Google Pixel 6 Pro - Google Is Going All Out

 The News Cover: The Pixel cameras have been in a weird spot for a couple of years; the Pixel 2 in 2017 was an incredible leap forward for smartphone photography, but features like Night Sight aside, the Pixel 3, 4, and even the Pixel 5 were mostly evolutions on the same hardware and software formula, making what sometimes felt like subjective tweaks more than clear improvements to image quality. 

Google Pixel 6 Pro specification

It’s to Google’s credit that they’ve still remained among the very best phone cameras you can buy. If Samsung or even OnePlus stuck with the exact same sensor for three iterations of its flagship device, they would be laughed out of existence. But for Google, that's not the case. But it's 2021, the competition not only caught up but is getting better in the camera department. The old sensor in the Pixel camera is now starting to show its age. 

And thankfully it seems Google has finally realized that they are in due for a new camera sensor and has finally decided to upgrade the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro's camera with a new and bigger sensor. That's according to Max Winebach who has a great track record. But he didn't mention what kind of sensor Google is going for the Pixel 6 but another tipster is shedding more light on this. According to his source, the Pixel 6 Pro will utilize a Sony sensor for its camera, “perhaps a 50MP” one. 

He also mentioned that an 8-megapixel periscope camera will be included, with 5x optical zoom. On top of that, the phone is said to include an ultra-wide-angle lens and a color correction sensor. Apparently, Google has finalized the camera setup and will go into mass production by late august. Now keep in mind that this source has a pretty mixed track record so you know what you need to do but if this is true then Google has finally created a Pixel phone that can offer powerful and versatile camera hardware that can go head-to-head against the likes of the Galaxy S21 Ultra. 

Don't get me wrong, when it comes to computational photography Pixel phones are right at the top. But they lack versatility. I mean the Pixel 5 didn't have a telephoto camera nor a periscope zoom camera but it seems that's finally changing, Google is betting big on the Pixel 6 and that's a breath of fresh air in an Android world which certainly is in need of a big mainstream competitor to the likes of Samsung. 

With that said, in their annual IO event, Google said they are making changes to its algorithms to understand when it is taking photos of darker skin tones and algorithmically reduce stray light to bring out brown skin tones and prevent over-brightening darker skin tones. On top of that, the camera’s algorithms will also be smarter at understanding different hair types, including, curly or wavy hair. This means the Pixel 6’s portrait mode should be better at identifying different hair types and produce a natural bokeh around traditionally African hairstyles. 

Not only that Google is collaborating with Samsung to unify the Tizen and wearOS to make the Android smartwatches great again. Google promises you'll see a faster performance, with apps starting 30% faster on the latest chipsets, with smooth UI animations and motion. The lower layers of the OS have also been optimized to improve battery life. Honestly, this is a win-win situation for all, Samsung will get to use millions of wearOS apps, Google's wearOS is getting revived by Samsung who controls the smartwatch market on the Android side and we consumers also win because we're getting a better and an improved smartwatch.