Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

Pixel 6 review: the cut-price Google flagship phone

Pixel 6 review: the cut-price Google flagship phone

Top camera, Android 12 and Tensor chip but competitive pricing makes for a bargain

The Pixel 6 is Google’s affordable flagship phone for 2021 and proves to be a leader in the field with a top-class camera and a new advanced chip at its heart – while undercutting most of the competition on price.

The phone costs £599 ($599/A$999), which is £250 less than the Pixel 6 Pro, while still offering 90% of what you get with Google’s top model.

It has a 6.4in 90Hz OLED screen that is flat, not curved at the sides. The display is slightly less sharp, slower and smaller than that on the 6 Pro, but is still very good with excellent brightness and viewing angles.

The Pixel 6 (right) is slightly shorter but otherwise similar in dimensions to the Pixel 6 Pro (left).


The sides are painted black aluminium, the back is glass, and there is a large camera bar design similar to the 6 Pro. Despite the reduced screen size the Pixel 6 is not a small phone and is only 1.1mm narrower and 3g lighter than its bigger sibling. Those with smaller hands will struggle to hold it in one hand without an attachment.

Specifications


*  Screen: 6.4in 90Hz FHD+ OLED (411ppi)

*  Processor: Google Tensor

*  RAM: 8GB of RAM

*  Storage: 128 or 256GB

*  Operating system: Android 12

*  Camera: 50MP + 12MP ultrawide, 8MP selfie

*  Connectivity: 5G, eSIM, wifi 6E, NFC, Bluetooth 5.2 and GNSS

*  Water resistance: IP68 (1.5m for 30 minutes)

*  Dimensions: 158.6 x 74.8 x 8.9mm

*  Weight: 207g

Tensor chip
The Pixel 6 takes just under two hours to fully charge, hitting 50% in 33 minutes using a 30W USB-C adaptor (not included).


Along with the Pixel 6 Pro, the Pixel 6 is the first phone to feature Google’s custom Tensor processor. It matches rivals from Qualcomm and Samsung on speed, but is better optimised for Google’s various AI systems.

Battery life is good but not great, lasting about 34 hours between charges, putting on par with rivals from Samsung and but some way behind 46-hour iPhone 13. That was with the screen on for about five hours in various messaging, note-taking and utility apps, the browser and taking about 20 photos, spending about two hours on 5G and the rest on wifi.

Sustainability
The two-tone back looks fairly dull in the ‘stormy black’ variant, but is striking in the bolder colour options.


Google does not provide an expected lifespan for the battery. Those in similar devices typically maintain at least 80% of their original capacity after 500 full charge cycles. The Pixel 6 is generally repairable by Google and third-party repair shops. Screen repairs cost £129, back glass repairs cost £139 and battery replacements cost £89 out of warranty.

The Pixel 6 contains 100% recycled aluminium in its frame, accounting for about 14% of the phone by weight. The company publishes environmental impact reports for some of its products. Google will recycle all Pixel devices free of charge.

Android 12
Super fast simultaneous voice and finger typing is one of the new Pixel-only additions to Android 12 enabled by the Tensor chip.


The Pixel 6 ships with Google’s latest Android 12, which includes a load of customisation options and refinements. For more, see the Pixel 6 Pro review.

Google will provide at least three years of major Android updates and monthly security fixes. It will then provide an additional two years of updates with the “frequency and categories of updates depending on the hardware capabilities and needs”. Samsung supports its top phones for four years, while Fairphone is aiming for six years and Apple supports its iPhone for up to seven years.

Camera
The camera app is excellent, with simple but useful photography aids, though it lacks a dedicated macro photography mode.


The Pixel 6 has the same 50-megapixel main and 12MP ultrawide camera as the 6 Pro and produces very similar results. That makes it one of the very best cameras you can get on a smartphone, particularly at under £600. It lacks an optical zoom camera, and while Google’s up to 7x digital zoom is one of the best, it is no substitute for optical magnification.

The 8MP selfie camera is good, producing detailed shots with lots of drama, but occasionally the images were a bit soft, particularly in lower light levels.

Observations
The fingerprint scanner is less reliable than the 6 Pro and while not terrible, it is not as good as that used by Samsung or OnePlus. Registering my thumbprint twice helped.


*  Call quality and 5G reception was good, as was Bluetooth performance to several sets of headphones.

*  The bottom corners were noticeably hard, digging in more than other devices in my palm when holding it one-handed.

*  The volume and power buttons work well but are a little loose, allowing them to rattle a bit.

Price


The Google Pixel 6 costs £599 ($599/A$999) with 128GB of storage.

For comparison, the Pixel 6 Pro costs £849, Pixel 4a costs £349, the OnePlus 9 costs £629, the Samsung Galaxy S21+ costs £949, the Xiaomi 11T Pro costs £599, the iPhone 13 costs £779 and the Fairphone 4 costs £499.

Verdict


Where the Pixel 6 Pro is about competing on an equal footing with the top smartphones on the market, the Pixel 6 offers all of what makes Google phones great while significantly undercutting the competition on price.

You get snappy performance, decent battery life, Google’s top new chip and a slick experience packed with all the software bells and whistles you can’t get anywhere else. Google’s local AI-powered voice and keyboard typing is quite something, and you will get at least five years of security updates from release. Plus the phone has the main and ultrawide lenses of Google’s next-generation class-leading camera system.

The lack of an optical zoom and slightly picky fingerprint scanner can be forgiven for the price. Costing just £599, the Pixel 6 is priced more in line with Chinese challenger brands than the top Samsung and Apple devices with which it competes favourably.

That makes the Pixel 6 is a real bargain for a top-flight phone. You have to spend considerably more to get a better Android phone than this.

Pros: class-leading camera, great screen, excellent performance, good battery life, recycled aluminium, five years of security updates, Android 12, impressive local AI features, very competitively priced.

Cons: fairly slow charging, no optical zoom, fingerprint scanner can be picky, no face unlock option, only three years of Android version updates despite five years of security support.

Unlike most rivals, the Pixel 6 does not rock around when placed flat on a table because of the horizontal camera bar.



Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
×