Review 143: 21.11.2021 at 06:00 pm
This device comes with a 120Hz screen and the best Snapchat app support, it comes with a beautiful and different design, it comes with a camera set up better than that of the iPhone. The device is almost perfect.
In this review, I’ll discuss the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro devices, I’ll discuss all the details about these devices that are linked to our region. And then I’ll discuss the pros and cons of these devices. Make sure to read this review until the end.
I’ll start with the 6 Pro and then later with the 6 version. There are lots of similarities between these devices. The Pixel 6 Pro is a premium device, Most of the device is made from CGG Victus glass. The rear has a slight curve and it is divided into 3 different parts. The most important part of them is the thick camera visor that is connected to the frame of the device.
The front is nearly mostly screen with a punch hole cutout for the front facing camera in the top middle of the screen. And as always, the performance of this camera is amazing. You can remove parts in the photos using a feature called Magic Eraser. The device supports IP68 water and dust resistant. The thickness of the device is 8.9mm, and it is slightly thicker than the previous Pixel 5 device. It weighs 210g, and it a bit heavy. But the weight compared to the specs and features this device offers doesn’t make a difference. If you’ve noticed before, Google doesn’t release a flagship device every year.
They release mid-range devices every year, but once in a while, they release a flagship device. For the first time, the new Pixel devices come with a new custom made Google Tensor CPU. This CPU supports Google’s AI and Machine Leaning. It’ll offer the best performance in photography and security. The CPU comes with a chip called Titan M2, which offers high security for users, The CPU comes with 8 cores, The GPU is the Mali G78.
In Geekbench 5, the CPU scored 1047 points for the single core and 2797 points for multicores, where the CPU performance is ranked among other competitors. This CPU doesn’t offer the highest performance on smartphones. But in this case, the CPU, device itself and the software are fully optimized by Google. All of the parts inside work harmoniously. And I’ll discuss the details later in this review. PUBG game started with the HDR settings and it offered 39 to 40 frames per second.
The screen, however, supports 120Hz refresh rate, but the game itself must support this refresh rate. Who knows, the game might get updated to support it. The game and the frame it offered were satisfactory. But you can up the frames to 60fps if you enable the Smooth mode in the settings. The device supports a new mode called Game Dashboard. This mode supports lots of options, including silencing notification and recording the game while playin, it also shows the frame rates within games. It also allows you to directly broadcast the game to YouTube. Youtube belongs to Alphabet, which also owns Google. There’s also another setting called « Optimizer » to help you get the best gaming performance with supported games.
So far so good, but there are caveats about this device, which I’ll discuss later in the video. The battery is 5003mAh, and it supports fast charging with 30W. It charges from 0% to 50% in 30 minutes. The device supports wireless charging and reverse wireless charging, meaning it supports charging other devices and accessories.
The box only comes with the device, charging cable and adapter. It doesn’t have a charger in the box. The screen size is 6.7″ OLED with 120Hz refresh rate. It supports LTPO technology, which means that it supports Dynamic Refresh Rate. This feature will save more energy, as the screen will adapt to different refresh rate variables depending on the content. But when playing a supported game or watching a film, the refresh rate will change dynamically. The screen’s resolution is QHD+ with 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The screen comes with 512ppi density.
The screen offers excellent contrast and colors. It supports high brightness, and it is suitable for most content. The Pro version comes with 3 rear cameras and a single front facing camera and they are as follows: The main camera is 50MP. It has a bigger sensor, and according to Google, the new sensor is 150% better in light withdrawing than the Pixel 5. But the results speak for themselves. The second is the Ultra Wide 12MP camera. The third is the 48MP Telephoto camera. This is a new combination from Google. They offer great results.
Usually, with the Pixel devices, the photos are amazing. But with these three new cameras, the photos will be even better. The front facing camera is 11.1MP. The Pixel devices’ most powerful feature is their photography capabilities. I always complimented the Pixel’s ability in photography and most people agree with me.
Before I discuss the photography experience, let me discuss the cameras’ capabilities, if you take a photo with moving objects in it, the device will add an affect to them, it also supports the Magic Eraser feature. This feature will help in getting rid of unwanted objects in the picture. The results, however, varied. Sometimes, they were amazing, other times, it wasn’t that impressive. Other companies have added this feature to their devices before, and there are apps that support it. But it is great that this feature is now integrated with the device.
The Snapchat experience is excellent with this device, it is very similar to the iPhone experience. Some users even suggested that it is better than the iPhone. With the Pixel, you can take photos using the wide and Ultra Wide cameras, unlike the iPhone. When using the front facing camera on Snapchat, you can shift between the regular and wide angles. You can also use the rear wide and Ultra Wide cameras with Snapchat. I have not seen such a quality of Snapchat video on Android devices before.
Let’s now discuss the photography experience, The main camera offers excellent and balanced quality, it produces saturated and natural colors. Light withdrawal was satisfactory. The photos have excellent details With this cameras, you’ll see details you haven’t seen before.
The Ultra Wide camera offers similar details to the regular camera, but the colors are a bit colder, but the colors are nearly the same to the regular camera. The degree of view of the camera is 114, and in general, the results are satisfactory, portrait photos are excellent. It sometimes show crazy amount of details. This is due to Google’s own photo processing and algorithms, it is a known feature with the Pixel devices, but there’s a lag time between taking a photo and processing it. The more time it takes to process it, the better the results will be.
The Pro version supports 4x optical zoom with excellent results. It also supports zoom up to 20x using the SuperRes Zoom technology, and in general, the results are satisfactory. The device supports recording 4K@60fps videos. The performance is excellent and the stabilization is satisfactory. There are other stabilization modes supported on this device, But the resolution will be 1080p@30fps.
Let’s now discuss the front facing camera, which offers excellent performance. The colors are warm and natural with satisfactory details. Portrait photos are excellent. In general, these cameras won’t disappoint at all. The Pro version comes with 12GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage, it supports Nano SIM card and an eSIM. The phone doesn’t support an external SD card. You’ll have to use Google’s cloud services.
I brought this device form USA. And the 5G frequencies are supposed to work here in Morocco!đČđŠ I’ve tried all three major carriers in Morocco, but couldn’t get 5G to work. I’ve contacted Google and I’ll let you know what will happen next, because I am sure it’ll be fixed. It’ll be fixed either by the carriers or Google themselves.
The device runs Android 12, The OS is stock and works how Google intended it to work. Android 12 comes with lots of features. You’ll get most of the features if your device runs Android 11 and you update it to 12. But it’ll come with a custom made UI from the company of your device. OnePlus devices among others will get the Stock Android 12. The UI on this device is great because of the enhancements it got. Shortcuts and tools have been redesigned. It’s become simpler and easy to reach.
The same thing applies to the Notifications. The notifications have been redesigned, and the device will show a green dot if the mic or camera are in use. I think I should make a dedicated reviews to discuss the Android 12 features, Let me know if I should make one and I’ll gladly do it.
The device receives updates regularly. This applies to the security and software updates. Google says these updates are supported for 3 years. The device supports bluetooth 5.2 and WiFi 6e. I made a review to discuss the WiFi 6 and 6e, Check our web magazine OTTO. The device supports NFC, which means you can use it to pay with STC Pay wallet and other payment methods. The Pixel comes with an in-display fingerprint sensor.
After experimenting with it, it offers high responsiveness. The box includes device, charing cable and USB-C to USB-A adapter. The price of the device is 900 USD. . . And to be honest, it is worth it if not for the cons that I am going to discuss later.
Pros: đ
The device supports advanced features and come with a great design. The cameras’ performance is excellent. The CPU offers high performance. And we finally get a Snapchat support with an Android device. This means that you don’t need to have an iPhone for Snapchat. Google services and apps work really well on these devices.
Cons: đ
It only support one sim physical SIM card and doesn’t support and external SD card. This is disappointing considering the high price tag of this device. The device isn’t officially available in our region, But there are indications that suggest Google is officially coming to the region, but it will take time. Nothing in life is perfect. đ„ž
đ€Ą Let me now give my opinion about the Pixel 6 device:
It comes with a similar design to the Pro version but with few changes, it is smaller in size and weight less. The thickness is nearly the same. The battery is 4614mAh, it supports fast charging with 30W, it charges from 0% to 50% in 30 minutes, it supports wireless charging and reverse wireless charging. The screen size is 6.4″ with FHD+ resolution and 90Hz refresh rate, it also offers high contrast, natural colors and it is very satisfactory.
The cameras are the same but with the Telephoto camera. And they offer the exact performance as the Pro version, whether the Wide or Ultra Wide cameras, it comes with the same photography modes found on the Pr version. I’ll test whether the Telephoto camera on the Pro version offers an extended value to the photos. 2The device comes with 8GB RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of storage. The price of the Pixel 6 is 600 USD..
The differences between the regular version and Pro version are limited, if you want to try a Pixel device, the regular Pixel 6 is a great option. I wished it supported dual physical SIM cards. I also wished that the device was officially available in Morocco đČđŠ and the Arab World. How did I get these devices? đ€
Let’s now discuss why this device isn’t perfect! đ Google devices aren’t officially available in our market, You’ll have to buy the device from abroad and risk losing its warranty. I had a bad experience before with a Pixel device, where I faced a problem with the battery and I couldn’t replace it. This high investment won’t be the best for you. đ„ș
This device comes with lots of great features, but they’re not for all people, it could be great for people with high risk. This device won’t disappoint you, and it’ll offer the best Android experience for you. But there’s no local support, since the device isn’t supported in our region, It doesn’t support Google Fi or a warranty, That’s why it is not perfect. đ€·ââïž
I think Google would do great in the Africa and The Middle East market if they become officially available. They also have a variety of devices. They have mid-range and flagship devices and devices, I think they’re not available here because our market isn’t important for them. This applies to most other countries. Microsoft does the same.
Google is only officially available in a limited number of countries. Hopefully, they change their mind about this policy. Pixel devices are one of the best in the market. It offers the best Android experience from Google, but they’re not perfect, but it is not because of the devices themselves, rather, it is because of the company’s policy. đđ€š
This is the end of this video… See you later.đđ
Written by:
CEO of OTTO Magazin