Given the release schedule that Google normally keeps and the volume of leaks, it shouldn’t surprise anyone we’re getting a new Pixel. Two to be more accurate, the Pixel 6 and the Pixel 6 Pro are both set for release soon. What this has prompted is a release of a pile of information from Google about the devices.
What are we getting?
It has now been confirmed that we’ll get two devices, the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. The full specs of both devices are yet to be released but we do know a lot already. Of course, both new devices will carry the latest version of Android at launch: Android 12, but there’s a lot more we know about them as well.
The Pixel 6 specs we know:
- A 6.4-inch FHD+ 90Hz display
- Google’s first “Tensor” Titan M2 Chip
- Under-display fingerprint sensor
- Red/sand, Blue/green and Gray/black colour options
- A revamped dual camera system including standard and ultrawide lenses
- Supposed “all day” battery life – but we’ll let you know for sure when review units arrive
The Pixel 6 Pro is said to carry:
- A 6.7-inch QHD+ 120Hz curved edge display
- Google’s first “Tensor” Titan M2 Chip
- Under-display fingerprint sensor
- Gray/black, Sand/yellow and Gray/light Gray
- A new camera setup that has Standard, Ultrawide and a 4x Telephoto lens array
- Again, claims of “all day” battery life
Interestingly, there is very little information about the camera setups at this time other than there are new lenses and improved light capture capabilities.
What is the Tensor chip?
In a blog post by Rick Osterloh and shared by Sundar Pichai, the details behind design and some of the engineering of the chip have been shared.
So excited to share our new custom Google Tensor chip, which has been 4 yrs in the making (
for scale)! Tensor builds off of our 2 decades of computing experience and it’s our biggest innovation in Pixel to date. Will be on Pixel 6 + Pixel 6 Pro in fall. https://t.co/N95X6gFxLf pic.twitter.com/wHiEJRHJwy
— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) August 2, 2021
Tensor was built for how people use their phones today and how people will use them in the future. As more and more features are powered by AI and ML it’s not simply about adding more computing resources, it’s about using that ML to unlock specific experiences for our Pixel users.
The team that designed our silicon wanted to make Pixel even more capable. For example, with Tensor we thought about every piece of the chip and customized it to run Google’s computational photography models. For users, this means entirely new features, plus improvements to existing ones.
Tensor enables us to make the Google phones we’ve always envisioned — phones that keep getting better while tapping the most powerful parts of Google, all in a highly personalized experience. And with Tensor’s new security core and Titan M2, Pixel 6 will have the most layers of hardware security in any phone.
What else do we know?
In comments made to The Verge, Rick Osterloh noted that this is a premium product and will be priced accordingly. What this means for costs in Australia isn’t clear yet, but I’d wager we’re talking ultra-premium device pricing of $1,600 or more for the Pixel 6, potentially nudging the $2,000 mark for the Pro.
While that’s not the best of news, we can happily confirm that the Australian Google Store has a landing page for the new devices already live. It’s fair to expect that these will also be available at the usual retail outlets once the phone is available in Australia.
