Google Pixel 6 Pro First Impressions: Top tier flagship, but make it Daft Punk

Google Pixel smartphones are often widely considered the iPhones of the Android world, and in the case of the Google Pixel 6 series, it couldn’t ever be closer to the truth. The Google Pixel 6 series is powered by Google Tensor, a chipset made by Google, and the software, Android 12, is obviously made by Google too. We got our hands on the Google Pixel 6 Pro, and it’s already looking to be an awesome device.

Currently, we’re limited by embargo in what we can talk about when it comes to the Google Pixel 6 Pro, but we’ll be sure to go more in-depth in our review as soon as we can.

About this hands-on: I received the Google Pixel 6 Pro for review from Google Ireland on the 20th of October, 2021. Google did not have any input into the contents of this article.

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Google Pixel 6 Pro: Specifications

Specification	Google Pixel 6 Pro
Dimensions and Weight	210g
Display	6.71-inch LTPO AMOLED QHD+ (1400 x 3120) Centered hole-punch 120Hz display refresh rate HDR10+ support High brightness mode Full 24-bit depth for 16 million colors Gorilla Glass Victus
SoC	Google Tensor octa-core chipset Titan M2 security chip
RAM and Storage	12GB LPDDR5 RAM 128GB/256GB/512GB UFS 3.1 flash storage
Battery & Charging	5,000mAh battery 30W fast charging 23W fast wireless charging
Rear Camera	Primary: 50MP f/1.8 Samsung GN1 primary camera, OIS Secondary: 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera, 114-degree FOV Tertiary: 48MP f/3.5, telephoto, 4X optical zoom, 20x digital zoom
Front Camera	11.1MP f/2.2
Ports	USB Type-C port
Connectivity	5G NR (Sub-6GHz) NFC Ultra-wideband (UWB) Bluetooth 5.2 Type-C port WiFi 802.11.b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz)
Other features	Optical under-display fingerprint reader IP68 water and dust resistance Stereo speakers
Software	Android 12 Three years of OS updates Five years of security updates

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I love the Google Pixel 6 Pro’s design

The Google Pixel 6 Pro features a pretty unique design, with the camera visor on the back standing out when compared against the competition. It houses the phone’s 50MP Samsung GN1 primary camera, the 12MP ultra-wide camera, and the 48MP telephoto camera. It also has some other important camera hardware there too, like the microphone and the flash. Admission: I actually prefer this camera bump when compared to other phones with a large camera bump on one side, as it going across the entire device means that it won’t rock on a desk when using it. It also looks like the visor on Thomas Bangalter’s Daft Punk helmet, which is pretty cool.

Design-wise, this is my favorite Google phone yet.

The display is curved and the phone itself is thick, making it rather unwieldy to hold in one hand. It’s also pretty slippery, and the Stormy Black model that we have is very much a fingerprint magnet. I’d definitely recommend getting some kind of case for it, as this is a difficult phone to properly grip on to. The back of the Stormy Black model is dual-tone, with the top part of the device above the camera visor being a lighter gray than the part below it.

I'm a big fan of the Pixel 6 Pro's camera design, and it definitely does something to iterate upon the formulaic glass slab that we see each and every year.

The front of the phone is unimpeded aside from the front-facing camera thanks to its uniform bezels, making it a pleasure to use and look at. It’s somewhat “boxy” in its design at the top and bottom, and it’s reminiscent (for me anyway) of some older Samsung Galaxy Note devices. There’s also a speaker grille at the top of the display that serves as an earpiece or stereo speaker.

I’m a big fan of the Pixel 6 Pro’s camera design, and it definitely does something to iterate upon the formulaic glass slab that we see each and every year. I don’t really care about camera bumps, but I know many people do and this is about as good as it gets if a smartphone is going to have one. It’s big, but it’s not much thicker than other offerings from other companies.

The buttons are tactile and clicky, though I’m slightly disappointed that the power button no longer has a fun and unique color. The placing of the buttons is also kind of strange — the power button is above the volume rocker, making it slightly awkward to take a screenshot. The SIM card tray is also on the left-hand side and the USB-C port is on the bottom, beside the speaker grille. Speaking of the USB-C port, too, there’s no charging brick in the box.

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The Google Pixel 6 Pro is the most unique-looking Google phone in years

The Google Pixel 6 Pro is the most exciting Pixel smartphone in a long time, and I’m looking forward to properly putting it through its paces and testing it out. We aren’t allowed to talk about a whole lot just yet, but we’ll be sure to share more information as soon as we can. The Pixel 2 set the baseline for the design of Google’s phones for the next couple of years, thanks to its dual-tone design, and the company stuck with a similar design right up until the Pixel 5a. With reports of Google going all-in on the Pixel 6 series, this device is looking likely to define the trajectory of the Pixel series for the coming years.

Google Pixel 6 Pro

The Google Pixel 6 Pro is a fantastic-looking smartphone, and you can pre-order it now.

Pre-order from Amazon

Pre-order from AT&T

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