Google Pixel 6: How Its Price Stacks Up Against the Competition

Google never fails to surprise the tech community, in a positive way, of course.

A couple of years ago, the tale surrounded the Google Pixel 6 – an incredible Android phone at an attractive price tag.  

In a crowd of amazing and powerful flagships in the same league ask for a closer look into the real worth of this Google toy before swapping your credit card. 

This blog will dive into greater details, specs, and capabilities and see if the phone wins the race or not.

Excited to learn?

Let’s get right into it.

Design

Pulling out the Pixel 6 from the pocket, it doesn’t feel like something brand new or anything out of a deserted island in the middle of the sea. Google decided to keep the design philosophy of the previous model. 

You will take the same mass of black, thin bezels, and a tiny hole-punch camera. This combination of physical architecture has become mainstream in the last few years. Adding the cherry on the top is a 6.4-inch Full HD+ display powered with a 90Hz screen refresh rate, making graphics smooth and lovable.  

The rear of the Google Pixel 6 looks like a complete makeover attempt by the company. Previous few generations stacked the square section to carry cameras. Sometimes, these were contained within a simple matte black colourway, while in some phones, they are the only neutral punctuating a vibrant orange or mint variant.

The Pixel 6 design embraced a thin, rectangular block replacing the square block, that runs through the length of the device. It houses the camera and splits the new 2-tone colour scheme. 

Performance

Google’s Tensor chipset has been the game-changer when it comes to the outlook of the Google Pixel 6 Series. This was one of the big upgrades in the phone in any respect. This was the first time Google opted for its own processor, moving away from the Snapdragon chipsets that were being used to fuel its flagships.

The Google Pixel 7 and other phones in the family have been loaded with a better, faster Google Tensor 2 chip. The company had been talking more about its machine-learning capabilities. This beefs up the features like its Recording app, which can transcribe in real-time, and do live translations without pushing hard on the battery.  

Interestingly, Google never bragged about how fast the Tensor could get things processed and accomplished. Instead, they had taken a different route.

The live translations app is very interesting and it enables you to do real-time translations of multiple languages into English. Some of the work is also available in offline mode. The translated text is good but not perfect. 

As Google phones are pushing a lot towards artificial intelligence and machine learning, we expect things to get better with every passing day. The Tensor chipset will be at the core of this evolution in the coming years. 

Camera

The Google Pixel cameras have been known to deliver the expectations of Google fans as they were looking for something amazing. The main driver of this impressive camera performance is Google’s aggressive approach toward the software rather than innovating the hardware itself. The hardware department, therefore, needed a serious overhaul, which luckily happened this time.

The 12MP ultra-wide lens is unchanged from the previous model while the 12MP wide-angle lens has been upgraded to a 50MP camera. This upgrade is Google’s response to the competition with Samsung and Oppo introducing the mighty camera a year earlier. And luckily, the move really paid off. The Pixel 6 camera impresses with many photography talents.

There is a “motion” mode other than the ability to get brilliant landscape and portrait clicks. This allows you to use a long exposure for better capturing moving objects. You will need to be a little patient but the results are really worth the effort. 

Pixel 6 has also brought True Tone to its camera system. It uses the machine learning in the Tensor chip to produce a wider range of skin tones more accurately. 

Another cool feature is Magic Eraser which is an answer to situations where you unintentionally capture irrelevant people and stuff in the background when taking photos. You only have to draw a circle around the unwanted item in the editing tools in the post. It will disappear and you will have a perfect picture.

The astrophotography mode is back in the Google Pixel 6 which is geared toward night photography. The feature was originally introduced in the Pixel 4.

Battery

The battery has seen an upgrade from the previous model, with the battery going up from 4000 mAh to 4614 mAh. And the battery stamina shows there is a great transformation inside.

The battery has performed very well in the tests. Google claims a 2-day battery which might be true if you use the phone lightly. The results will still be impressive. 

Regardless of how heavy you push the battery you will still get a whole-day battery with 20% remaining as you go to bed. If you enjoy wireless charging the Pixel 6 offers you that as well. 

Pixel 6 vs 6a

The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6a have some differences in physical as well as the specifications. The Pixel 6 has a 6.4-inch screen while the Pixel 6a offers a smaller 6.1-inch display. When stacked side by side, you will notice a larger Pixel 6 screen.

Different materials have been used in the two displays, as well. Pixel 6 uses Gorilla Glass Victus which is one of the toughest materials around. Pixel 6a uses the older Gorilla Glass 3 which is also a stronger material but it may get scratches and can break more easily.

The Pixel 6a has a basic 60Hz refresh rate while the Pixel 6 uses a smoother 90Hz display. The two screens have the same OLED technology and FHD resolution.

In terms of camera, the two phones are remarkably similar. The only difference is in the main lens. The Pixel 6 has a 50MP camera while the Pixel 6a has a 12.2MP lens.

If you can pay more for a faster chip, along with an array of better specs, then we recommend you have a look at the Google Pixel 7 Pro.

Verdict: Should You Buy Google Pixel?

If you seek a powerful flagship under AU$ 1000, then the Google Pixel 6 is a straight yes. The phone brought an upgraded camera, a much better battery, and an attractive design compared to the previous model. If you want to grab the 256GB version, you will have to spend a little more.

Whatever variant you buy, you are going with a slick device. Considering the specs, processing speed, and aesthetics, the Pixel 6 is a brilliant choice for the price that has certainly dipped a lot since its release back in 2021.