -down menu of notifications.We can assume that if you deactivate them, no application can use the microphone or camera of your device.I tested this trying to make a call or open the camera application on the smartphone and, of course, they could not work.Conversely, when access is open, a notification in the form of green tells you that an application uses the camera or the microphone.

Des animations en pagailles

There are other little things, but I would say that Android 12 looks like a mature and serious system, which is very well working on the Pixel 6.There are a lot of small animations that give the impression that it has been refined - like when you press the power button to turn off the screen and see it "shrink" the image in the D button gradually'feed.

It should be mentioned that Google Pixel 6 phones are now guaranteed to have at least 3 years of Android updates, which means that they will get to Android 15, and 5 years of security updates.

Pixel 6: cameras

Of course, that's why we are all here.Google's pixel smartphones camera has been excellent since the release of the first pixel and it is thanks to the software that improves the image captured by a 12 megapixel sensor.Now we have a 50 megapixel sensor, and I was curious to see what this sensor is worth in the Pixel 6.

Would you be surprised if I said it's a great photo sensor?Of course not…

The Pixel 6 has two cameras in the back - no "macro lens" or "monochrome lens" to make believe that there is a triple system in the back.The main camera takes fantastic photos - clear and vibrant, with fairly precise colors and a lot of details that you can spy on.Of course, the dynamics are also excellent thanks to the HDR work of Google.

And yes, the image quality here is the same as on the Pixel 6 Pro, because the two devices share the same camera sensors on the main camera.

Let the samples speak (thank you to Florian for some shots):

An ultra-large camera… not very wide

The ultra-large camera at the rear is not really ultra ... It descends to 0.7x, a value where competitors like Samsung smartphones and iPhone descend to 0.5 x.So, the ultra-large camera of the Pixel 6 is rather a "slightly wider angle".But at least she does the job perfectly, without intense distortion on the edges.It also seems a little softer, due to the ultra-large lens and the 12 megapixel sensor below.

There is also a portrait mode on board, and it is clearly a central point in Google's communication.Despite the absence of any Tof or Lidar sensor, the Pixel 6 does a fairly good work to separate subjects.There are a few drawbacks in the Portrait mode of Pixel 6-one of them is that you cannot adjust the amount of background blur in the camera.The smartphone just has a predefined level and that's it.Afterwards, you can somehow refine it in the Photos Application, but that cannot go beyond the level of blur you see on the photo.

Second, as there is no telephoto for optical zoom, 2x portrait mode is a digital cropping.Honestly, I do not have the impression that the photos suffer from it, but all the same-it is a digital zoom, so take it for what it is.These two reproaches apart, it is very efficient as such.

Let's go to night photos.Google's night vision mode has been quite crazy so far and the new 50 megapixel sensor is only strengthening it.In fact, sometimes he can make night photos look like day photos.

Let the samples speak (thank you to Florian for some shots):

I also tried the new movement mode.Basically, you can use this mode to simulate a long-term shutter effect or-on the contrary-take a photo where an object in motion is developed and where the background is covered with an artistic blur.It's pretty cool.It works fairly quickly, which means you don't need to sit for too long.

Pixel 6: Autonomy

With all the intelligences on board this little thing, the battery life is rather correct.She is not breathtaking, she does not last more than two days, but with regular use, I did not have the impression of losing too much juice.

I'm talking about cats, navigation on social networks, and listening to music.About 3.5 hours of screen on a day and I still have about 30 % in the evening, so I don't feel in a hurry to go to a wall outlet.

The Pixel 6 will offer a support for wireless charging (quick quick charge of 21 W, in addition), so you can put it on a Qi carpet when you do not use it, to be sure that it will not benever short of juice.It also supports the sharing of food, which means that you can load something with it, such as a smartwatch or headphones that support wireless recharge.

For the wired load, you can connect it to the USB C port and benefit from a fast load around 30 W if the load block supports it.Yes, you have to buy one if you don't already have one.

Of course, there is the famous extreme battery saving mode, which limits the functions of your smartphone to the essentials.You can use it to save juice on a long trip or a hike, but I never needed everyday.

Pixel 6: Verdict

Pixel 6 is the best smartphone that Google has ever made.But, this does not mean that it is necessarily ready to supplant Apple and Samsung flagships among the best smartphones you can buy.Nevertheless, the Pixel 6 represents a lot of things for Google.He moved away from the mentality "the specifications are not so important" which has followed the company since the time of the Nexus.This is more proof that Google can make a hell of a good smartphone for much less than 700 euros.

Pixel 6 cameras are clearly the best in the Pixel range, and the new publishing tools provide some welcome features.That said, I think the iPhone 13 takes better photos under certain conditions, especially in the event of low lighting, where past pixels previously excelled.And let's not forget the absence of the zoom.The Tensor chip seems to be a welcome addition to the Pixel range, although the true value of its expertise in a machine learning will only be fully revealed over time over time.

I would like battery performance to be more consistent on the pixel.Since Google can now commit to performing security updates for longer periods, it would do well to reflect Apple's position on software updates.

Between the new capacities introduced by both the Tensor and Android 12 chip, the Pixel 6 is definitely a pretender to become your next smartphone.Android fans who want the best of Google software would do well to consider an upgrade to the last pixel.