Google unveils its latest smartphone, the first to be powered by the company's own chips

Google on Tuesday unveiled full details of its new Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro phones, the first to run on Google Tensor chips instead of Qualcomm processors. Google Tensor was announced in August..

Google’s Android operating system runs on more than 3 billion devices worldwide, but the company’s phones have failed to gain a sizeable market share. There are a number of reasons for that, but the main one seems to be that people don’t know they exist or why they should buy a Google phone instead of a Samsung or Apple device.

Google is again trying to attract new customers and hope its new processor, some unique software features, and price are enough to woo them.

The company seeks to cater to two audiences this year. The Pixel 6 is targeted at the mid-range market with a starting price of $599, $100 cheaper than last year’s Pixel 5. The bigger Pixel 6 Pro, which has a more premium design and better camera, starts at $899 and puts Google at the top of the list. range against the $799 iPhone 13 and $799 Samsung Galaxy S21 5G.

Both phones are available for preorder Tuesday and will be available on store shelves, including on all major US carriers, starting October 28.

Unique Pixel software

The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro offer unique software that you can’t get on other Android phones, and which Google hopes will appeal to consumers. The company says a lot of this is thanks to the new Tensor chip.

The Tensor chip, for example, lets you remove items from photos, such as photobombers or objects in the background that get in the way, with a feature called “Magic Eraser”. Other camera improvements include “Face Unblur” which removes blur from moving subjects and provides a more accurate skin tone feature.

Tensor also allows voice dictation in more places.

So if you’re texting a friend, you can say “Hey Google, type” and start saying your message instead of typing it. Tensor also enables Live Translate in chats. So you can start typing and it will automatically translate to another language. It works with English, French, Japanese, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Hindi, Polish and Russian. Live Translate also extends to live captions, audio recorders, and cameras. For captions, if you’re watching video or listening to audio, your Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro can display French, German, Italian, or Japanese (in beta) subtitles into English.

Additionally, Google Pixel phones can help you fight spam calls and messages, including on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram, with features to block those calls and messages and alerts if you suspect someone is trying to trick you by asking for your password.

The phone runs Google’s new Android 12 operating system, which has a feature called “Material You” that will automatically adjust icon colors, menu text around the phone and more, to match your wallpaper. That feature might roll out on other phones, so it’s not completely exclusive to the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Lastly, Google promises up to five years of security updates, which is two years longer than previous Pixel phones.

There are some big differences between the Pixel 6 and the Pixel 6 Pro.

The Pixel 6 has a 6.4-inch display, while the Pixel 6 Pro has a sharper 6.7-inch display. Both offer high refresh rates, much like the Samsung S21 phone and Apple’s high-end iPhone 13 Pro models, which makes scrolling feel smoother. They have a high-resolution wide-angle camera for sharp images and an ultrawide lens to fit more into each shot. However, the Pixel 6 Pro adds a third telephoto lens for up to 4x optical zoom. And the Pixel 6 Pro has a sharper front camera than the Pixel 6.

There’s also some extra memory in the Pixel 6 Pro, which might make it noticeably faster if you’re running multiple apps at the same time, and it can ship with up to 512GB of storage while the Pixel 6 is limited to 256GB. Both phones ship with 128GB at entry-level prices.

And finally, the phone charges up to 50% in just 30 minutes. However, like newer Samsung and Apple phones, Google doesn’t include a charger in the box, so you’ll have to buy your own 30-watt USB-C wall plug for it to work. The Pixel 6 has a large 4,600mAh battery, while the Pixel 6 Pro has a larger 5,000mAh battery. Google promises at least one full day of use.