Google Pixel 6

[ShawnC13]

So who has ordered one or is going to?  I am on the verge of placing my order, just hesitant for some reason lol.

[rossputin]

Oh my.  A lot of detail.  Thanks.

I just meant in general.  As mentioned before the Pixel 3a XL's sound is horrible.

Some have suggested I got a dud?

Any other Pixel 3a XL owners out there?

[gpixel]

@srlawren 

I think spigen is the best brand for slim cases and maximum protection. yeah I think liquid air is supposed to be just a hair thinner and lighter, but very close to the rugged armor. the first time I dropped my pixel 1 down some concrete stairs at work, I thought for sure it was shattered... I picked it up and I was relieved to find no cracks on the front. so I took off the case and looked at the glass on the back and no scratches at all.

as for the screen protector you would probably have to just try it and see if it interferes with it or not. Google cheaped out on the sensor... they should of just stayed with the rear fingerprint scanner. It's better to break the glass up top instead of the glass beneath it. I know it's saved me a few times. I've broken two tempered glass protectors on my 4. no scratches or marks at all after the shattered glass was removed. the screen protector is obviously weaker and will crack easier, but it absorbs the impact. there's also a setting to increase the screen sensitivity under display options if you really feel it's reduced. I just bought the cheapest one off Amazon. but, ideally you would want 2-2.5mm thickness. I found that range to be the best for a nearly identical feel before the screen protector was applied. most protectors out there are 3mm. 

[srlawren]

Quick quick update: found the setting in developer options where I can explicitly pick the codec.  AAC does sound better than SBC and worse than LDAC, as expected. 

[srlawren]

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@srlawren wrote:

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@rossputin wrote:

So to those who got it, how is the sound? My current Pixel 3a XL's sound is abysmal so considering a change.

I tested a Samsung Galaxy A52 and the sound was hugely better.

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@rossputin 

I haven't had a ton of critical listening time with my usual headphones as I'm also checking out the Pixel Buds A-series which were a free gift with the pre-order, but I can't say that I've noticed any issues so far with either my gym headphones or my daily use headphones compared to my OnePlus 7 I was using for over 2 years--and that's a good thing because it sounded great.

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@rossputin okay putting in a little ear time with my usual cans (1More Dual Driver ANC Pro) and shuffling my music collection.  These headphones can do either SBC, AAC, or LDAC.  With my OnePlus, I could specify if I wanted to use AAC or LDAC for HD audio which was handy.  LDAC burns through the headphone batteries significantly quicker, so I would most often use AAC and just switch to LDAC for deliberate critical listening.  (AAC for background work and such).

Now, so far with the Pixel, it seems I can toggle HD on or off.  When on, it specifies LDAC, and the headphones sound really good--even more spacious and higher resolution than they did with the OnePlus--digging it big time so far (again limited testing so far).  That said, when I toggle HD audio off, I can't tell (or haven't figured out how to tell yet) if it's using AAC or SBC.  I'm going to say that I bet it's SBC, because the audio sounds a bit flatter than I'm used to (less engaging, less spacious, less revealing).  They sound fine without HD audio for background music (or YouTube videos, podcasts, etc) but slightly disappointing for music.  On the OnePlus, where I know it fell back to AAC, they still sounded good just not as good as with LDAC on.  This seems to be a difference, but I may yet find a way to force AAC.

Anyway, just a quick long-winded follow-up based on current usage.  🙂

[srlawren]

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@rossputin wrote:

So to those who got it, how is the sound? My current Pixel 3a XL's sound is abysmal so considering a change.

I tested a Samsung Galaxy A52 and the sound was hugely better.

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@rossputin it depends on the headphones 🤣 😂 🤣

I haven't had a ton of critical listening time with my usual headphones as I'm also checking out the Pixel Buds A-series which were a free gift with the pre-order, but I can't say that I've noticed any issues so far with either my gym headphones or my daily use headphones compared to my OnePlus 7 I was using for over 2 years--and that's a good thing because it sounded great.

That said, to your point about "it depends"--it really does depend on a million different things.  But everything except the phone being equal, so far, I'm struggling to complain about the audio.

[rossputin]

So to those who got it, how is the sound? My current Pixel 3a XL's sound is abysmal so considering a change.

I tested a Samsung Galaxy A52 and the sound was hugely better.

Do not, I repeat DO NOT say it depends on the headphones.  That's obvious. Drives me nuts, (which is also obvious 🤪).  I'm speaking of the sound with everything else being equal.

[srlawren]

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@gpixel wrote:

@srlawren 

spigen rugged armor + glass screen protector. Nexus 5, pixel 1,3 & 4 I've dropped each phone multiple times from waist height on concrete and I've never broken the glass front or back. phones still work and look pristine! 

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@gpixel thanks for the feedback!  Rugged Armor is nice, I had one on my OnePlus 5T for the nearly 2 years I used it (actually it's still on it but gathering dust in a pile these days) and liked it.  It seems the version for the Pixel 6 is even nicer and shares the same side rails as the Liquid Air case I'm enjoying so well (at least partly because of those sides) and is almost the same dimensions all around--only reservation is it's a bit heavier at 2.0oz vs. 1.2 for the liquid air and the phone is already plenty heavy to being with. EDIT Correction, I was misreading the specs; they don't mention the item weight of the Rugged, but it's package weight is only 0.1oz more than the package weight of the Liquid, so they are pretty much the same.

I've never been a screen protector fan but am thinking about reconsidering for the Pixel 6.  It seems the Gorilla Glass Victus may be prone to easily picking up hairline scratches.  If I do get one though, it will be plastic or TPU (probably matte TPU) rather than tempered glass.  Some of the glass protectors are causing issues with the fingerprint sensors on the 6 and 6 Pro, and I've never been a fan to being with. It seems odd to me to protect glass with more glass.  Maybe it's just me.  LOL.

[gpixel]

@srlawren 

spigen rugged armor + glass screen protector. Nexus 5, pixel 1,3 & 4 I've dropped each phone multiple times from waist height on concrete and I've never broken the glass front or back. phones still work and look pristine! 

[yardbirder]

@srlawren 

I haven't noticed any yellowing on my Ringke case but my phone is almost always in my pocket or purse so doesn't get much light, don't know if that makes a difference. I got the bluish phone so I wanted it to show through the case. The Ghostek has slightly higher sides and extra on the corners which I figured would protect the curved edges of the Pro screen better without adding too much bulk. I don't think the 6 has a curved screen so unless you tend to drop your phone a lot the Ringke is probably the least bulky case that still offers good protection.

[srlawren]

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@yardbirder wrote:

@srlawren  

I have the Ringke Fusion clear on my Pixel 2 and after 4 years it's still great. I was leaning towards the ghostek clear for the Pro if I got it, slightly better screen and corner protection, military grade, good for 8 ft drops. The Pro has the rounded edge screen and the Ghostek offers slightly higher edges all around.

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@yardbirder oh yes the Ghostek, I do like the look of it too, especially in the smoked translucent grey colour.  It looks bulky to me but I'll check the specs on it and maybe add it to the short list!  Thanks for the reminder.  

So the Ringke Fusion has lasted well for you!  Does it have any yellowing?  I see the odd review on Amazon (looking just at the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro reviews of the case) talk about it yellowing quickly.  But then, you never know--are these people trying to steer you to other options for their own financial gain?  Online reviews are so hard to properly mentally filter out the false positives and negatives.

[yardbirder]

@srlawren  

I have the Ringke Fusion clear on my Pixel 2 and after 4 years it's still great. I was leaning towards the ghostek clear for the Pro if I got it, slightly better screen and corner protection, military grade, good for 8 ft drops. The Pro has the rounded edge screen and the Ghostek offers slightly higher edges all around.

[darlicious]

@srlawren 

Great review so far! It also makes me very happy with my camera.....I mean my pixel 3. Light and small and very intuitive. The bf recently got the pixel 3xl and he definitely needs a bigger phone but there's no envy.

If you get snap happy here's a suggestion especially if you are carrying more than one of your phones for camera comparisons.

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/The-Lounge/Phone-Camera-Action/m-p/704544#M14989

[srlawren]

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@yardbirder wrote:

@srlawren 

Congrats on your new Pixel 6, how are you liking it so far? Glad it didn't float away on one of the many 'atmospheric rivers'.  OOPs, sorry for bringing up the newest most popular weather term. I agree, I'm pretty much over it too.

I'm still deciding on whether to get the Pixel 6 Pro but will definitely wait awhile, maybe even till the next generation comes out next year, never know what new and improved features the 2022 model might have. And this year's will probably be cheaper too. Hard to wait though...

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@yardbirder well admittedly I've mostly just been setting it up so far.  Even the non-Pro (the "small"er of the two) is definitely not little.  It's about the same height and width as the OnePlus 7 (non-T, non-Pro) I've been using for over 2 years, so I'm used to the overall size already but it's a bit thicker and noticeably heavier. 

Finding a case that protects well, grips, and doesn't add a ton of bulk has been a challenge but I think I'd recommend the Spigen Liquid Air to anyone looking for a suggestion.  I'm probably returning the Google case I ordered with the phone as it's quite slippery and VERY hard to shoe-horn on and off the phone, and doesn't offer much screen lip protection, all of which despite it being the most aesthetically pleasing option I've tried when on the phone (Stormy Sky case on Stormy Black phone).  I'm probably also returning the Tech21 Evocheck case to Best Buy--it's fine looking and seems protective and easy enough to put on and off but it adds just enough extra bulk that it makes holding and using the phone noticeably more challenging than the Liquid Air.  I like having two cases for various reasons so I will probably try to find another to go with the Liquid Air; current shortlist includes the Ringke Fusion matte clear, the Spigen Thin Fit, or even the Rhinoshield SolidSuit though I'm still waiting to hear back from them on the weight.

Battery life is one of the most controversial things I've seen and read in reviews (articles and YouTube vids).  I've only had one full day so far and I was on it pretty heavily doing setup (installing more apps, signing into apps and configuring things).  I took it off the charger at 6:30am yesterday and put it back on at 1am this morning with about 18% or so left in the tank, which for me is pretty good so far.  Charging is slow but I'm taking advantage of the adaptive charging feature to let it slowly top up overnight and max out at 100% just before my alarm goes off.  So far so good there.  It would take forever to top up from 0-100% during the day as it gets slower and slower as it gets fuller, to a crawl in the last 15-20%, but at most I would top up on a heavy use day and not take it all the way to 100%.  So I think it should be fine, and I'm a moderate-to-heavy user.  It should get better over the next couple of weeks as well as it learns my habits. 

Other than that it's just been pleasant and fluid so far.  Personally it wasn't worth the extra $$$ to me to get the Pro.  The zoom lens would have been nice but not essential.  I didn't really want any physically bigger, though the Pro really isn't that much bigger (my hands are on the smaller side).  I didn't care about 120hz over 90hz refresh nor the extra resolution of the Pro (I've had several 1080p phones and it's completely sufficient for me), and the extra battery life is eaten up by the extra screen specs based on most reviews anyway.  The only thing I would really have liked was the extra 4GB of RAM but 8 should be fine (my previous previous phone had 8 and was fine--I just got spoiled by 12 on my OnePlus 7).  Your mileage may vary on all of these aspects of course.

I think that's about all I can comment on for now but if you (or anyone) has more questions do ask.

EDIT: no one more thing.  Yes you could wait and yes they will undoubtedly make some hardware improvements for next year's model.  The good news with a Pixel is that Google is very good about bringing most/all new features to previous models (that are still within support--they promise 3 years of OS upgrades and 5 years of security upgrades, which is among the best for an Android device though still pales to Apple's update longevity).  So I'm hoping there's minimal regret when the Pixel 7 gets announced 🙂

[srlawren]

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@darlicious wrote:

@srlawren 

Post some photos in any of my many photo threads in the lounge!

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@darlicious oh that's a nice idea.  I'm FAR from an avid nor skilled photographer and have not had a chance to try the cameras out at all (other than scanning a few QR codes while setting everything up--which went very quickly and smoothly for what that's worth lol).  I don't take many photos but I'll try to keep an eye for anything photogenic over the next several days and post if/when I get some good stuff.  Thanks for the suggestion.

[yardbirder]

@srlawren 

Congrats on your new Pixel 6, how are you liking it so far? Glad it didn't float away on one of the many 'atmospheric rivers'.  OOPs, sorry for bringing up the newest most popular weather term. I agree, I'm pretty much over it too.

I'm still deciding on whether to get the Pixel 6 Pro but will definitely wait awhile, maybe even till the next generation comes out next year, never know what new and improved features the 2022 model might have. And this year's will probably be cheaper too. Hard to wait though...

[darlicious]

@srlawren 

Oh, Oh, Oh! Mr. Kotter! Mr. Kotter! Post some photos in any of my many photo threads in the lounge!

[dabr]

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@srlawren wrote:

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@srlawren wrote:

Ooops I'm late to the party here, but @ShawnC13 as you know I'm waiting on a new Pixel 6!

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After a very long set of delays--shipped out one week after it was originally scheduled to arrive, and JUST IN TIME for the massive BC flooding (if I never hear the term "atmospheric river" again, it will be too soon) that took out every road to the greater Vancouver area turning my total wait to just shy of 5.5 weeks from order date--I finally received my Pixel 6 yesterday.  I'm with Koodo but as you all know, same network as PM, and it's working great so far.  

If anyone has any Pixel 6 questions I'll do my best to address them.

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@srlawren   wrote:

"(if I never hear the term "atmospheric river" again, it will be too soon)"

Lol...totally agree with the above!  😊 

But at least now you have your new toy, oops I mean your device to play with... 😁

[srlawren]

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@srlawren wrote:

Ooops I'm late to the party here, but @ShawnC13 as you know I'm waiting on a new Pixel 6!

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After a very long set of delays--shipped out one week after it was originally scheduled to arrive, and JUST IN TIME for the massive BC flooding (if I never hear the term "atmospheric river" again, it will be too soon) that took out every road to the greater Vancouver area turning my total wait to just shy of 5.5 weeks from order date--I finally received my Pixel 6 yesterday.  I'm with Koodo but as you all know, same network as PM, and it's working great so far.  

If anyone has any Pixel 6 questions I'll do my best to address them.

[srlawren]

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@yardbirder wrote:

@ShawnC13 

I've been checking the Google store website in case they have a sale (not) and the price for the Pixel 6 is still 799 and 929 for the 256 one. Wonder if they will have a Black Friday sale at all if sales are good. Heard they are also coming out with a 6a, similar to but not quite as high end as the 6. Don't know what the price on that will be.

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@yardbirder I think right now Google is supply-constrained and fairly backlogged for many configurations of the 6 and 6 Pro.  They could put the phones on sale but they would be adding to the lengthy backlog and making customers wait a long time for delivery. I don't see them having much incentive to discount right now as they are having no problem moving devices.  

That said, some people have returned theirs so maybe we could see some refurbished units offered up at a discount?  Hard to say, just total speculation.

Carriers can offer deals because they recoup the discounts in service fees over your 24 months.  

[softech]

@yardbirder I think the Pixel 6 special are more with Plan offer

Staples has it for $698 but it is OOS

[yardbirder]

@ShawnC13 

I've been checking the Google store website in case they have a sale (not) and the price for the Pixel 6 is still 799 and 929 for the 256 one. Wonder if they will have a Black Friday sale at all if sales are good. Heard they are also coming out with a 6a, similar to but not quite as high end as the 6. Don't know what the price on that will be.

[darlicious]

@ShawnC13 

It's a hot commodity.

[ShawnC13]

I can't find anywhere else is selling the 256mb outright.  

[ShawnC13]

best buy is sold out and only had the 128 version so I don't see any price for the 256.  Will have to see what is it there

[darlicious]

@ShawnC13 

You have to ask for the price match by chatting with them.

[ShawnC13]

I will have to check out out I got the 256 version so I will see what price they have for it

[darlicious]

@ShawnC13 

Google is matching the Best Buy price of $699 for the Google Pixel 6.

[Zyl]

Pixel 2 is awesome!!  No doubt about that.  Biggest breakthrough ever in cellphone history imo for a small, light phone that is so easy to carry around.  For somebody who's not into taking professional cellphone pics or selfies, Pixel 2 is more than adequate and is the best bang for the buck/loonie.  

[yardbirder]

@darlicious 

Wanting a new camera is the reason I got the Pixel 2 and It's still awesome. I have decided to wait awhile and see what happens with the Pixel 6 Pro, if the price comes down and some of the glitches get resolved I might go ahead and get it. Otherwise I'm OK to wait for awhile and see what Google comes out with next year.

[yardbirder]

@Zyl 

I'm on Vancouver Island in the country, the elk herd goes by twice a day for over half the year, I've gotten some amazing pictures over the years.I pass some of the better ones on to the local conservation service, it helps them keep track of the herd and how it's doing. I used to carry an actual camera around but a few years ago when I was looking to buy a new camera I realized I was tired of carrying a bulky camera and really didn't want to spend a bunch of money on something that mostly sat on the desk. That's when i started researching phones with the best cameras and the Pixel 2 was absolutely the best for the price. Best decision I ever made! I'm probably going to wait awhile and think about the Pixel 6 Pro and wait to make a decision until the price goes down. I'm still really happy with my Pixel 2, 4 years old and still as good as new really.