Google really flexing their machine learning research on us, especially with that Tensor processor which hopefully delivers.
You might have landed yourself in the Google Pixel launch page and thought that it was pretty neat they made it colourful and interactive. Well, that page gave us some pretty neat way to waste some time while waiting for the launch event, and here it is and what’s all about it.
And yes, the Google Pixel 6 runs Android 12 stable with Google’s new Material You design language.
Google Tensor:
The first ever exclusive SoC from Google is coming to both the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. The chipset was created so that Google can bring their shocking and sudden algorithms right on your hands. Clearly, they can “spy” on you faster on this one (just kidding!). It’s Google’s machine learning that makes it appear they know what you’re about to search for, even if you’re just thinking about it. The Tensor was created with security, amazing computational photography and computer smarts in mind.
Titan M2 security chip
Talking about the architecture, it’s a 2+4+2 setup on the CPU side. The Tensor is a 5nm SoC with the ARM Cortex X1 at its heart. The GPU has 20 cores, so gaming should be buttery smooth and graphics should render fast just as they are beautiful. Included inside the Tensor is the Titan M2 security chip which protects your data, including passwords, messages and photos from outside attacks or hacking. The new Tensor is also equipped with Google’s custom image processor. When you think the Pixel 5 was really good, the Pixel 6 should have even better computational photography, at least in theory. We’ll wait what the folks at DXOMark has to say.
Camera:
Talking about the cameras, both the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro have the same camera hardware, apart from the fact that the Pixel 6 has no telephoto camera. The Pixel 6 Pro has a 50mp main sensor, a 12mp ultrawide and a 48mp telephoto with 4x optical zoom. With the Google camera’s amazing scene recognition and computational photography with just regular 12mp sensors, what can Google do with an even bigger sensor with more pixels? We really wanna find out.
For selfies, the Pro has an 11.1mp fixed focus camera while the regular gets an 8mp camera.
One of Google’s most proud features of the Pixel 6 is the Magic Eraser, which again, uses machine learning to suggest distractions or unwanted visitors from your photos so that they can be removed. This feature works even after taking the shot and also works on your oldest photos.
Another feature they mentioned is Face Unblur which is a fancy name for a long exposure shot commonly used on DSLRs, especially during fast-moving scenes. Before taking the shot, the cameras already have facial tracking so that the phone will know where the subject is moving towards. It uses the ultrawide for the long exposure and the main 50mp sensor for the normal exposure and when you tap the shutter button, the photo is less blurry or have no blur at all, as if it’s an action shot.
One last major feature they have announced is Motion Mode, which is similar to Face Unblur. This one is taken from the “sports” or “Action” modes most DSLRs have today, so when you take a photo but there’s a fast moving object, machine learning applies the appropriate blur and exposure so you can take breathtaking action photos as if taken by a professional camera.
There are other loads more features such as Real Tone where the phone’s algorithms automatically correct the appropriate brightness, vividness, lighting and contrast based on the photo taken. It was created to address problems related to photos taken from people of colour, wherein the image is either underexposed, overexposed or the colours are washed out.
Other features implemented on previous Pixels like astrophotography and Night mode have also improved on the Pixel 6 all thanks to the AI-based Tensor SoC.
Display:
Unlike the previous models, Google has upgraded the display by a margin, especially on the Pro. The regular Pixel 6 gets a 6.4in. OLED panel with FHD+ resolution and 90Hz refresh rate while the Google Pixel 6 Pro gets a 6.7in. QHD+ (1440p) LTPO AMOLED panel with adaptive 120Hz refresh rate. It’s slightly bigger and is more feature packed in a sense. Both phones are protected with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus. An in-display fingerprint sensor is available on both devices.
Machine Learning, Battery and Updates:
Aside from those computational photography functions mentioned earlier, Google has implemented numerous haptic feedback improvements to make the phone truly machine learning-based. Google Assistant can now understand up to 55 languages. Assistant can now be used as an interpreter, automatically translating someone’s voice from their language to English and vice versa. As of now, Assistant can understand German, Japanese, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish, and you can even use the interpreter function offline.
For the first time in a Pixel phone, users can now be guaranteed 5 years of security updates thanks to the built0in Titan M2 security chip and Google’s custom-built Tensor processor.
In terms of battery, the Pixel 6 comes with a 4600mAh battery complemented with 30W fast charging; the Pixel 6 Pro uses the same 30W fast charging but comes at a larger 5000mAh battery capacity. In addition to fast charging, both phones support wireless charging and can be charged through the Pixel Wireless Charging Dock sold in select countries. The Pixel 6 supports 21W wireless charging while the Pro supports 23W.
The phones are built with recycled aluminium and come with cases that are also based on recyclable materials.
Pricing:
The phones are now ready for pre-order with a starting price of $599 (~Php 30.4K), and $899 (~Php 45.7K) for the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro respectively. Currently, it’s available to both selected European and North American markets. There are three colourways, based on a matte clay finish: Cloudy White, Sorta Sunny and Stormy Black for the Pixel 6 Pro and Sorta Seafoam, Kinda Coral and Stormy Black for the Pixel 6.
Actual retail sales start 28th October on markets where they are available.
Source: Google Pixel 6 Launch Event (has ended)
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