Back in 2021, Google released the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. These phones really flipped the script on the company\u2019s in-house phones and they introduced a new era for the brand. Now that the Pixel 7 phones are out, some people are wondering how the older generation is holding up. Here\u2019s a retrospective review of the Pixel 6.
\nIt\u2019s necessary to do this look back mainly because the Pixel 6 phones were the testing grounds for some new hardware from Google. For starters, this was the first phone to use a new camera sensor since the Pixel 2. However, the biggest example is the Tensor chip. This is the first processor designed by Google, and it\u2019s necessary to know how this new hardware has aged. So, let\u2019s dive in.
\nLet\u2019s start with the performance
\nI used the Pixel 6 as my daily driver since November 2021, so I\u2019ve been to the moon and back with this phone. Right out of the box, it was an extremely smooth experience. Everything from using apps to navigating the interface was fluid with no hiccups.
\nI\u2019m happy to say that this is still the case today. Google\u2019s Tensor chip holds up nicely more than a year after it was introduced, and that bodes well for future Tensor chips. Apps load quickly, I can glide through the interface, and there\u2019s no lag that I can see.<\/p>\n
The only area where I see a dip is when the phone\u2019s starting up. The Pixel 6 already starts up really quickly, but as time went on, I noticed that it\u2019d take longer for the apps to populate the screen. I\u2019d turn it on and be greeted with about five seconds of an empty screen before all of the apps and widgets would pop up. However, after that point, everything would be snappy.
\nGaming
\nWhen it comes to gaming, the Pixel 6 was never really a beast, to begin with. Don\u2019t get me wrong, it can run all of the latest games (yes, that includes Genshin Impact), but it\u2019s definitely a step behind the Galaxy phones and several steps behind the ROG phones.
\nIn any case, I didn\u2019t see any dip in the gaming performance. Running graphically-intensive games doesn\u2019t cause soo much trouble for this phone. Games like CoD Mobile, Sky: Children of Light, and Asphalt 9 all run smoothly. Playing Genshin Impact on its highest setting would lag the phone a bit, but it was still more than playable.
\nOverall, the first-generation Tensor chip has aged well over the year it\u2019s been out. The phone is still as snappy as the day that I unboxed it.
\nCamera
\nSo, Pixel phones are known for their camera performance, and the Pixel 6 was no exception. This phone uses a dual-camera setup. There\u2019s a 50MP main camera with an aperture of f\/1.9 and a sensor size of 1\/1.31 inches. The secondary camera is a 12MP 144\u02da ultrawide camera with an aperture of f\/2.2.
\nThere\u2019s been a lot of competition in the form of the latest phones from Apple, Vivo, Samsung, and even Google itself with the Pixel 7 phones. However, the Pixel 6 remains one of the best camera phones that you can pick up today. This is for two main reasons.
\nFirstly, the Pixel 6\u2019s camera was amazing to start with. It sat at the top of the pecking order in several departments throughout 2022. It\u2019s just a good all-around camera (well, mostly). Secondly, we haven\u2019t seen camera technology move leaps and bounds since October 2021. So, the Pixel 6\u2019s camera is still a top-tier camera by today\u2019s standards.<\/p>\n
But, why is it a\u00a0mostly good camera? Video. Using this phone\u2019s video capabilities is an exercise in frustration. Sure, the colors are nice and there\u2019s some decent dynamic range. Also, the stabilization is great. The main thing is the noise. Taking the lights down even slightly will produce a ton of annoying and distracting noise.
\nThis pretty much eliminates the thought of using this phone indoors. That\u2019s a shame because the low-light photography is so good on this phone. It\u2019s important to note how this has aged, as this is the type of thing that we\u2019d expect to be addressed in updates. According to Juan Carlos Bagnell, Google did push some improvements to help the low-light performance, and we did see a reduction in the noise. However, it\u2019s still unacceptable.
\nDisplay
\nIn terms of the display, it\u2019s the same story as with the camera. OLED technology is pretty much the same as back then. This phone still has a gorgeous 1080p+ display.\u00a0More importantly, is there any screen burn-in? The answer is no. The display is as pristine as the day I unboxed it.<\/p>\n
Battery life
\nSo far, this retrospective has been full of praise for this Google handset, but all good things must come to an end. The battery on my Pixel 6 has taken a serious nosedive. When I first used the phone, I could get decent battery life. It definitely lasted me the day no sweat. It wasn\u2019t spectacular, but it wasn\u2019t problematic.
\nNow, however, the story is very different. Nowadays, I struggle to get even four hours of mileage from this phone. I\u2019d fully charge it, stream a movie, and see that it\u2019d dropped nearly 30% in the meantime. Not only is the battery bad while I\u2019m using it, but the standby time is also terrible. During a workday, I would look at it slowly dip between 10% and 15% just sitting idly.
\nNeither the AI battery optimizations nor the power save mode does anything to help.\u00a0 I\u2019ve restricted a bunch of apps in the background and put the phone on Extreme power save mode only to wake it after a few hours to see the battery dripping away. The only thing I could do to fix the battery life is to get a battery replacement.
\nIs the Pixel 6 still worth it?
\nIn a word: Yes! The Pixel 6 has been my daily driver since I got it. While I\u2019ve swapped out for a few other phones for reviews, I ALWAYS found myself missing this phone. Popping the SIM card back in and seeing the Pixel launcher when I turned it back on always felt like home.<\/p>\n
Picking up this phone a year and two months after getting it, it still feels snappy and responsive. I\u2019m able to use it as my main gaming device and my main content consumption device. Also, it\u2019s my main camera. I use it for content creation, but I need to take extra care with the video.
\nThe only downside is the battery life. Google really dropped the ball with the way this phone handles the battery. Hopefully, the company can do better with its future devices. Regardless, if I had known about the experience before I bought it, I would still buy it 100%.
\nThe post Pixel 6 Retrospective Review: Like a fine wine appeared first on Android Headlines.
\n![](\"https:\/\/plus.maciejpiasecki.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Google-Pixel-6-AM-AH-1-1.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
\nSource: ndroidheadlines.com
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Back in 2021, Google released the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. These phones really flipped the script on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":11223,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bez-kategorii"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/plus.maciejpiasecki.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/plus.maciejpiasecki.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/plus.maciejpiasecki.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plus.maciejpiasecki.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plus.maciejpiasecki.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11222"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/plus.maciejpiasecki.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11224,"href":"https:\/\/plus.maciejpiasecki.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11222\/revisions\/11224"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plus.maciejpiasecki.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/plus.maciejpiasecki.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plus.maciejpiasecki.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/plus.maciejpiasecki.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}