Following months of leaks and rumors, Google has shared official renders of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro — and confirmed that both phones are powered by its 'Google Tensor' silicon. The first major Pixel 6 rumor dropped in April when 9to5Google reported that the two phones would ditch Qualcomm processors in favor of in-house ones from Google. Referred to at the time as GS101 Whitechapel, the idea that Google could stop relying on Qualcomm SoCs and instead make its own got a lot of people talking.
Pixel 6 hype then went through the roof when leaker Jon Prosser shared device renders of the two phones — revealing designs that looked unlike anything Google had ever done before. This radical redesign was later confirmed by other sources, further suggesting that the Pixel 6 would be a massive departure from its predecessors. Additional leaks since then have kept that narrative going, including claims of large AMOLED displays, three camera sensors, big batteries, and more.
With so much Pixel 6 information already out there, Google took it upon itself to lay the rumors to rest and outright reveal the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro in a series of Tweets. Starting with the hardware, it looks like the leaked renders were accurate. The Pixel 6 and 6 Pro both feature a stunning multi-colored design with a large horizontal camera bump. There are three color combos for each device, including orange/yellow, gray, and silver for the Pixel 6 Pro. The regular Pixel 6 is a bit more vibrant, coming in orange/pink, blue/yellow, and the same gray design. Each color has a different shade for the top and bottom portions in between the camera housing, resulting in a genuinely gorgeous piece of hardware. And, using the Material You theme engine as part of Android 12, the color of each phone will be mimicked throughout the UI. Going back to the camera bump, both phones have two cameras (likely wide and ultra-wide), with the Pixel 6 Pro also getting an exclusive 4x optical sensor.
Google Tensor Silicon Puts A Big Focus On AI
Outside of the radial design, the new Google Tensor chip also sounds extremely promising. In one of its Tweets, Google says, "The highlight of Tensor is that it can process Google's most powerful AI and ML [machine learning] modules directly on Pixel 6. You'll see a transformed experience for the camera, speech recognition, and many other Pixel 6 features." The chip will likely have enough CPU and GPU horsepower to compete with other flagship chips, but AI is clearly where Google thinks Tensor will have an edge over its Qualcomm competition.
While Google hasn't shared full specifics of Tensor quite yet, it did offer some additional insight into what improvements users can expect from the chip. In regards to speech, Google Tensor allows the Pixel 6 to have "huge improvements" for voice commands, translation, captioning, and dictation. These are all things that Google has already done an exceptional job at, so it'll be fascinating to see how much they really do get better with Google Tensor. Google also notes that the Pixel 6 & 6 Pro are "built with the most layers of hardware security in any phone — based on count of separate hardware security layers."
This isn't the first time Google has pre-announced a new Pixel phone, but it is the most information the company has shared ahead of its 'official' unveiling. The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are coming "this fall" with more information to follow, likely regarding device specifications, pricing, and availability. Assuming the Pixel 6 series follows past Pixel releases, expect some sort of event in October where everything will be made official. Until then, Pixel fans can sign up now on the Google Store to get more Pixel 6 details as they become available.
Source: Google (1), (2)