When pre-orders went live for the Pixel 6 series in October I made the decision to buy, what looked like on paper at least, a Pixel phone that had everything. Faster charging, a flagship camera experience with modern hardware, good battery life thanks to the big 5,000mAh battery in the 6 Pro, and a modern design that singled the series out from every other manufacturer, in a good way.
Sadly, I've found that my hopes for Google's new flagship were far too high. So much so, that I've returned my Pixel 6 Pro just 10 days after it was delivered. Here's why.
Some background…
The Pixel 6 Pro is the first Google phone that I've bought ever since the sweet-but-oh-so-slippery Nexus 4 passed through my hands, all those years ago. I've had the Pixel 2 XL, 3 XL, and 4 XL in for review, spent some time with the Pixel 3a and 4a as well and despite their individual flaws that varied in terms of severity, I've enjoyed my time with all of them.
Reason 1
The fingerprint sensor is poor, and my main complaint about the Pixel 6 Pro as it's an action that is performed every time you want to access the phone unless you've set up Smart Unlock. This is an issue that I never thought would happen on a 2021 flagship smartphone, let alone one from Google. Sadly, and infuriatingly, the hit-and-miss nature of the Pixel 6's fingerprint sensor is that bad, that even after registering the same finger 4 times there's a 50/50 chance of needing to enter the pin code to unlock the device.
The issue is made worse by Google responding to a complaint on Twitter with the following:
“The Pixel 6 fingerprint sensor utilizes enhanced security algorithms. In some instances, these added protections can take longer to verify or require more direct contact with the sensor.”
There's no mention of a possible software update that could help improve the experience of unlocking the Pixel 6 with your fingerprint, with Google basically saying that ‘It's not a bug, it's a feature.', which is entirely disappointing on the search giant's part. One might have hoped that Google would have learned its lesson from the Pixel 4 series that didn't include a fingerprint reader and instead relied upon Face Unlock, a function that sometimes stopped working for users.
Reason 2
Slow charging. It isn't just that the phone isn't capable of ultra-fast charging rates such as Xiaomi's 11T Pro with its 120W or the affordable OnePlus Nord 2 with its speedy 65W, it's that that a full charge on the Pixel 6 Pro takes around 2 hours.
With most sites having taken the “Compatible with the 30W wall charger” in the phone's specs as meaning that the Pixel 6/6 Pro could charge at 30W, the fact that after significant testing by Android Authority it was revealed that the charging rate topped out at 22W and dropped into the low single digits after the 50% mark is hugely disappointing once more. Sure, the headline 22W charging rate is 4W faster than any Pixel phone before it, but is it really worthy of a flagship device in 2021? To say nothing about the drop-off after the battery reaches 50% capacity?
If you want a return to the days of having battery anxiety if you've forgotten to charge the phone overnight, then the Pixel 6 or 6 Pro is definitely a phone you should look at.
Reason 3
The adaptive brightness feature is borked and acts so erratically that you'll likely disable it and adjust it manually. The level of brightness goes up and down by itself for no apparent reason, and certainly no change in lighting conditions. While some owners have found that the algorithm needs to learn your preferences, it never seems to reach a stable point in my experience. Whilst not a dealbreaker for me, it can be filed under the “Annoyances” category.
Reason 4
Linked to the poor charging rate, the battery life is either very good or very poor depending on your Pixel 6 experience. While many are happy and have achieved excellent usage figures, people such as myself have found the Pixel 6 Pro to be wanting in the longevity stakes, sometimes barely making 4-hours of Screen-on-Time. Again, this is something that I'd class as annoying as opposed to it being the main reason to return the Pixel 6 Pro, mainly due to the presence of wireless charging which makes topping up more convenient when sitting at the desk.
Reason 5
The easiest way to finish up is to list all the slight issues that blighted my Pixel 6 Pro experience.
- Random reboots
- Carrier network being unavailable (seems to be a UK-centric issue)
- Music playback pausing at random (YouTube & Spotify apps)
- Disconnecting from Android Auto whilst being connected via USB cable
None of the above issues are serious in nature but they do add up and increase the level of frustration felt towards the Pixel 6 Pro. When you are already toying with the idea of returning the Pixel 6 Pro because of the fingerprint reader and battery life, the little things you might otherwise ignore take on greater importance.
Reason 6 (Bonus Round)
Another reason is the layout of the home screen which restricts you to 5 x 5 (rows & columns), which is further exasperated by the inability to disable the At a Glance widget at the top of the home screen. Unless you install a third-party launcher, that is, which is not something you should have to do. Once you've put a clock widget on the home screen you have three rows available for app icons and then you are into folder-land. While I'm happy to have my Google apps caged into a folder, I want my other important apps to be front and center, needing just a single tap to open up.
This isn't so much as a bug as opposed to a disagreement with Google on how I want to use the real estate on the Pixel 6 Pro, but it's something that irked me every time I managed to unlock the phone.
Closing
Truth be told, I'm going to miss the Pixel 6 Pro, a lot. It's a phone that should be a standout flagship in every way, if only Google hadn't been, well, Google-like. We all know that every Pixel had its own demons but, with Google having skipped the fifth generation flagship in 2020 in order to refresh its mobile strategy going forward, the Pixel 6 Pro simply has too many issues to be a keeper. This is a crying shame as it's so close to being the Pixel we all wanted.
i cant help but feel many issues (here and the monster threads on reddit) are attributed to the pisspoor android 12 release. this is no excuse when you ship a device with it. they made the mistake of releasing 12 when its clearly not ready.
Worst Android release in recent history.
agreed
All of these reasons can pretty much be fixed in updates, and there’s a lot coming. Honestly I’ve haven’t had these problems. As bad anyway.
Battery sucks imho, I also have a Galaxt S21 Ultra and the fingerprint reader is better as it the screen as is the battery life, Maybe I am just spoiled by having the GS21U. I like the Pixel 6 Pro, but dont love it. Ill keep it, because I really enjoy the services and stock, but they{Google} really need to learn from this and improve.
It’s frustrating because it looked so promising at launch.
Returning mine also, the fingerprint scanner is no good. It is absolutely 50/50 on reading, and even if it works, it takes anywhere from 0.5 –> 2+ seconds to unlock. This quality of life feature has an effect.
Interesting … just checked ….. 20 attempts …. all succeeded I would _guess_ all within 0.25s – 0.50s … that seems to be (at least to me) quite acceptable.
I’m not the only one, quick google search will show it. Google even mentioned why it “takes so long”. I wouldn’t comment if it as only 250ms, for sure.
I can only relay my own experiences. I still have no complaints whatsoever.
Yes I have read Google’s comments .. they do not seem too concerned despite the criticisms.
I wonder if this problem is more apparent on phones with different software/ROM .. like the “Verizon” variants etc?
Nah, I’m in the UK so it’s an unlocked unit.
Sounds odd mate, things have been great my end. Battery has improved from when first used and can now get to the next day without charging. Been a great experience thus far,
I am very pleased the the Pixel 6 Pro.
I am suffering from none of the problems you describe.
The only “minus” point for me it I much prefer the fingerprint sensor to be on the back of the phone — but I certainly have not suffered from a “50/50” must enter PIN problem especially after having setup “new prints” when you actually get used to how you hold the phone and where your finger will lay.
I’ve not had issues with any phone’s sensor like I have experienced with the Pixel 6 Pro, which I will genuinely miss as it’s a great phone in many respects.
Did you actually move your finger around and get different parts of your fingerprints as it suggests? My guess is no because I have also had 0 issues with the scanner.
We get it… You’re a slave to samsung or Apple (or whatever brand you rep). Just don’t bring down a great phone in the process.
Hi Kyle. Thanks for your well considered opinion. Fyi, I don’t actually own a Samsung or Apple device ATM.
Before I wrote the article, I reset the phone, enrolled and deleted my fingerprints multiple times, and also, as mentioned in the article above, enrolled the same finger FOUR TIMES. Some people have the issue, others don’t.
How is your Pixel 6/6 Pro experience?
I am returning mine today. I have 3 days left to the remorse period at my carrier, I haven’t had service inside my house since the Dec update on Monday, and I’ve experienced the music stopping issue, the fingerprint scanner is randomly a pain when I most need it to work, and I’ve had most of the other issues mentioned above. It’s sad because I really like this phone, but I can’t handle another couple of years of random issues. Had a pixel 3 before this and that device was replaced 6 times before I got one that didn’t encounter the screen flashing issue. Not sure if you remember that one but it was never really acknowledged either. I’m going to do something I’ve never done before and go get an iPhone 13. I’ve had my first MacBook for about 6 months now and that thing just works always without issue. My daughter has her first iPhone now for about a month and her experience with that phone has been the same.