Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro: Everything you need to know

After months of teasers and leaks, it’s finally here: the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Google have been hyping them up for awhile now and it’s clear to see why. It’s perhaps their most revolutionary smartphone launch since the original Pixel, because on top of all the upgrades you’d normally expect from a new device, it’s also significantly different under the hood thanks to the Google Tensor system-on-chip.

Pricing and availability

Unfortunately, we’re going to start off by reminding you that the Google Pixel 6 lineup will likely not arrive in Malaysia—officially anyway. Nevertheless, if you’re planning to get it one way or another, here’s the pricing for all of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro models:

• Pixel 6, 8GB RAM, 128GB storage— USD599 (RM2,490)
• Pixel 6, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage— USD699 (RM2,906)
• Pixel 6 Pro, 12GB RAM, 128GB storage— USD899 (RM3,738)
• Pixel 6 Pro, 12GB RAM, 256GB storage— USD999 (RM4,153)
• Pixel 6 Pro, 12GB RAM, 512GB storage— USD1,099 (RM4,569)

For those who live in regions where the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro have been made available, you can pre-order them starting today, with Google shipping them out from the 28 of October onwards.

Pixel 6 Pro specs

The Pixel 6 Pro features a 6.7-inch, QHD+ OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate with Google’s Smooth Display technology. It has a high brightness mode to hit up to 800nits, a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, HDR support and a full 24-bit depth for 16 million colours. It also has a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus over it for scratch resistance.

Under the hood is of course the new Google Tensor system-on-chip along with a Titan M2 security coprocessor. This gets mated to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage. The Pixel 6 Pro comes with Android 12 out of the box, and Google are guaranteeing up to five years of Pixel security updates, though OS upgrades are limited to just three years. The Tensor silicon meanwhile is being touted as 80% faster than the Pixel 5’s chip, which seems like a lot until you realise that the Pixel 5 shipped with the Snapdragon 765 5G underneath.

The actual chip design is pretty impressive yet somewhat confusing. While the Snapdragon 888 and Exynos 2100 both have a single Arm Cortex-X1 as its prime CPU core, the Google Tensor has two of them, albeit with slightly lower clock speeds at 2.8GHz compared to the 2.84GHz on the Snapdragon 888 and 2.9GHz on the Exynos 2100. Another oddity with the Tensor’s make up is that its performance cores consist of two of the older Cortex-A76 cores, while the Snapdragon and Exynos chips have the newer Cortex-A78 cores.

As for the Pixel 6 Pro, another of its shining features is of course its camera setup. It has a main 50MP f/1.85 wide camera, a 48MP f/3.5 telephoto camera with 4x optical zoom and a futher Super Res Zoom up to 20x, and a 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide camera with a 114° field of view. Meanwhile, on the front of the device you’ll find a 11.1MP f/2.2 selfie camera.

These cameras all come with a host of features, the biggest being Magic Eraser, which lets you detect photobombs and other unwanted things in the back, and erase them away for the perfect photo.

Other features of note include a 5,003mAh battery that Google claims will last you over 24 hours. You’ll also be able to power up 50% of it in just 30 minutes with their 30W USB-C fast charger, though this power brick will unfortunately be sold separately. There is also wireless charging via Qi, while you can also charge other devices wirelessly with Battery Share.

On top of 5G connectivity, the Pixel 6 Pro also supports WiFi 6E, NFC, Ultra-Wideband and Bluetooth 5.2. You’ll find an under-display fingerprint sensor to unlock your phone, stereo speakers, and the Pixel 6 Pro has IP68 protection for dust and water resistance too. There’ll be three colourways to choose from: Cloudy White, Sorta Sunny and Stormy Black.

Pixel 6 specs

The more affordable of the two smartphones launched by Google, the Pixel 6 has a smaller 6.4-inch OLED display compared to its bigger brother. It also has a lower FHD+ resolution, as well as a lower maximum refresh rate of 90Hz, though it still has features like Smooth Display, high brightness mode, 1,000,000:1 contrast, HDR support and full 24-bit depth for 16 million colours, as well as a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus on top.

Unsurprisingly though, the internal hardware is mostly the same. You’ll find the same in-house Google Tensor processor with a Titan M2 security coprocessor, this time mated to 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. Just like the Pixel 6 Pro, the Pixel 6 will get five years of Pixel security and three years of OS updates, and comes with Android 12 right out of the box.

Camera-wise, you’ll find the same 50MP f/1.85 main camera on the rear along with the 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide camera as those on the Pixel 6 Pro. However, the Pixel 6 loses out on the 48MP telephoto camera. The front camera meanwhile has also been given a mild downgrade, as it has an 8MP f/2.0 selfie camera instead of the 11.1MP one found on the larger device. It does however still come with Google’s latest Pixel photography features like Magic Eraser.

Other features of note include a slightly smaller 4,614mAh battery with Google still rates for over 24 hours of use. It has the same 30W fast charging but as is the case with the Pixel 6 Pro will not come with a power brick in the box. Nevertheless, it’s still Qi-certified for wireless charging, and has Battery Share for reverse charging. There’s support for 5G, WiFi 6E, NFC and Bluetooth 5.2 too, along with IP68 certification and stereo speakers. The Pixel 6 will come in three colours, namely Sorta Seafoam, Kinda Coral and Stormy Black.

For more information on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, you can check out their respective product pages on the US Made by Google website.