Tag: Pixel 6

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Pixel 6a, 6 and 6 Pro on sale at Amazon Canada

A few days ago, Google put its Pixel 6 and 6 Pro flagships on sale. If that still wasn’t enough to get you to buy, now the Pixel 6a is on sale at Amazon Canada.

Unfortunately, it looks like only the ‘Charcoal’ variant is available at the discounted $549.99 price (the 6a regularly goes for $599). ‘Charcoal’ is only the second worst colour option, and for $50 off, I’d happily take ‘Charcoal’ over the much nicer ‘Sage.’

Those in the market for a new pair of wireless earbuds can also get a bundle from Amazon right now with the Pixel 6a and the Pixel Buds A-Series for $649.98. That makes the Buds A-Series just $99, compared to the usual $139 price. It’s worth noting, however, that Google and other retailers currently have the Buds A-Series on sale for $99 too.

Finally, if you’re looking to nap a Pixel 6 or 6 Pro at a cheaper price, Amazon also has the phones on sale to match (or even beat) Google’s deal. The Google Store has the Pixel 6 for $699, and so does Amazon. Meanwhile, the Pixel 6 Pro is available at Amazon for $949, cheaper than the $979 price for the 6 Pro at Google.

MobileSyrup utilizes affiliate partnerships. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content, though MobileSyrup may earn a commission on purchases made via these links.

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Some Pixel 6 users report battery drain issue after Android 13 update

It looks like Android 13 includes a notable massive battery issue for Pixel 6 and 6 Pro users. Google has only recently completely pushed out Android 13 to users, but some Pixel 6 owners are finding that the update is causing battery drain on their devices.

These users have turned to Google’s support forum and Twitter to complain about the Pixel 6’s battery life becoming worse after the update. Users say that their phone doesn’t make it through the day without a top-up in the afternoon. This problem seems to only be affecting Pixel 6 and 6 Pro owners and not other Android 13-compatible Pixel devices.

There doesn’t seem to currently be a fix or a way around the battery drain problem other than not upgrading to Android 13.

It’s important to note that Google hasn’t publically acknowledged the issue. However, you can keep tabs on this support page or Google’s official forums for an update. The tech giant might also fix the issue in the upcoming September 2022 security patch.

Let us know in the comments below if your Pixel 6 or 6 Pro is currently experiencing battery life issues following the update to Android 13.

Source: Twitter, Google support Via: Android Police

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Mobile Syrup

Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are $100 and $200 off, respectively

The Google Canada store is currently offering the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro for $100 and $200 off, respectively, as shared by RedFlagDeals.

Regularly available for $799 for the 128GB model and $929 for the 256GB model, the Pixel 6 is currently listed for $699 and $829 for the two variants, respectively.

The Pixel 6 is available in ‘Stormy Black,’ ‘Kinda Coral,’ and ‘Sorta Seafoam’ colourways. Learn more about the device via the link below:


Google Pixel 6 Review: Premium value with hit-or-miss software


Google Pixel 6 Review: Premium value with hit-or-miss software

The Pixel 6 is a surprisingly premium phone for its price, and Tensor helps add helpful intelligence to the experience.


Read Now

The Pixel 6 Pro, on the other hand, is regularly available for $1,179 for the 128GB model and $1,309 for the 256GB model. Currently, the 128GB model is listed for $979, while the 256GB model, which is out of stock, is listed for $1,109, marking a $200 discount.

The Pixel 6 Pro is available in ‘Stormy Black,’ ‘Cloudy White,’ and ‘Sorta Sunny’ colourways. Learn more about the device via the link below:


Google Pixel 6 Pro Review: Living up to the hype


Google Pixel 6 Pro Review: Living up to the hype

If you’re after a pure Android experience paired with solid hardware, look no further than the Pixel 6 Pro.


Read Now

Source: RedFlagDeals

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50-megapixel showdown: Can the OnePlus 10T camera beat the Pixel 6?

The OnePlus 10T is roughly the same price as Google’s Pixel 6 and features a very similar camera array.

With that in mind, we decided to lay out several camera sample images to give you a better idea of each shooter’s strengths and weaknesses.

Camera specs

OnePlus 10T

  • 50-megapixel primary camera with a sizeable 1/1.56-inch sensor and a 23mm focal length
  • 8-megapixel ultrawide with a 199-degree field of view
  • 16-megapixel selfie camera
  • 2-megapixel macro lens

Pixel 6

  • 50-megapixel main camera with a large 1/1.31-inch sensor and 25mm focal length
  • 12-megapixel ultrawide with a 114-degree field of view
  • 8-megapixel front-facing camera

As you can see from their specs, both smartphones offer very similar camera set-ups. However, once each company adds software to their shots, things are not as even as they appear. You can learn more about the OnePlus 10T in the video below.

Samples

The first image shows how the two phones are sometimes capable of snapping identical shots with only minor colour differences. As you can see on the mail truck, OnePlus’ HDR isn’t as powerful as the Pixel’s, but there is a bit more of a ‘filmic’ quality to the bloom on the truck that isn’t unappealing to me.

Still straight out of the camera with no edits, the Pixel 6 offers excellent contrast and balance between the highlights and shadows. The green in the tree looks a bit too vibrant to my eyes, but overall, it’s a cleaner shot.

This is a close crop of a mural, and it helps show the details captured by both cameras and their colour processing. Both look good, but the Pixel 6 has added a bit too much magenta to the shot. It also features less noise removal than the 10T. This makes the 10T look a little noisier, but overall, it’s sharper and more true-to-life.

This image illustrates two things. It shows off the 2x digital zoom of both phones and then beyond that, it also shows how slow OnePlus’ HDR can be. I don’t doubt that if I had held up the OnePlus for over 30 seconds, it would have gauged the scene appropriately and captured a nice HDR. However, since I was testing so many phones, I was rapid-firing photos all day, and I found when you’re just taking quick snaps, the HDR is very hit and miss on the 10T. I left this in since I found it common to end up with some images without HDR at the end of a day of shooting with the 10T.

There’s something to be said about the anti-HDR look you get from the 10T, but the Pixel 6 captured the scene more accurately, even if the images are a bit softer overall.

Strangely, both phones presented the selfie flipped differently. That said, in the settings, you can change either phone to your preference. While I like the tan look that Google applied to my face, I think the brighter skin on the 10T is more accurate to me. That said, many people with more diverse skin tones prefer the Pixel 6 series for its ‘Real Tone’ capabilities.

I do think the Pixel added less sharpening to its image, giving my face a more natural look. On the other hand, the 10T sharpened the hair on my fair, and it stands out intensely.

Once you look past my horrendous framing of this shot, you’ll notice a few things. The first thing is that the OnePlus ultrawide doesn’t look much wider than the Pixel 6’s when shooting vertically, even though it should have a larger field of view.

You can also see that OnePlus messed up the white balance and made the buildings in the foreground very green. If you pixel peep the Pixel 6’s image, it’s also a bit sharper, likely due to its 12-megapixel camera. I would be remiss not to say that the OnePlus did a good job of capturing the majesty of the sunset, but this image would need a bit more editing compared to the Pixel before I posted it.

OnePlus handily takes the cake in the macro category since the Pixel 6 doesn’t even feature a macro ability. While it’s niche, there’s no doubt that it can grab some fun shots that a lot of other smartphones will struggle to catch.

Under most circumstances, the devices snap very similar pictures, and I have a feeling that if I asked 100 people which of the above photos they liked more, it would go 50/50 each way. Phone cameras have come a long way in the last three years, and it seems that regardless of what phone you end up with, you can likely get great shots out of it with a little bit of editing.

I’ve attached a few more samples below. Let us know in the comments what stands out to you.

If you’re curious to see how the Pixel 6a stack up to the Pixel 6, check out our other post and video comparing those two cameras.

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Pixel 6 GPS location issue patch rolling out now, delayed August security patch coming soon

Google recently released a small patch for the Pixel 6, the Pixel 6 Pro and the Pixel 6a that addresses a GPS location issue.

Announced on Google’s Pixel support thread, the update is described as a “Fix for GPS location failure under certain conditions.”

Google says the rollout for the update started August 4th, and will continue over next week, depending on carrier networks. Additionally, “Users will receive a notification once the OTA becomes available for their device,” reads the support thread. The GPS issue likely does not affect older Pixel devices, and hence, those devices were left out of the update.

Further, Google took the opportunity to address the delayed August security patch, stating that it will “begin rollout in the coming weeks.” The patch, whenever it releases, will address 40 security issues ranging from moderate to high severity across the kernel, modem, and camera.

Source: Google

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Google still working on face unlock feature, could launch on Pixel 7: report

Before Google launched the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, rumours indicated the phones would support some level of face unlock. The phones — for better or worse — launched without face unlock, but the rumours persisted. Now, it looks like the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro might offer face unlock.

9to5Google put together an excellent look at the history of the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro face unlock rumours, building into the latest information: the June Pixel Feature Drop included a small, underlying code change for the Pixel 6 series called ‘FACE_UNLOCK_BOOST.’ The change allows the Tensor chip in the Pixel 6 series to boost performance for one second while face unlock is active, presumably to increase how quickly the device can process the face unlock function.

Now, you might be wondering, why add a feature to the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro that enables performance boosts when using face unlock if neither device has face unlock? And, well, that’s kinda the point — this all traces back to those initial leaks about the Pixel 6 series offering face unlock.

Clues in the code

Before the Pixel 6 series launched, we knew that the phones didn’t have specific hardware for face unlock, unlike the previous Pixel 4 and 4 XL. The 4 series sported special hardware, including an IR camera, dot projector, flood illuminator and Google’s ‘Soli’ radar tech to facilitate fast face unlock capabilities. Despite not having any of that hardware, marketing copy for the Pixel 6 line showed off a phone with a settings menu for ‘Face and Fingerprint Unlock.’ Then the phones launched without that menu and with no hint of face unlock support.

Since then, people have dug through Android code and found various references to a face unlock feature, including information about performance tweaks for Tensor. This sparked rumours that Google would bring face unlock to the Pixel 6 line as part of a Feature Drop. A lot of the rumours suggested it would come specifically to the Pixel 6 Pro, and not the cheaper Pixel 6, predicated on differences in selfie camera hardware and on the idea that Google had planned to launch the 6 Pro with face unlock but ultimately dropped the feature because it wasn’t ready.

More recently, someone uncovered a face unlock UI in the Android 13 beta on their Pixel 6 Pro.

Destined for Pixel 7?

All this brings us back to today, with 9to5 suggesting that Google has made headway on face unlock that doesn’t require specific hardware like on the Pixel 4. If Google had a fancy new machine learning (ML) face unlock feature, it’d likely want to launch it with the Pixel 7 series as a major new feature. But, that raises a few other questions. For one, if Google worked on face unlock for the Pixel 6 Pro, could it also have plans to bring the feature to the 6 Pro in the future? Going by Google’s track record, if face unlock is software-based, it might trickle down to older phones. However, Google could list face unlock as a feature that requires Tensor 2 for processing, ruling out a potential Pixel 6 Pro upgrade.

Moreover, given that leaks indicate the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro sport the same selfie camera hardware this year, that could mean we’ll see face unlock on both devices instead of on just the Pro model as was rumoured with the Pixel 6 series.

Of course, we’ve still got a ways to go before the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro arrive. We may learn more about a possible face unlock feature before then, or learn that the phones won’t support face unlock at all. Right now, all we’ve got is evidence Google worked on some kind of face unlock feature. Unfortunately, that doesn’t guarantee Google will ship the feature in a new product.

Source: 9to5Google

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Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro up to $340 off at Fizz Mobile

Fizz is offering Google’s Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro at a discounted rate.

The Pixel 6 is available for $600 and the Pixel 6 Pro for $840, which comes to $200 and $340 off, respectively.

The Pixel 6 Pro features a 6.71-inch 1440 x 3120-pixel resolution display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Additionally, the flagship smartphone offers Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 processor, 12GB of RAM and a triple camera setup featuring a 50-megapixel primary shooter, 48-megapixel telephoto with 4x zoom and a 12-megapixel ultrawide angle camera.

The Pixel 6, on the other hand, features a 6.4-inch 1080 x 2400-pixel resolution display, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888, 8GB of RAM and a dual-camera setup featuring a 50-megapixel primary shooter and a 12-megapixel ultrawide angle camera.

Check out Fizz’s site for more details on the offer.

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Google’s Pixel 6 is a little promise and a little payoff

The sixth entry in the Pixel series is Google’s most significant swing yet. From the moment you open the box, it feels significantly more premium than the Pixel 5 and more in line with the quality the house of Android should be releasing.

The device packs Google’s biggest camera sensor ever and the company’s Tensor chipset are a lot to get excited about.

All of this combines to make the Pixel 6 one of my favourite phones of the year (and maybe ever). However, it still falls short in more ways than I expected, making it one of the more heart-breaking phones I’ve tested this year.

Distinct designs

When Google first showed off the Pixel 6, I thought the company took things too far with the enormous camera bar, but over time, I fell for the design, and it’s become one of my favourite phone aesthetics ever.

Combining the bespoke Pixel 6 look with the latest versions of the Pixel Launcher is an excellent move on Google’s part. The colour-changing principles, adaptive icons and overall Google-ness of this phone make it hard to beat in my books. If Google can extend the design language and adaptive colour aspects to the rest of its software ecosystem outside of the Pixel 6, I think the company could be on to something really special.

The Pixel 6 features a flat glass front and a distinctly rectangular design that’s more premium than it has any right to be. I kept getting value-Galaxy Note vibes during my time with the device, which is great from a phone that rings in at $800 CAD.

I also like the matte black sides of the phone, and I’m disappointed Google is moving away from this with the Pixel 7. Unfortunately, I also wanted to see the signature colourful power button that most Pixel phones have featured in the past, but this wasn’t included in the Pixel 6.

A camera conundrum

The Pixel 6 also features what might be my favourite mobile camera sensor ever. The giant 50-megapixel camera is versatile, sharp and captures exceptional detail.

That said, in some situations, the smartphone seems to add too much of what I call “Pixel Pop” to photos. The intense sharpening and HDR effects that the device’s processing adds makes images feel a little bit off sometimes.

You can remedy this by snapping RAW images, which provide an untouched file that you can edit on your own. Having to edit a RAW image every time is a little annoying, but results in photos that aren’t oversharpened, and having more control of the colours helps the Pixel 6 work more like a traditional camera. If you’re often annoyed with how over-sharp foliage looks when shot with a smartphone, the Pixel 6’s RAW files fix that.

The only other issue with shooting RAW is that you lose access to ‘Real Tone,’ which does an outstanding job of matching skin tones. And it’s worth noting that RAW images take up a lot more cloud storage space.

The Pixel 6’s ultra-wide and selfie cameras are great at taking photos and videos in standard lighting, but they don’t offer the same quality as the primary camera. I missed having a telephoto zoom lens on the phone, but the Pixel’s 2x digital zoom worked reasonably well in a pinch.

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When I shot videos, I missed the telephoto lens a lot less, but I appreciated the HDR a little more. This led me to shoot more videos on the Pixel 6 than I would typically do on an Android phone.

If Google can nail down its camera software next year, it will be interesting to see what the Pixel series’ cameras are capable of.

Software can kill

Have you ever wanted to love something a lot, but it keeps letting you down? That’s been the Pixel 6 in my experience.

Apps crash more than I expected, the battery life is subpar in most situations, and the Tensor chipset isn’t as good as Google makes it out to be. It’s all passable and while I’ve been able to use the phone as my daily device for about three weeks now, there are a lot of areas for Google to improve with the Pixel 7.

As much as I’m obsessed with the ‘Material You‘ design of the phone, I’m not happy with how it’s performed.

Tensor improvements like localized translation services, ‘Magic Eraser’ and more are useful, but they’re still very niche. They may be game-changers for some, but they aren’t for everyone, and I would have preferred a few extra hours of battery life instead. If you’re interested in reading more about the Pixel 6’s specific features, you can read our original Pixel 6 review. If you’re wondering how much better the Pixel 6 Pro is when compared to the Pixel 6, we have a review on that phone as well. 

Another significant annoyance with the device is that fast charging is limited to select chargers and cables. I pride myself on my extensive range of USB cables and power bricks, but none of them would fast charge the Pixel 6 and a slow charge can take hours.

A solid first step for Pixel (again)

Overall, the Pixel 6 is still a really solid smartphone. It offers a premium design, a great-ish camera and not having to deal with doubled-up apps like with other Android handsets, is a breath of fresh air.

However, the Pixel 6 still feels like less of a game-changer and more of a somewhat sturdy step on the (hopefully) short road to building the best sub $1,000 Android phone.

All the software features that Tensor enables sound cool in theory, but in my day-to-day use when I just want apps to run quickly and the battery to last for a long time, the device doesn’t always hold up. So, while the Pixel 6 is a great phone, it only gets a ‘B’ for its fundamentals.

There’s nothing overtly wrong with Google’s latest flagship smartphone, but months after its release, it struggles to live up to its initial hype.

You can buy the Pixel 6 from Google for $799.

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Here’s how the Pixel 6a squares up against the Pixel 4a and Pixel 6

After months of leaks and rumours, Google finally announced its latest mid-range smartphone, the Pixel 6a, at the Mountain View, California-based company’s I/O event.

The new mid-range smartphone costs $599, and will be available for pre-order on July 21st.

So before you make plans to get your hands on the new Pixel device, you might want to compare how it holds its own against the 2020-released Pixel 4a 5G and the 2021-released Pixel 6 5G.

Note: The Pixel 5a never made it to Canada, so we’ve decided to exclude it from the comparison. Also, we decided to include the Pixel 4a, even though it is no longer available to purchase since several Canadians who own the phone might be looking to upgrade.

Display

We sure have come a long way with Pixel smartphones. The 2020-release Pixel 4a featured a 6.2-inch Full HD+ (FHD+) OLED display with 413 ppi max brightness, whereas last year’s flagship, the Pixel 6 boasted a 6.4-inch FHD+ OLED display with 411 ppi peak brightness. While the 4a was capped at a 60Hz refresh rate, the Pixel 6 could go up to 90 Hz.

In comparison, the new Pixel 6a sports a 60Hz 6.1-inch FHD+ OLE display with max 429 ppi brightness along with HDR support. HDR is also present in the Pixel 6, however, it was missing in the Pixel 4a.

All three devices feature Always-on display and Corning Gorilla Glass.

Battery

The new Pixel 6a features a decent 4410 mAh, which is slightly smaller than the Pixel 6’s 4614 mAh battery, but considerably bigger than the Pixel 4a’s 3885 mAh battery. All three phones can last beyond 24 hours, though life may vary depending on usage.

Additionally, all three phones also feature fast charging, though the 4a can only go up to 18w, whereas the Pixel 6 can achieve a 21W top charging speed. The 6a, on the other hand, just like the 4a, is capable of max 18w charging speed.

The Pixel 6 also supports fast wireless charging, along with battery sharing, two features that are absent on the Pixel 4a and 6a.

Internals

The new Pixel 6a and the 4a both feature 6GB of RAM, whereas the 2021 flagship Pixel 6 features a higher 8GB RAM. All three devices offer 128GB of storage, along with a fingerprint sensor for authentication.

The 2021-release 4a was powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G Octa-Core processor, whereas the Pixel 6 and 6a both run on the company’s in-house Tensor chipset.

The Pixel 6 launched with Android 12, and so will the Pixel 6a. In contrast, the Pixel 4a launched with Android 11, though owners of the device can update to Android 12.

All three devices feature stereo speakers, though only the Pixel 4a sports a 3.5mm audio jack.

Camera

The Pixel 6a features two 12-megapixel rear cameras (wide and ultra-wide angle), whereas the 2021-released Pixel 4a featured a 12.2-megapixel wide and a 16-megapixel ultra-wide setup. The Pixel 6 leaves both of the other devices in the dust with its 50-megapixel wide and 12-megapixel ultrawide setup.

All three devices offer optical image stabilization, though the Pixel 4a and the Pixel 6a also offer electronic image stabilization.

On the front, all three devices offer an eight-megapixel selfie shooter with ƒ/2.0 aperture and fixed focus.

Below is a list of all the camera features that the three devices have in common:

  • Night Sight
  • Top Shot
  • Portrait mode
  • Super Res Zoom
  • Motion Auto-Focus
  • Live HDR+
  • Frequent Faces
  • Dual exposure controls
  • Cinematic Pan
  • Ultrawide lens
  • Portrait Light

Then there are camera features like Magic Eraser, Real Tone, Face Unblur, Panorama and Manual white balancing that are exclusive to the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6a.

Price

The Pixel 4a 5G was released for $679 back in 2021, whereas last year’s flagship — the Pixel 6 is available for $799.

The new mid-range Pixel 6a smartphone costs $599 CAD, and will be available for pre-order on July 21st. 

On paper, the Pixel 6a is definitely a big upgrade from the 2020-released Pixel 4a, though the Pixel 6 still remains the king. Stay tuned to MobileSyrup for a full in-depth review in the coming weeks to see how the 6a puts up in real-world use.

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New Android 13 Beta 1 brings face unlock UI to the Pixel 6 Pro

Google’s Pixel 6 and 6 Pro released without face unlock support, but the new Android 13 Beta 1 suggests that the Pro model might be getting face authentication in the near future.

While there haven’t been any recent comments by Google about the addition of face unlock for the Pixel 6 series, the new Android 13 beta seemingly shows a face unlock setting on the Pixel 6 Pro, according to Android Headlines. The feature isn’t usable at the moment, though its UI’s presence in the beta-running Pixel 6 Pro and its absence in the same beta-running Pixel 6 indicates that the feature might be heading to the pro device soon.

It’s worth noting that the Pixel 6 line doesn’t have dedicated face id hardware, though its in-house Tensor chip, which has accurate face detection, paired with the Pixel 6 Pro’s 11.1-megapixel selfie camera might be the route to go if Google wants to introduce face unlock to its flagship.

According to 9to5Google, The Pixel 6 Pro houses the Sony IMX663 sensor with dual-pixel autofocus (DPAF), which allows the device to create depth when shooting in Portrait Mode. Said depth is useful for capturing the details and contours of your face, which, when combined with the Tensor’s face detection prowess, could allow Google to introduce Face ID to the Pixel 6 Pro with just a simple software update.

The Pixel 6, on the other hand, doesn’t feature the Sony IMX663 sensor, and instead utilizes the Sony IMX355 sensor that doesn’t support dual-pixel autofocus (DPAF). This further confirms that if Face ID is to come to the Pixel 6 series, the Pixel 6 is out of luck.

Via: Android Headlines, 9to5Google