Google took to the stage at its ‘Pixel Fall Launch’ event on October 19 to announce its latest flagship smartphones – the Pixel 6 and the Pixel 6 Pro. This guide contains everything you need to know about the more premium handset, the 6 Pro.
The Pro is the first larger phone in the Pixel range since Google ditched the ‘XL’ name with 2020’s Pixel 5.
Not only does the 6 Pro boast a new name, but it also packs the first Google Tensor chip and plenty of upgrades over the standard 6, including a faster refresh rate, faster charging and a third telephoto camera.
Scroll down to discover everything you need to know about the Pixel 6 Pro.
You can also find out more about how the new flagship Pixels performed during our real life early testing by visiting our hands-on Pixel 6 review and the Pixel 6 Pro review.
Pricing and release date
The Pixel 6 Pro was unveiled at Google’s ‘Pixel Fall Launch’ event on October 19 and is available to pre-order now, with the phone’s release date set for October 28.
The Pixel 6 Pro is priced at £849/$849, making it £250 more expensive than the standard Pixel 6 which costs £599.
The last large Pixel we saw was the Pixel 4 XL back in 2019. This phone cost £829/$899, meaning we haven’t actually seen a major price increase for the premium Pixel as we feared.
Screen and design
The Pixel 6 Pro packs a 6.7-inch LTPO OLED display with a 1440 x 3120 resolution, making it bigger and higher resolution than the standard Pixel 6.
The phone also has a higher 120Hz refresh rate when compared with the Pixel 6’s 90Hz display, which should make for smoother scrolling and gaming.
Otherwise the 6 Pro has the same Corning Gorilla Glass Victus cover for durability, 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, full 24-bit depth and HDR support. The phone also has an always-on display with At a Glance and Now Playing.
The Pixel 6 Pro has dimensions of 163.9 x 75.9 x 8.9mm and weighs 210g and there’s an under-display fingerprint sensor to unlock the phone quickly and the phone is dust and water resistant up to IP68.
The Pro comes in a handful of three-tone colour combinations, including Stormy Black, Cloudy White and a limited number of Sorta Sunny models coming later this year in Q4.
Specs and features
The Pixel 6 Pro is powered by Google’s own Tensor chip – the first of its kind. The chip also includes the Titan M2 security coprocessor, along with a promise of five years of Pixel security updates from the day the phone drops.
The Pro comes with 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB of storage. There’s also a 256GB configuration available but only in the Stormy Black colourway.
The phone supports 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, Google Cast and packs an ultra-wideband chip which is missing from the standard Pixel 6.
The phone features a 5003mAh battery. According to Google, the battery can last for up to 24 hours, but you can switch on Extreme Battery Saver mode for up to 48 hours of power if you can’t get to a charger in time.
The phone also supports fast charging with a 30W USB Type-C charger capable of charging the phone to 50% in just 30 minutes. However, the charger doesn’t come in the box so you’ll need to pick one up separately if you don’t already have one.
The phone also supports Qi charging and wireless Battery Share to help juice up other devices on-the-go.
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Camera
The Pixel 6 Pro features a triple rear camera, made up of a 50-megapixel (f/1.85) wide camera with an 82-degree field of view, a 12-megapixel (f/2.2) ultra-wide camera with a 114-degree field of view and a 48-megapixel (f/3.5) telephoto camera with 4x optical zoom and up to 20x Super Res Zoom.
The camera supports up to 4K video recording at up to 60fps and takes advantage of optical and electronic image stabilisation, along with LDAF and spectral and flicker sensors.
There’s also an 11.1-megapixel (f/2.2) selfie camera on the front with an ultra-wide 94-degree field of view.
Other new camera features include Magic Eraser to remove unwanted distractions from images, Motion Mode for long-exposure photography, Face Unblur to sharpen up faces if your subject moves and Real Tone, which allows for more true-to-life skin tones.
Trusted Take
Google has made ‘high-end’ phones before with its XL series, but the Pixel 6 Pro is being touted as its first true flagship and I find it hard to argue with that. There’s a lot to like here, from the Tensor chip to the new camera array including that extra zoom camera.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
