PCMag Australia Computers & Electronics Mobile Phones
bySteven Winkelman Oct 28, 2021
With fast performance, all-day battery life, and an innovative camera, Google's affordable Pixel 6 is the midrange phone to beat.
Best DealFrom A$999
Google Store AU From A$999
Bright, crisp display
Fast wireless charging not supported at launch
Wait Time and Direct My Call features are hit or miss
Google's Pixel 6 is a sophisticated midrange phone that replaces the good, but uninspired Pixel 5. It takes a spot between the company's high-end flagship, the Pixel 6 Pro (A$1,299), and the more affordable Pixel 4a ($599), and offers quite an impressive feature-to-value ratio for $999. With its combination of strong camera performance, long battery life, and unbeatable Android software, the Pixel 6 easily bests the competition and replaces the Pixel 5a as our Editors' Choice winner for midrange phones.
The Future (Or Google's Idea of It)
The Pixel 6's combination of curved edges and severe right angles makes the phone seem like it would be right at home in Tomorrowland. It maintains many of the influences that underscore Google's design language, but an element of mid-century futurism is also thrown into the mix. We like the look, but it probably won't appeal to everyone.
The Pixel 6 has a large camera bar and a two-tone back panel
At 6.2 by 2.9 by 0.3 inches (HWD) and 7.3 ounces, the Pixel 6 is more manageable than the bigger Pro model (6.5 by 3.0 by 0.4 inches, 7.4 ounces). You can wrap your hand around the phone and its buttons are easy to reach.
Google sells the Pixel 6 in three different colors, including Kinda Coral, Sorta Seafoam, and Stormy Black. The Kinda Coral version is a blend of pastel red and pink. Sorta Seafoam is a duo of blue and green. Stormy Black is the most subdued of the trio, with a monochromatic black panel. All three phones have matte black rails. We tested the Sorta Seafoam model.
A flat, 6.4-inch, 90Hz OLED panel dominates the front of the phone. The bezels are thin, but the flat panel makes them more noticeable than on the Pixel 6 Pro. Resolution clocks in at 2,400 by 1,080 pixels, which equates to a density of 411 pixels per inch (PPI). Colors are lush but accurate, with deep blacks. The display is bright enough to see in direct sunlight and viewing angles are solid.
The in-display fingerprint sensor is on par with competitors, but doesn't compare with traditional sensors or those embedded in the power button. Setup is easier than with other Android phones, and during a week of regular use, the Pixel 6 recognized our fingerprint about 90% of the time.
The matte rails and accent details are more subdued on the Pixel 6 than on the Pixel 6 Pro. The left and top edges are bare, while the right side of the phone features a power button, a SIM slot, and a volume rocker. The buttons are glossy, which makes them easy to identify by touch. Both buttons feel a little stiff but provide a satisfying tactile click. The bottom is home to the USB-C charging port and dual speaker grilles.
The Pixel 6's durability is excellent, especially compared with other midrange phones. The phone has a Gorilla Glass Victus display and a Gorilla Glass 6 back, as well as an IP68 rating. Minor drops, dings, and even an accidental dip in the pool should leave the phone unscathed.
A 4,614mAh battery powers the Pixel 6. In our early battery drain tests, where we stream HD video over Wi-Fi at full brightness, the phone averaged 23 hours and 11 minutes before shutting down. During a week of regular use, we only needed to charge the phone twice and didn't notice any battery depletion when there wasn't any use. The Pixel 6 supports 30W fast charging via USB-PD 3.0 and compatible third-party adapters. Qi wireless charging maxes out at 12W, but the upcoming Pixel Stand 2 supports fast charging at up to 21W. The phone also features reverse power-sharing capabilities.
Sub-6GHz 5G or the Full 5G Experience?
If you purchase the unlocked version of the Pixel 6 from the Google Store or Google Fi, your phone will work on every major US carrier's LTE and Sub-6GHz 5G networks. AT&T and Verizon customers can pick up the Pixel 6 with additional mmWave support, but those models cost at least an extra $100. Both models have extensive band support for global connectivity, as well as C-band for improved mid-band 5G that will start popping up in early 2022.
Audio quality is excellent
We tested the Pixel 6 on Verizon's 5G network in Chicago and recorded admirable speeds, averaging 168Mbps down and 78Mbps up.
Google didn't disclose the Pixel 6's modem at its launch event, nor when we asked for additional details about it. After some research with Sascha Segan, PCMag's lead mobile analyst, we're confident the phone uses Samsung's Exynos 5123 modem.
Samsung's second-generation 5G modem, the Exynos 5123, also appeared in the global version of the Samsung Galaxy S20 series. It supports 800Hz mmWave connectivity and 200MHz of Sub-6 5G; as mentioned, the Verizon version of the Pixel 6 is the only model with mmWave antennae.
What's most impressive about the Pixel 6's modem, however, is its connectivity. We tested it in dozens of urban and rural locations across two states never encountered a poor signal. It consistently reached higher speeds than the iPhone 13 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra we tested in the same locations.
The Pixel 6 also sports Wi-Fi 6E for improved home internet. In our Wi-Fi tests, it averaged speeds of 522Mbps down and 40Mbps up at a distance of 10 feet from a Wi-Fi 6 router on Verizon's 5G home internet.
The Pixel 6 has matte black rails and trim detail
Bluetooth 5.2 is onboard for audio and wearable connectivity. Google added a second Bluetooth antenna for enhanced performance and range. The handset also supports all the audio codecs you'd expect, including SBC, AAC, AptX, and Aptx HD, plus LDAC for high-resolution audio. NFC is included for wireless payments, while a UWB chip facilitates file transfers and improves spatial awareness.
Call quality is excellent. All of our test calls were clear and noise cancellation worked without fail. The in-display speaker tops out at 84dB and is loud enough to hear on a busy street. The stereo speakers on the Pixel 6 are excellent, with a maximum volume of 90dB. They're loud enough to fill a room and produce an impressive soundstage with mellow timbre.
Google's Tensor Chip Isn't About Benchmark Scores
The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are the first phones to ship with the Google Tensor SoC. Designed by Google specifically for the Pixel lineup, its processors, coprocessors, instruction sets, and other software are all in harmony to create a heterogeneous computing experience.
The Google Tensor's 5nm process is energy efficient despite its primary eight-core processor. The CPU consists of a pair of 2.8GHz Cortex-X1 cores for demanding tasks, two 2.25GHz Cortex-A76 high-performance cores, and four power-efficient 1.8GHz Cortex-A55 cores for basic tasks.
Glossy black buttons are easy to reach and recognize by feel
A 20-core ARM Mali GPU handles computational photography and gaming, while the phone's 50MP ISP boasts zero shutter lag and Google's HDRnet. Context Hub, a coprocessor that deals with contextual reminders and the always-on display, is also present.
Google added an array of security coprocessors to the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, too. The Tensor security core is an isolated CPU subsystem that deals with your most sensitive tasks. It works with Google's Titan M2 chip to handle passcode protection, encryption, and sensitive data shared online.
Comparing the Google Tensor processor with the popular Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 mobile platform is difficult. Google created the Tensor SoC to realize experiences for Pixel devices that would otherwise be impossible or cumbersome. Qualcomm's Snapdragon 888, on the other hand, was developed as a turnkey solution for smartphone manufacturers; it provides plenty of power, but the manufacturer has to figure out exactly how to create experiences within the limitations of the platform.
Google's Tensor chip is unlikely to ace benchmarks, but that's not the point. Google wanted silicon in which everything works in concert for peak efficiency, performance, and security. And while some smartphone benchmarks provide helpful and quantifiable details, they tend to be inaccurate indicators of everyday performance.
No Hesitation
The Pixel 6 ships with 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM. 128GB and 256GB UFS 3.1 storage variants are available. There's no microSD slot, but Google One automatically backs up 15GB of your data. If you purchase the phone via Pixel Pass, you get 200GB of cloud storage. Google offers several storage tiers for its standalone Google One service.
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Performance is excellent. The phone boots up within seconds, apps open without hesitation, and since the Pixel 6 can handle most tasks on-device, Google Assistant and other voice features work without lag. Gaming on the Pixel 6 is a delight. Genshin Impact loaded quickly and we didn't notice any skipped frames in over an hour of gameplay. Alto's Odyssey worked perfectly as well.
The Pixel 6 has improved privacy and security features
Benchmarks were impressive but, again, not the best indicator of day-to-day performance. On Geekbench 5, a suite of tests that quantifies raw performance, the Pixel 6 easily beat similarly priced competitors. It scored 1,021 single-core (SC) and 2,813 multi-core (MC). For comparison, the Pixel 5a scored 680 SC and 1,952 MC, while the Galaxy A52 managed 645 SC and 1,945 MC on the same test.
Android 12 and Future Support
The Pixel 6 ships with Android 12, which has been completely reimagined with the new Material You UI. Google promises a minimum of three major OS upgrades and five years of security updates. Pixel owners will get new features throughout the year via Google's Feature Drop program.
Notifications, Quick Settings, and other features were tweaked for Android 12 and Material You
Material You is a major step forward for Android 12, but comes with a bit of a learning curve. Notifications and security features are better, although the Quick Settings menu looks completely different. Android 12's customizability sets it apart from older versions of Android. It relies on contextual clues and uses patterns to add and change widgets. And, if a specific color or image inspires you, the Pixel 6 can create a customized background and icons based on that shade.
Google's Tensor chip works alongside Android 12 to improve many common features; this is especially noticeable in apps with voice features. Google Messages, Snapchat, and several other messaging platforms support live translation. We tested this feature in French and German and the translations were spot-on. The recorder app can even translate discussions in real time.
GBoard's Voice Typing feature gets a major overhaul. GBoard, Recorder, Translation, and other apps learn your preferences, keep tabs on your frequent contacts, and even use data from other Google services to improve transcription. When a friend texted last night, we simply tapped the microphone icon and replied "Hey! I'm at RePlay with Tim. Come visit." The Pixel 6 automatically dropped in punctuation and spelled the bar's name correctly.
Google's new Calling Assistance features for 1-800 numbers—which includes a hold time estimate called Wait Time, and another feature called Direct My Call, which displays automated prompts on the display—were hit or miss. We tested the features with nearly a dozen different companies and it worked about two-thirds of the time.
Two Cameras, Many Possibilities
The camera bar has a 50MP primary sensor and a 12MP ultrawide lens
The Pixel 6 has new primary and ultra-wide cameras, but is missing the telephoto lens on the Pixel 6 Pro. The primary camera clocks in at 50MP with an f/1.85 aperture, 1.2μm pixel width, and a large 1/1.31-inch sensor format. It uses an Octa PD Quad Bayer method with all-pixel autofocus for crisp 12.5MP shots.
We noticed blooming and some loss of fine detail in our low-light camera tests
There's also a 12MP ultra-wide sensor with a 1.25μm pixel width and an f/2.2 aperture. The lens has a 114-degree field of view. Google uses computational photography in conjunction with improved lens elements to minimize distortion.
Photos with the Pixel 6 are crisp, with excellent depth of field
Laser detect autofocus (LDAF), as well as a spectral and flicker sensor, are also on the camera bar. Both the primary and ultra-wide lenses have optical and electronic image stabilization.
Both cameras are capable of best-in-class photos. Our daylight test shots show fine detail with excellent depth of field, for the most part, but a few shots look slightly soft. Our biggest complaint is that our photos look washed out. And while Google has always been known for its natural-looking color science, photos with the Pixel 6 seem a little warm and undersaturated. That said, you can easily tweak your shots in Google Photos.
There's some minor loss of fine detail with the ultrawide lens, but no noticeable distortion
Low-light photos appear solid as well, but there are some differences between the Pixel 6 and its predecessor. First off, we noticed blooming in nearly all of our low-light test shots. Some shots suffer from a loss of fine detail, which is to be expected, but Google seems to be more aggressive with noise cancellation than in the past. In exchange for those noise-free photos, you lose texture and more nuanced variations in light.
2x zoom photos are crisp
And while the Pixel 6 lacks the telephoto lens found on its more expensive sibling, it still supports up to 7x zoom via Google's Super Res Zoom feature. We think 2x zoom is about the limit for a good shot. At 4x zoom, photos become shallow and the minor loss of detail we noticed with our 1x test photos is very obvious; the phone is essentially cropping a 1x photo from the sensor's full resolution and making computational corrections.
The front of the phone houses an 8MP, fixed-focus sensor with an 84-degree field of view. Its large 1.12μm pixel pitch and wide f/2.0 aperture yield excellent results in any lighting condition. It's difficult to tell much difference between it and the 11.1MP camera on the more expensive Pixel 6 Pro. Our test photos look crisp, with excellent color accuracy and a natural depth of field. Portrait mode worked flawlessly as well.
The selfie camera is on par with the 11.1MP lens on the more expensive Pro model
Magic Eraser, Real Tone, and Face Unblur are a few of the new camera features that the Tensor SoC makes possible. Except for Real Tone, which uses inclusive color science for more accurate representations of BIPOC people, none will fix a photo that's seriously messed up.
Magic Eraser works best with easily recognizable objects on flat or consistent backgrounds. If you try to use it on a heavily textured surface or wood, you won't be happy with the results. Of course, it's not meant to replace Photoshop, but instead to fix minor issues.
Face Unblur can remove the blur from a face in motion if the camera can recognize the face and it isn't too blurred. Again, it can't work miracles.
Motion Modes is a bit of a letdown. Action Pan lets you focus on a subject in motion while blurring the background. In the few test shots we took while using that mode, sometimes a kneecap or elbow became part of the bokeh. And while long exposure lets you keep the shutter open for blurred subjects with crisp backgrounds, it's not intuitive to use and you can easily miss a shot.
Many of our Pixel 6 photos look a little washed out
While the Pixel 6's cameras may have their faults, you will have trouble finding a better setup on any similarly priced Android phone in the US. Ultimately, the phone is capable of excellent shots with some minor tweaks and adjustments.
Midrange Android Excellence
The Google Pixel 6 delivers top-notch performance, long battery life, and impressive cameras. It replaces the Pixel 5a as our midrange Editors' Choice winner, but if you're looking to spend less on the 5a, you really can't go wrong with either. Whether you should spend $300 more on the Pixel 6 Pro depends on what you're looking for. If you're a serious smartphone photographer, a hardcore smartphone gamer who needs the 120Hz LTPO display and extra RAM, or a die-hard AT&T customer who wants mmWave connectivity, the Pixel 6 Pro is worth the premium. But for the best midrange phone $999 can buy, the Pixel 6 is hard to beat.
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About Steven Winkelman
It would be an understatement to say Steven Winkelman is obsessed with mobile technology. Since joining PCMag as a mobile analyst in 2019, he's reviewed over 100 phones and tablets. Before that he covered mobile and wearable tech as a staff writer at Digital Trends.
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