Google Officially Unveils Pixel 6

In a rather surprising move, Google took to Twitter today to unveil the next device in their Pixel lineup. The next pair of Pixels will be called the Pixel 6 and the Pixel 6 Pro and both are slated to debut later this fall. The Pixel line has been a bit of an anomaly within the smartphone space since its debut six years ago.

When speaking to Pixel owners either past or present, there is zero buffer between the “I hated it” crowd and those who swear allegiance to the Pixel. They’ve often had lofty expectations, being constantly positioned opposite the iPhone and being unofficially crowned the king of Android phones. The only problem with this logic though, is that the Pixel has never come close to the iPhone in terms of sales, and most would argue that Samsung makes consistently better overall devices. That could all change with the introduction of the Google Pixel 6 though.

Here’s a sneak peek at the newest Google Phones powered by Google Tensor – the brand new chip designed by Google, custom-made for Pixel.

Meet:
📱 #Pixel6
📱 #Pixel6 Pro

Both are coming later this year.

We’ll tell you a little about them in this 🧵 👇

(1/13) pic.twitter.com/SRhzvRA7WC

— Made By Google (@madebygoogle) August 2, 2021

Pixel phones have never benefitted from top-of-the-line, “premium” hardware to complement the pure Google software experience. This time around, Google seems intent on correcting that by not only introducing a new design but a new in-house SoC that Google has dubbed Tensor. Tensor is set to take the Pixel devices to the next level by utilizing brand new AI and machine learning techniques to improve performance on the Pixel across the board. Google plans to bring the same powerful computational photography tools across the aisle and finally improve video on the Pixel. This won’t be accomplished just by software though, as Google has also added three new camera sensors into a new “camera bar” design on the rear of the phone.

In addition to new cameras and a new custom Google made chip, the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro will also sport a new modernized design and colorful aluminum finishes to match the new ‘Material You” UI debuting on Android 12. We’ll also get to check out the new Titan M2 chip which Google is promising will bring “the most layers of hardware security on any phone” to the Pixel 6.

Curiously enough, despite all these announcements, we still don’t know a ton about the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. I’d expect the rest of the blanks to be filled in at Google’s fall event, but the seeds they planted today were more than enough to build excitement for the next Pixel phones.