Here’s Everything Announced at Google’s Oct.19 Pixel 6 Event

Google has finally launched its flagship Pixel 6 smartphones as it aims to beat competitors on camera and performance while undercutting them on price. Previewed by Google in August, the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are the Android-maker’s attempt to compete with Apple and Samsung at the high end of the market after disappointing results with its previous mid-range entries.

#Pixel6 and Pixel 6 Pro, the completely reimagined Google phones.

Google Tensor
Material You
All-new camera
Magic Eraser
Real Tone
Live Translate
All-day battery
Starting at $599

Learn More: https://t.co/XDtuvA5yPD pic.twitter.com/lL5HmImFWt

— Made By Google (@madebygoogle) October 20, 2021

Both phones have a distinctive design made from recycled aluminium with a large camera bar across the back reminiscent of Geordi La Forge’s visor from Star Trek. The Pixel 6 has a flat 6.4 in 90Hz OLED screen and new 50-megapixel main and 12MP ultra-wide cameras on the back and an 8MP selfie camera, which Google says are greatly improved over its previous units.

It costs £599 in the UK and $599 in the US – at least £170 less than the iPhone 13 and Samsung Galaxy S21. The £849 ($899) Pixel 6 Pro has a larger, curved 6.7in 120Hz OLED screen, the same 50MP main and 12MP ultrawide cameras, plus a 48MP telephoto camera with 4x optical zoom and an 11.1MP ultrawide selfie camera.

Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro Powered by Tensor Processor

The new phones are the first to have Google’s custom Tensor chip, which it says runs AI-systems for everything from the camera to translation, voice, and image recognition significantly faster, at lower power, and privately on-device.

Google showed off how the machine learning prowess of its chip would be able to help with tasks like voice recognition, making photos less blurry (and even automatically erasing unwanted people from the background), and real-time captions and translation. Outside of ML, Google says that it should be competitive with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon processors when it comes to overall CPU and GPU performance.

Google also emphasized how the Tensor could help its phones be more personalized to you but didn’t go into much detail on how exactly that would work.

New AI features include background motion blur in action shots, a “magic eraser” tool that deletes unwanted objects and another corrects out-of-focus faces in photos. Google says it has removed modern photography’s bias towards light skin with its “realtone” feature to better capture deeper hues. The new chip also allows Google to offer at least five years of software support from launch for the phones for the first time – a year longer than Samsung and behind only Apple and Fairphone in the smartphone industry.

Pixel Pass Gets You Google’s Phone and Some Subscription Services

Google didn’t announce it during the event itself, but it’s also launched Pixel Pass alongside the new phones. Pixel Pass lets you bundle a phone (and Google’s Preferred Care repair plan), cloud storage, YouTube Premium, and Google Play Pass, all in one monthly payment. Google’s charging $45 per month for the plan with a Pixel 6 and $55 a month for the Pixel 6 Pro plan. According to the company, you’ll end up paying off your phone over the course of two years, and if you cancel Pixel Pass, you’ll have to pay off the remaining balance on your phone.

Google says that subscribers to Google Fi, its cellular plan, will get $5 off their monthly bill for subscribing to Pixel Pass.

SnapChat gets a special place on the Pixel

You’ll be able to quickly access Snapchat’s camera by tapping the back of the Pixel, even from the lock screen. Of course, you’ll have to log into the phone to actually send the Snap to your friends, but it’s quite possibly the quickest way to send a Snap that we’ve seen yet.

Us @Snapchat #Pixel6 is the fastest phone to make a Snap thanks to Quick Tap to Snap!

And check out Pixel lenses and other exclusive features too!#Pixel6Launch pic.twitter.com/94trIxzHzk

— Made By Google (@madebygoogle) October 19, 2021