Google Pixel 6: Everything we know so far
We’re still a couple of months away from the release of Google’s 2021 device lineup, but in the meantime, leaks are coming out and Google has even announced some official details and shown off the design. Here’s everything we know about the Pixel 6 so far.
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Release date: When does the Pixel 6 come out?
The big question all comes down to the date. When is Google planning to launch its soft-reboot of the Pixel lineup?
On October 5, 2021, Google officially announced an event to launch the two new phones. The pre-recorded event will take place on October 19 at 10am PT and will be streamed, but Google hasn’t announced any form of in-person event.
As for the actual Pixel 6 release date, Google has yet to announced that detail. Pre-orders will most likely open on the day of the announcement, but shipments will likely not start for at least a week or two. October 28 has been mentioned as a possible release date for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, and retail leaks back that date up.
What are the Pixel 6 specs?
In August, Google officially announced that the Pixel 6 series would be coming to market this Fall, confirming the name and some specs that the device will carry.
As we first reported earlier this year, the Pixel 6 Pro will be using Google’s “Whitechapel” chipset which, now, is known as “Tensor.” The chip is Google’s first custom-designed SoC for smartphones and it’s optimized for Google’s priorities. Google has said that “Tensor” will be competitive with other high-end mobile chips, but will focus on AI tasks as well. Google’s Rick Osterloh said that the CPU and GPU will be “very competitive” with the “AI stuff” being “totally differentiated.” However, some early tests and leaks show that Tensor could have an edge over the chips in many other Android phones.
Beyond the chip, Pixel 6 Pro is rumored to have 12GB of RAM to ensure great performance. The camera setup is also getting a revamp with three sensors on the Pro model including 4x telephoto for optical zoom and a new 50MP primary camera. Google confirmed the main sensor captures 150% more light, too, on a leaked marketing site. Further leaks have confirmed that the ultrawide camera shared between both phones will be 12MP while that telephoto sensor on the Pro model will be 48MP in size.
Charging is seemingly confirmed to hit 30W over USB-C while wireless charging is expected to go up to 23W on a new Pixel Stand, per a new report. UWB support is also almost guaranteed. The phone will also have an under-display fingerprint sensor as we heard in August, and as a leaked screenshot confirmed. Face unlock will also apparently be offered in some capacity.
One of the best specs appears to be the support timeline, which has been confirmed as at least 5 years following each phone’s release.
How big are Google’s new phones?
With its 2020 Pixel lineup, Google completely skipped the “XL” size, but that’s something the Pro will change. According to one major and credible leak, the device will be the largest Pixel phone ever with a 6.67-inch display. To put that in perspective, let’s look at the dimensions of every XL-sized Pixel phone to date, including the rumored size of the Pixel 6 Pro. The regular Pixel 6, though, won’t be small either.
- Pixel 6 Pro — 163.9 x 75.8mm
- Pixel 6 — 158.6 x 74.8mm
- Pixel 4 XL — 160.4 x 75.1mm
- Pixel 3 XL — 158 x 76.7mm
- Pixel 2 XL — 157.9 x 76.7mm
- Pixel XL — 154.7 x 75.7mm
As a fun note, the biggest phone in Google’s history is of similar size to this device. The Nexus 6, literally codenamed “Shamu” as a joke about its size, carried dimensions of 159.3 x 83mm. That’s shorter than this upcoming release but considerably wider as well.
All of that said, it’s safe to say that this device will make up for the lack of an XL device in the 2020 lineup. Somewhat unfortunately, the “smaller” Pixel 6 may also be a bit of an XL device, as one of our commenters pointed out with dimensions of 158.6 x 74.8mm, bigger than the original XL.
What is the Pixel 6 price?
How much will this cost? The Pixel 4 series is probably the best point of comparison for the price with that lineup starting at $800 for the smaller model and $900 for the XL. It stands to reason that prices will be roughly in that same ballpark, if not higher.
Lending more traction to that theory, Google hinted at a high-end price saying that the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro will be “a premium-priced product.”
All of that said, retail leaks point in the opposite direction. The Pixel 6 will, apparently, be the cheapest flagship-tier Pixel in the lineup’s history with a possible starting price of $599, with the Pro model potentially landing at $899.
Google keeps teasing the Pixel 6 Pro
As the release date approaches, Google is continuing to tease the release of the Pixel 6 Pro and its little brother. In mid-September, Google released the first full ad about the Pixel 6 that shows the phone in people’s hands and keeps pushing Material You design in Android 12.
The company also posted to Instagram a picture of a bunch of Pixel 6 devices celebrating the Material You look of Android 12.
After the first online ad, Google the same week started a branded content partnership in the UK wherein the Pixel 6 is used and shown off by characters of a new television series.
Google is clearly confident in these new phones, even telling suppliers recently to prepare for shipment numbers that will be higher than 2019, Pixel’s best year to date. The phone is reportedly being manufactured in China. In mid-September, amid many more leaks, Google teased the phone further with new imagery of the front of the device as well as a deviously timed teaser from an official Google account just minutes after Apple unveiled the iPhone 13 series. The wallpapers shown in these teasers as well as others have leaked on multiple occasions at this point too.
Google has also started showing the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro in its flagship retail store in New York City, putting up billboards in the US, magazine ads, as well as making some special edition potato chips to tease the phone’s arrival. The joke plays off of Google’s new “original chips,” aka the Tensor chipset debuting in Pixel 6. As of September 20, the phones had picked up FCC approval, a very important step leading up to their official launch in at least the United States where, clearly, Google plans to sell a lot of phones.
Other last-minute leaks of the PIxel 6 series have detailed a second-gen Pixel Stand, a new silicone case that seems to replace the fabric cases used with past generations.
You can keep up with the latest news on these new phones below with our constant and in-depth coverage.
