With Google Pixel 6 Pro it was love at first sight. The original design, the curved edges of the display and the cleanliness of the interface managed to win us over in a matter of minutes.
And then, we admit, we missed the Pixels.
In fact, last year Big G had decided not to bring Pixel 5 to Italy, extending the life of Pixel 4 and 4a. All in all, an understandable choice: after all, Italy is not the best market for Google's smartphones, not to mention that the chip crisis has made production particularly difficult.
With the 6 series, however, Google is retracing its steps, giving the Bel Paese both versions - Pixel 6 and 6 Pro - in the storm black color.
But what's new? How does the top of the Mountain View range perform in everyday life? We tell you about it in this one Google Pixel 6 Pro review.
Welcome, Tensor!
The biggest novelty of this smartphone is invisible. Or rather, it's inside.
Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are the first Google smartphones to adopt Google's first processor: Tensor.
This is certainly not an unusual choice. After all, Apple produces its CPUs, Samsung also, Huawei as well and even Oppo has started to move into the world of chips.
So what changes? Because it is important?
From a purely performance point of view you will not notice noticeable changes. The Google Pixel 6 Pro is more responsive than the Pixel 4 and 4 XL, probably even more responsive than the Pixel 5, plus it's designed to press the accelerator on graphics performance. This allows you to use it for any activity: surfing, managing emails, watching a movie or a TV series, editing a photo, playing video games ... There's nothing Tensor and 12GB of RAM won't let you do.
This, however, we could perhaps take a little for granted.
First of all because smartphone hardware tends to be oversized compared to what we usually do. And, secondly, because Google would never have presented the world with a phone and a processor unable to handle everyday life.
So, back to the question above, why is Tensor important?
Why is designed for machine learning, artificial intelligence, and applications related to speech recognition. All this to ensure that most of the operations that require these technologies are carried out inside the smartphone and in a very short time.
To this category of functions belong advanced voice dictation e real-time translation functions. For example, we can open the camera app, select Google Lens, frame a text in another language and view the translation in real time.
You can also say “Hey Google, be my interpreter” and he prepares to translate in the entire conversation. Always in real time.
Or again, we can watch a video in English with Pixel 6 Pro which generates subtitles in Italian, with a delay of just a few milliseconds, and translate the messages in an instant, both within the Messages app and on third-party apps such as Instagram and Whatsapp.
Tensor also includes a dedicated security core that works in conjunction with the Titan M2 chip, also dedicated to safety. Alongside them we also find software solutions for data protection. First of all, sensitive information, such as translations, are saved only on the smartphone; secondly we find antiphishing and antimalware integrated into the system, In addition to security and privacy dashboard which, among other things, can tell you which applications have used certain permissions and when. Then there are the toggle to quickly disable camera and microphone access and the app Emergency , which includes useful contacts, the ability to share location and recognition of car accidents. Finally we have 5 years of guaranteed system updates.
Google Pixel 6 Pro review: the camera
Pixel 6Pro shows a 11.1 megapixel front camera while on the back we have a 50-megapixel main sensor, the 4-megapixel 48x optical zoom telephoto lens and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide angle lens.
The photographic sector has always been a distinctive feature of the Pixels and the 6 Pro is absolutely no exception.
The main sensor does a very impressive job: the photos are sharp, free of chromatic aberration and with a very good color rendering. Also in the dark the result is more than satisfactory: manages to illuminate well without generating noise or staggering the colors.
Also promoted the 4x optical zoom, which really maintains a good quality of details, while the wide angle is less surprising, which guarantees versatility but does not differ much from what is offered by other smartphones of the same range.
The camera also has two scenic but difficult to master features. The panning keeps the subject in focus and then creates the "blur" effect on the rest of the photo, to give the feeling of movement. If you do not have great control over the subject it is not easy to take the right photo but when you do it the effect is truly remarkable.
THElong exposure instead it allows you to create the wake effect, particularly impactful on a busy road, but you have to seize the moment.
Main sensor
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In addition to capturing great shots, you can count too on the Photos app for some quick tweaks including the new feature Magic Eraser which helps you eliminate objects and people quickly. And it does it by itself, in the sense that as soon as you start the tool it analyzes the photo and tells you what you could delete. If you do not agree, you can circle the element to be deleted and then the software will do the rest.
On the video front we have 4K footage at 60 fps. The stabilization works quite well and the quality is good but perhaps not the best on the market. You can shoot videos in 4K even at 2x but know that the result is not particularly convincing. Even in the dark, a bit of noise is generated and the yield is therefore not optimal.
Android 12 and the Material You interface
We have on board Android 12 con la Material You, the new interface from Google. We liked it a lot because it is intuitive, modern and clean.
It also brings with it some news in terms of functionality. For example, now you can create custom themes based on the background image, with setting colors and icons changing appearance. And the theme also changes the icons.
Then there are all the news related to safety mentioned above and an improved search. Now you can, for example, search for a person to quickly find both the contact and the chats you have in progress. Or you can search for specific functions within the apps. For example, you can type “Alarm” instead of opening the clock app and looking for the alarm. It seems like a little trick but it helps you to save time in everyday life.
The Google Pixel 6 Pro review: display and design
What else can we say about the Pixel 6 Pro? It shows up with a 6,7 inch display with curved edges and a dynamic refresh rate that goes at 10 to 120 Hz.
This allows it to give you maximum fluidity when you need it and to save battery when you are not using your smartphone.
The colors are vivid and bright, in the sun it behaves very well and it is really a pleasure to use it.
Below the display we have the fingerprint reader which, however, is a little less reactive than expected. Moreover, it is the only biometric unlocking method since the one with the face is not provided.
On the back, however, we have the camera module contained within this slightly raised black strip, with two different shades of gray. Perhaps this coloring is the one that does a little less justice to a decidedly original design.
The back cover is made of glass, Gorilla Glass Victus, and has a discreet oleophobic treatment.
We also have IP68 certification for resistance to water and dust.
Autonomy
On the bottom of the device we find and the USB-C connector that you can use for fast charging up to 30 watts.
To exploit it you will need the special power supply, which is not included in the package and which takes you from 0 to 50% in 30 minutes. Discreet but not the top of the category.
And autonomy? Not bad at all: the 5.000 mAh battery allows you to cover a day of use without difficulties.
The Google Pixel 6 Pro review: conclusions
Google Pixel 6 Pro is on sale at 899€ in the 12/128 GB version and with the black storm color.
Is this figure worth it? In our opinion, yes. It has some small shortcomings, such as the unlock with the face, the fingerprint reader not very fast and the fast charging which is not so fast, but you can count on an excellent display, excellent performance, a camera that gives a hard time to all the competition and a well-studied and calibrated software because is Google's software on a Google phone with the Google chip.
We are curious to find out what else they will do with Tensor but, in the meantime, he is absolutely promoted.
