There's no getting around it: Smartphones are expensive. But given the fact that they're likely your most frequently used possession, it’s a no-brainer that you’d want to invest and spend several hundred dollars on a good one. The latest flagship smartphones from Apple and Samsung cost between $800 and $1,000. Even “budget” smartphones like the OnePlus 9 and iPhone 13 mini cost $729.
Google’s newest smartphone, the Pixel 6, costs just $599 — that’s $200 less than Apple’s iPhone 13 and Samsung’s Galaxy S21.
Typically, there’s some sort of catch when buying a cheap smartphone. Most aren’t waterproof, they lack convenient features like wireless charging, and oftentimes, they have inferior screens and processors.
What’s the big catch with the Pixel 6? Honestly, there really isn’t one!
KEY SPECS
• Google Tensor chip
• 6.4-inch FHD+ OLED display with 90 Hz maximum refresh rate and HDR support
• Dual rear camera setup with 50MP main, 12MP ultra wide, and 11MP selfie camera
• 8GB of RAM, 128/256GB of storage
• 5G, Wi-Fi 6E connectivity
• 4,614 mAh, fast wired and wireless charging
• Stereo speakers, IP68 waterproof
I’ve been using the Google Pixel 6 for a week, and I think it’s the best Android phone for the money. It strikes the perfect balance of build quality, speed, battery life, and camera quality. Not only that, it doesn’t require buyers to make major sacrifices for its reasonable $599 asking price.
Here’s a breakdown of its design, hardware, performance, and user experience to prove why I think it’s Google’s best smartphone yet.
DESIGN
The Google Pixel 6 rocks a bold design that feels premium, since it’s primarily made of aluminum and glass. Weighing in at 7 ounces, the Pixel 6 is a smidge heavier than the 6-ounce iPhone 13 and Galaxy S21. Its front is all screen, while the backside rocks a two-toned color scheme that’s split by a horizontal camera bar spanning the full width of the phone.
I tested the “Kinda Coral” variant, which is mostly light pink with a bold coral shade in the section above the camera bar. If that’s too flashy for your tastes, consider Seafoam Green. And if you want a more traditional-looking device, fear not: The device comes in black as well.
My biggest complaint with the Pixel 6 (and it’s a personal preference) is that the phone is just too big. Speaking as someone coming from an iPhone mini, I found the Pixel 6 to be cumbersome, hard to hold, and easy to drop. That’s mostly because it’s 16% larger than its predecessor, and an inch taller than my iPhone.
Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I recommend looking at these photos from Android Authority to see how the Pixel stacks up size-wise against other popular smartphones.
Besides that, the Pixel 6 has an IP68 water resistance rating and uses Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus. Translation? It has better scratch resistance than most devices, and will survive a trip to the beach or a plunge in the pool.
DISPLAY
Both the Pixel 6 and its bigger, more-powerful Pixel 6 Pro sibling have impressive OLED screens. The Pixel 6 has a 6.4-inch display with a 1080p-wide resolution when compared to the 6 Pro’s 6.7-inch 1440p screen. Besides having more pixels, the Pixel 6 Pro supports a faster and slightly better 120Hz refresh rate compared to the Pixel 6’s 90Hz, meaning animations are smoother on the Pro.
Don’t worry, though: Most people can’t tell the difference between the two, and the Pixel 6’s display is plenty vibrant and bright enough to read outdoors on a sunny day. The Pixel 6 also has a higher refresh rate than the iPhone 13 and 13 mini.
You’ll find a punch-hole camera at the top of its screen and an in-display fingerprint sensor located about a quarter of the way up. I found the fingerprint reader’s responsiveness be slow and a tad finicky. It oftentimes required multiple finger reads to unlock the device.
I liked that the Pixel supports an “Always-On” display, meaning it goes dark while still showing the time, date, weather, my notifications, and battery percentage. It’s small things like these that make me hesitant to go back to my iPhone.
CAMERA
The Pixel series of smartphones' main claim to fame is their cameras. No surprise here: The Pixel 6’s camera array won’t disappoint, and it competes with the likes of smartphones that cost several hundred dollars more.
You get a 50-megapixel wide lens and a 12-megapixel ultrawide lens, but it lacks the 4X optical zoom telephoto camera that’s on the Pixel 6 Pro. Fortunately, the Pixel 6 offers a digital 7X “Super Res Zoom” feature to make up the difference. Overall, the cameras pack a punch and capture rich colors, whether that's during the day, at dusk, or even at night when ambient light is lacking.
It’s also notable that the camera has a new feature called “Real Tone processing,” which aims to better capture skin tone, particularly for people of color.
As for video, the camera is plenty capable. It records 4K or 1080p video at 30 or 60 frames per second, but the Pixel 6 doesn’t compete with the iPhone for capturing video, since the iPhone has better image stabilization options.
The front-facing camera is decent, but not as impressive as the Pixel 6 Pro. The Pixel 6 has an 8-megapixel shooter with an 84-degree field of view compared to the Pixel 6 Pro’s 11 megapixels and 94-degree field of view. This just means you won’t be able to fit as many people in the frame, and the image quality isn’t as detailed on the Pixel 6 as it is on the Pro.
PERFORMANCE
Unlike most Android smartphones that are powered by one of Qualcomm’s chips, the Pixel packs an all-new Tensor processor that was developed in-house by Google. The chip offers top-notch, snappy performance, and it’s part of the reason why battery life is so good on the Pixel. Not only that, it helps protect sensitive data and makes your Pixel less prone to malicious hacks.
During my tests with the Pixel 6, I didn’t experience any issues juggling multiple apps. The interface never stuttered, apps opened in a second, and not once did I experience slowdowns. Graphic-intensive games run smoothly, the phone has no issue editing and transcoding 4K video files, and it never ran hot.
The battery life is extremely impressive, too. I was able to stretch the battery past the 2-day mark, which I can’t say is the case with most phones I’ve tested. Even on days when I was glued to my screen, I’d go to bed with 30% remaining.
USER EXPERIENCE
One of the perks to using a Google phone is you always have the most up-to-date version of Google’s operating system. The Pixel 6 runs Android 12, which offers an entirely new interface. What I love most is that the Pixel is smart enough to theme the smartphone’s entire interface based on your wallpaper. I’ve always admired how customizable and bloatware-free Android is on Google’s smartphones, and the Pixel 6 is no different.
Besides that, the phone has plenty of new features. One gauges how long toll-free wait times are, and there’s another called “Direct My Call” that helps you navigate those automated menus that make calling customer support numbers nightmarish. There’s a futuristic “Magic Eraser” function that digitally removes unwanted objects from a photo without requiring you to fire up Photoshop. The Pixel also helps translate text — both visually and vocally.
WRAP-UP
The Pixel 6 is an outstanding smartphone for a reasonable price point. It packs a fantastic screen, cameras that deliver excellent shots almost every time, and more than enough battery life.
The device has very few faults and stretches your dollar further than most phones. If you want a top-of-the-line phone but don’t want to drop a grand on one, the Pixel 6 is the smartphone to buy.
Brandon Carte has been covering technology at BestProducts.com since 2017, where he's been writing about the latest gadgets, appliances, and scouring the internet for the products that make life easier. His reporting has been featured on TopTenReviews.com, Good Housekeeping and USA Today. When he's not researching washing machines or testing robot vacuums, you can find him at concerts, swimming laps, or at the movies. He thinks smartphones are too big, prefers MP3s to Spotify, and misses his iPhone’s headphone jack.
