This is known from Google’s high-end smartphones

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Google finally wants to move into the high-end smartphone league with its Pixel 6 series and deliver uncompromising devices. The tech giant has already announced the first details about the equipment, we are trying to fill the spec gaps.

When Google presented its first Pixel models in 2016, Android boss Hiroshi Lockheimer declared that he wanted to position himself in the premium segment with smartphones. So far, the plan has not really worked, as the equipment in some cases could not keep up with the competitors from Samsung or once Huawei. That should change with the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro.

In order to get in the mood for the new top models, the group has published the first details and announced that they will be equipped with their own processor for the first time. With this chip, the pixel smartphones are to a certain extent become even more “google” and smarter.

At the beginning of August, Google gave a first look at its Pixel 6 models. Design and colors were shown and the first details about the new tensor chip were revealed.

There will be a Pixel 6 and a slightly larger Pixel 6 Pro – Google has removed the XL addition of the predecessor. Opposite to The Verge confirmed Google’s hardware boss Rick Osterloh that the Pixel 6 will have a 6.4-inch FHD Plus screen with a 90 Hertz refresh rate on board, while the 6 Pro will have a 6.7-inch QHD Plus -Display with 120 Hertz available. The screen of the Pixel 6 is completely flat, that of the Pro model has a slight curvature to the sides.

In terms of design, the coming Google Phones look bolder, especially on the back, than the previous, more discreetly fancy pixel versions. Google uses two-tone optics, which are interrupted by a thick vertical camera hump that seems to be based on the Nexus 6P (test). According to Google, the camera needed more space, as new sensors are being used for the first time since the Pixel 3 (test). Google’s camera team had optimally adapted the computational photography algorithms to the old sensor, which was now getting on in years and could no longer keep up with the cameras of the competition.

About the new cameras, Google has already revealed to The Verge that a new wide-angle main sensor, an ultra-wide-angle and a folded telephoto lens with four times optical zoom are used in the larger Pro model. In the smaller Pixel 6, Google did not use the telephoto zoom, but the other sensors are identical. The manufacturer also stated that the main sensor absorbs 150 percent more light than the previous sensor.

Google has not given specific details about the sensors, but leaks and hints in the fourth Android 12 beta indicate that the main sensor will come up with 50 megapixels. It appears to be Samsung’s GN1, which was unveiled last May; at least this is indicated by assets in Android 12.

The GN1 sensor is 1 / 1.31-inch and has 1.2 µm Isocell plus pixels, dual-pixel autofocus with phase detection and support for 8K video recordings. In addition, the sensor probably delivers an improved HDR through Samsung’s so-called “Tetra HDR technology”. Photos and videos can theoretically be recorded with ten-bit color depth, and it also supports 1080p slow-motion videos with up to 400 frames per second. It is unclear whether Google will use all of the features.

According to leaker Jon Prosser, the telephoto lens will have a 48-megapixel and a twelve-megapixel ultra-wide-angle sensor. Further details about the cameras have not yet been leaked.

model	Google Pixel 6 Pro	Google Pixel 6	Google Pixel 5
operating system	Android 12	Android 12	Android 11 (update to Android 12 safe)
Display	6.71 P-OLED	6.4 inch AMOLED	6.0 inches, OLED, 2,340 x 1,080 pixels, 432 ppi, Always on, HDR, Corning Gorilla Glass 6, 90 Hz
processor	Google Tensor “Whitechapel”	Google Tensor “Whitechapel”	Snapdragon 765G
	12 GB	8 GB	8 GB LPDDR4 RAM
Internal memory	128/256/512 GB (not expandable)	128/256 GB (not expandable)	128 GB (not expandable)
Main camera	Triple camera: 50 MP (wide) + 48MP (telephoto) + 12MP (ultra wide)	Dual camera: 50 MP (wide) + 12MP (ultra wide	Dual camera, 12.2 MP dual pixels, ƒ / 1.7, 1.4 μm, two-phase autofocus, optical and electronic image stabilization, 77 ° aperture; 16 MP ultra wide angle, ƒ / 2.2, 1.0 μm, 107 °
Front camera	12 MP	8 megapixels, ƒ / 2.0, 1.12 μm, fixed focus, 83 °	8 megapixels, ƒ / 2.0, 1.12 μm, fixed focus, 83 °
Battery capacity	5,000 mAh (permanently installed)	4.614mAh (permanently installed)	4,080 mAh (permanently installed)
Connectivity	WiFi 6E, Dual Sim, 5G	WiFi 6E, Dual Sim, 5G	WLAN 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, Bluetooth v5.0 + LE, A2DP (HD codecs: AptX, AptX HD, LDAC), GPS, LTE Cat. 11, 5G, NFC
	tba	tba	144.7 x 70.4 x 8.0 mm
Weight	tba	tba	151 grams
To dye	tba	tba	Just Black, Sorta Sage (Green)
Others	Titan M2	Titan M2	Fingerprint sensor, USB Type C (USB 3.1), stereo front speakers, Titan M security module, 18 W fast charger with USB-PD 2.0, IPX8, 18 W fast charging, wireless charging, reverse charging
price	tba	tba	613.15 euros (RRP) *

Google probably trusts Samsung not only for the camera, but also for the first proprietary processor (System-on-a-Chip, SoC), the Google Tensor. So far, Google had only announced a few components of the chip for which the company claims to be responsible and which are the most important.

The two elements of the SoC known so far from our own development laboratories are a mobile TPU for AI operations and a new Titan M2 chip for security. The group has also made optimizations for the execution of Google’s computer-aided photography models, which have already been used in the previous pixel models. In addition, the chip accelerates speech recognition, among other things.

Google has not revealed anything about other components such as CPU, GPU and 5G modem. It is rumored, however, that these could come from Samsung’s Exynos 9855, as the blog Galaxy Club claims to have found out.

Samsung’s as yet unannounced five-nanometer SoC, like Google’s Tensor, is said to have the code name “Whitechapel” and, in terms of performance, is a bit higher than the Exynos 2100, which is built into the Galaxy S21 models. It is not the first time that a cooperation between the two companies for the development of the chip has been reported. As early as April, it was said that Samsung was significantly involved in this. Unsurprisingly, the 5G modem will also come from Samsung, reports XDA Developers.

Due to the adjustments made by Google, it is expected that the tensor chip could outperform Samsung’s standard SoC in terms of AI calculations and machine learning. These properties played an elementary role in Google’s previous models so that processes no longer take place in the cloud, but directly on the smartphone.

The other components of the smartphones are still largely unclear, although we can safely assume that they will support an in-display fingerprint sensor and wireless charging. Unfortunately, nothing is known about the battery sizes, but Google has shown with the Pixel 5 (test) that they can build devices with good runtimes.

The software is of course important for a Google smartphone: Android 12 with its major redesign is of course used here. We can also firmly assume that the Pixel 6 models will be shipped from the factory with the new OS.

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Thanks to the processor, some of which was developed in-house, Google could better coordinate hardware and software, similar to Apple, and thus improve performance and runtime. It would also be conceivable to extend the period for Android updates noticeably, since Google would no longer be as dependent on chip developers as Qualcomm for development. So far, Google has delivered three major Android updates; however, it is speculated that Google could raise the update period almost to Apple level and support its upcoming smartphones for five years.

It will be a while before the new Pixel models are officially presented. According to Google, they will appear in the autumn – in the past, the Pixel models were unveiled in October.

Google only reveals specific prices during its launch event. However, Google’s hardware boss Rick Osterloh has already indicated a certain price range. For example, the Pixel 6 series is described as a “premium product” and thus possibly rises to the price range of a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (test). That easily costs over 1,000 euros.

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