While some of us are waiting for news on when the Pixel 5a will be unveiled, Google has decided to blow the door wide open on the upcoming Pixel 6 and 6 Pro with a series of tweets and even a landing page ahead of the fall launch event. Besides revealing that its custom ‘Tensor' processor will power the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, Google has also shown off the colorways, camera setups, and more. The search giant hasn't announced the specific hardware components (other than the presence of the new ‘Tensor' chipset), but there are some interesting factoids to read about.
Besides blowing the rumor that the Pixel 6 Pro would carry on the XL moniker out of the water, Google's preview shows us that the pair of handsets will come in the following colorways:
Pixel 6
Pixel 6 Pro
Both the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro feature ‘light polished aluminum frames' with a black glass camera bar on the rear panel. One easy way to tell the two handsets apart is that there is less space above the camera bar on the Pixel 6 than there is on the 6 Pro. All in all, the Pixel 6 range is refreshingly different when compared to the seemingly cloned smartphones that are currently on the market.
Tensor Processor
But, what about the Google Tensor processor? Well, we know that Samsung had a hand in the development of the chipset that was known by its “Whitechapel” codename. As you might expect, there's an emphasis on machine learning and AI with the Tensor chip customized to run Google's computational photography models. It brings added security in the form of a new security core and Titan M2, which Google says will give the Pixel 6 series the most layers of hardware security in any phone.
In case you were wondering about the size of the Tensor chip, Google's CEO Sundar Pichai has posted an image comparing it to a paperclip, as seen above.
Material You
No, this isn't season 3 of the “You” series on Netflix, Material You is actually all about you and how to make the Pixel experience feel natural in its usage. Google says that it's mixing color science with years worth of interaction design and engineering. This is likely a pointer to how Android 12 evolves its color scheme according to the phone's wallpaper, and it's something we'll see front and center in the Pixel 6 series, as you can see in the embedded video above.
There's a lot we don't know about the Pixel 6 series still such as the specifications of its display, how much RAM they will have which is an important question seeing that Google has skimped on memory with past handsets, and also the cameras, battery, and so on. The preview is both a statement of intent ahead of Samsung's Unpacked event on August 11th as well as an attempt to control the narrative ahead of the leakers. Google has already added the Pixel 6 series to its store but as you might expect the new phones aren't available to order just yet, neither are any prices shown.
How do you think the Pixel 6 series is shaping up so far?
