Google Pixel 6 Pro – Unlocked Android 5G smartphone with 50-megapixel camera and wide-angle lens 128 GB – Stormy Black

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What I can test, however, is whether the Pixel 6 lives up to Google’s lofty performance claims. Running the Geekbench 5 test, which scores both single- and multicore CPU performance, the Pixel 6 scored 1,031 and 2,843 respectively. Compare those figures to the Pixel 5 and we’re looking at a roughly 75% increase in raw speeds. Use up to 5 GB of your full allowance in the EU and selected destinations at no extra cost. After this, you'll be charged 10p/MB while roaming. What's not included

We tested the Pixel 6 on Verizon’s 5G network in Chicago and recorded admirable speeds, averaging 168Mbps down and 78Mbps up. At such a reasonable price and with such a tempting array of features, Google has a winner on its hands. Aside from the “love it or hate it” design, the only real fly in the ointment is the Pixel 6’s battery life, which comes in well under its competitors. But it’s hardly a deal-breaker at just under 20 hours. The Google Pixel 6 represents quite a departure from recent Pixel phone launches. Not only is it unashamedly premium in its design, but it costs the same amount as the Pixel 5 did at launch, is significantly faster and comes with improved cameras and a revamped UI. As for the cameras, you're getting a 50MP wide angle and 12MP ultrawide, plus a wide range of improvements around lighting, skin colour detection and more.What's most impressive about the Pixel 6's modem, however, is its connectivity. We tested it in dozens of urban and rural locations across two states never encountered a poor signal. It consistently reached higher speeds than the iPhone 13 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra we tested in the same locations. It’s really quite effective at removing stuff, too. In the below examples, I’ve removed both a lamppost and a skyscraper, and while it’s not completely seamless – you can see some clues where they’ve been deleted – the Pixel 6 got rid of what I wanted rather well. It isn’t just the hardware that’s seen a significant overhaul. The Pixel 6 also comes with Android 12, which brings with it a radically updated look and feel, courtesy of Google’s new “Material You” design language. The selfie camera is on par with the 11.1MP lens on the more expensive Pro model (Photo: Steven Winkelman)

How about that Magic Eraser tool? In a word, it’s magic. If a stranger, overhead cable or lamppost is photobombing what would otherwise be an Insta-worthy picture, all you’ve got to do is edit the image, select Magic Eraser in the Tools section and draw an outline with your finger around what you want removed. The Pixel 6 then takes care of the rest in a couple of seconds. For that price, you're getting a very capable handset, featuring a 6.4-inch OLED display and 4614mAh battery. Google has fitted the device with its new 'Google Tensor' processor - a chip Google has promised big things from. On the other hand, battery life isn’t the Pixel 6’s strong suit. Lasting just a bit longer than the Pixel 6 Pro, the regular model topped out at just 18hrs 34mins in our video-rundown test, which represents a stamina decrease of 19% compared to 2020’s Pixel 5 (22hrs 54mins). You’ll be charging the phone more often, which is a shame. Monthly rolling plansThese plans are totally hassle free and auto-renew each month. This means you don't need to do a thing, unless you want to choose a different plan. And you can do that anytime. Unlimited calls and texts According to Google, Tensor delivers “up to 80% more performance than Pixel 5”, which runs on a Snapdragon 765G. In typical Google fashion, the search giant says its AI features enable better performance across a slew of machine-learning-specific tasks.Google didn't disclose the Pixel 6’s modem at its launch event, nor when we asked for additional details about it. After some research with Sascha Segan, PCMag's lead mobile analyst, we're confident the phone uses Samsung's Exynos 5123 modem. There’s glass at the front and rear, which is quite a departure from the recent plastic-bodied Pixel phones, and both panels are constructed from Corning’s toughest phone glass yet: Gorilla Glass Victus. There’s also IP68 dust and water resistance, as well as an optical under-screen fingerprint reader in a change from the rear-mounted fingerprint sensor of recent Pixels.

Like last year, the Pixel 6 has a dual rear camera setup, although this now consists of a 50MP main camera that captures 150% more light than before and a 12MP ultrawide camera. Note that the sensor on the main camera is a whopping 1/1.3in in size (bigger than the iPhone 13 Pro Max’s main camera sensor) and has pixels that are 1.2um wide.The screen size jumps up to 6.7-inches with a QHD+ display and 120Hz refresh rate. On top of that, you'll get a 5003mAh battery and the same camera as the Google Pixel 6, with the addition of a 48MP telephoto lens. Other improvements within Android 12 include changes to widget settings, a one-handed mode and a new AppSearch feature. This allows you to search for stuff within an app in the phone’s settings menu, rather than launching the app itself. Magic Eraser, Real Tone, and Face Unblur are a few of the new camera features that the Tensor SoC makes possible. Except for Real Tone, which uses inclusive color science for more accurate representations of BIPOC people, none will fix a photo that's seriously messed up.

So how does Tensor compete with the competition? Looking at the comparison, single-core speeds are matched with the Snapdragon 888 and Exynos 2100, but Qualcomm and Samsung’s top-end mobile chipsets both outperform Google’s in regards to multi-core processing. The Apple A15 Bionic found inside the iPhone 13 is still top dog in both metrics. The Pixel 6’s new “Face Unblur” feature also works tremendously well. When it detects a face in the frame while shooting in portrait mode, the ultrawide camera captures an image with a faster shutter speed than the primary lens as soon as you press the button. The Pixel 6 then combines the two pictures in an effort to reduce blur on a moving subject. Here’s the final image after telling my fiancée to spin around for a bit. Face Unblur can remove the blur from a face in motion if the camera can recognize the face and it isn't too blurred . Again, it can't work miracles. The Pixel 6 also gets a significant leg up when it comes to gaming. In the GFXBench onscreen Manhattan 3 test, the Pixel 6 achieved an average frame rate of 79fps, which, if you take a look at the graph below, is almost three times faster than last year’s phone. Blimey. Perhaps the most intriguing upgrade to this year’s Google phones is the least visible. Inside the Pixel 6 resides the first Google-produced processor: the Google Tensor. This is an octa-core part that looks similar in makeup to the Snapdragon 888. Built on a 5nm manufacturing process, it has a pair of 2.8GHz ARM-X1 cores for running high-performance jobs, two “medium” 2.25GHz ARM A76 cores and four low-power ARM A55 efficiency cores running at 1.8GHz.If you need any of these, just make sure to add a little credit to your account and we'll charge you for them on a pay as you go basis. Pricing Terms and conditions You'll need to make sure your phone software is up to date and 5G is enabled on your giffgaff account. The company is again focusing its efforts on strengthening the Pixel’s camera capabilities. The rear camera is now a 50MP affair (up from 12.2MP), complemented by a 12MP ultrawide unit and a 12MP selfie snapper on the front. The camera’s new “Magic Eraser” tool now allows you to remove objects and people from the image just by circling them in the edit, too.