Rather than wrap the Pixel 6 in secrecy, Google is taking a somewhat different approach to its impending return to flagship smartphones. The company had already shown off the design and some of its key features in a Twitter thread back in August, promising to release more information this fall.
The launch date has since been confirmed as October 19, but it appears that not much surprise was left to be had, as a UK retailer accidentally pre-released a promotional page for the Pixel 6, confirming the rumored features and revealing many others in the process.
The retailer in question is Carphone Warehouse, which, as one might guess from its dated name, has been in the cell phone business since 1989. The page was hastily pulled down, but not before prolific leaker Evan Blass screenshot the whole thing to share with his 448,000 Twitter followers; if you want to avoid Twitter's excessive image compression, the Web Archive has a Pixel 6 page here and the Pixel 6 Pro page backed up here. [Both the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro have been revealed to have a 50MP main sensor. This is up from the 12MP module used in the past few Pixel devices, which seems to be able to capture "150% more light" than the Google Pixel 5.
This includes a 12MP ultra-wide-angle sensor and, in the Pixel 6 Pro, an additional 48MP telephoto lens for long-distance shots. This appears to include a 4x optical zoom and up to 20x zoom for super res zoom (though a footnote adds that "not available in all camera apps and modes.")
The page also lists a number of camera tricks Google has available, including something called "Magic Eraser," which removes unwanted photo bombs from photos taken, and "Face Unblur," which makes blurry portraits look sharper. The Pixel 6 Pro page also mentions a front camera with a 94-degree field of view that ensures "everyone is in the picture."
Another difference between the regular and Pro models: screen refresh rate, although the Pixel 6 Pro page specifically mentions a 120 Hz panel with LTPO technology that can be lowered to 10 Hz to save battery power. Pixel 6 only highlights a "smooth display" with a "high refresh rate," so we assume this means 90Hz.
Battery life is highlighted as a plus, which will be a relief for those who suffered from the Pixel 4's limited stamina. Both pages mention that the battery "lasts all day," but the Pro listing further states that the battery "allocates power to the apps you use the most so that it lasts more than 24 hours even at 5G."
Speaking of charging, the new and improved Pixel Stand is also featured on both pages, and the site claims that it is "twice as powerful" as the original model, with wireless charging up to 21W on the Pixel 6 and 23W on the Pixel 6 Pro.
The final detail worth noting is Google's commitment to provide security updates for both Pixel 6 models for five years from the release date. This is an impressive guarantee and surpasses the four years that Samsung offers on its devices.
All of this adds up to two truly promising pairs of phones, and we can't wait to put them through their paces when our review unit arrives after the big reveal on October 19.
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