Launched at 899 euros, Google's Pixel 6 Pro is a UFO in the world of telephony.
Sold 360 euros less than its direct competitor, Apple's iPhone 13 Pro, the divisive design terminal also cultivates its singularity in photos, where it borders on perfection.
Some weaknesses in autonomy and a narrow memory affect, but hardly, the excellent impression that it gives off.
“OK Google, what's in your Pixel 6 Pro's stomach”?
Expected in France since its presentation in the United States during the summer, the new high-end 5G smartphone from the Mountain View firm is now on sale in France at 899 euros.
Google, which has accustomed us since 2016 to always offer smartphones capable of the best, does it once again surprise us?
Beware of divisive design!
The design of the Pixel 6 Pro is undoubtedly innovative and atypical.
With its thick rear bar which houses its photo sensors *, the smartphone calls out.
Divisive, and far from being unanimous among those to whom we presented it, the appearance of the Pixel 6 Pro affirms in any case the singularity of the terminal.
Once in a protective shell, it hardly looks like it anymore.
After several days in hand, it is no longer something that can disturb.
We like it!
Warning: without a shell, the smartphone protected on both sides by Gorilla Glass Victus is smooth, also slippery, and slightly dirty on its back.
But at least at IP68 the Pixel 6 Pro is waterproof.
A sumptuous screen
These presentations being made, how does Google's new toy stand out technically?
At the front, its screen with curved borders lets slip the image with lost edges on its left and right sides.
Watching videos is thus extremely pleasant, especially since the QHD definition of the screen associated with its OLED panel delivers a rendering of a quality rarely seen, with very beautiful brightness.
Little more: stereo audio quality that would almost make you want to do without headphones!
The picture ?
It is obviously on this point that we expected Google in particular, the manufacturer having always known in the past to demonstrate a certain form of excellence in this area.
This time again, the good student in the class does not disappoint.
Unparalleled photo quality
Named Tensor, the first “in-house” chip that drives the terminal plays the card of artificial intelligence and
machine learning
to the
fullest
to optimize the shots.
All are excellent, full of details.
Even if the photos sometimes lack a bit of naturalness: all the elements that compose them are visible, even objects or subjects against the light which, in normal times, would be very dark.
On the other hand, the macro is definitely not his thing.
However, we remain stunned by the performance of the optical zoom x4, but also digital x20 which, as shown in the photos below, manage to deliver images that are not too smooth at high magnification.
Even more, after dark, the Pixel 6 Pro performs remarkable light management, admittedly sometimes at the cost of a slightly increased graininess, but the results do not seem to have an equivalent on the market.
Still pictured, the new Magic Eraser tool, which could be anecdotal, is a real asset.
This feature allows you to quickly remove distracting elements from an image, such as a character in the background that you don't want to keep.
The Pixel 6 Pro can automatically suggest the items to delete, but you can also show it which ones to delete by circling them.
The photo will then be recomposed.
These changes are then barely discernible, except by zooming strongly in the image.
Stunning functions
Running Android 12, the Google Pixel 6 Pro offers some amazing features.
First, the simultaneous transcription of voice to text in the language of your choice.
This is done using the recorder.
All you have to do is start recording a conversation, press the Transcription button so that the voice turns into text… and without too many mistakes!
Convenient for transcribing lessons or an interview!
Likewise, it is possible to translate sentences from one language to another language.
This time, the smartphone itself speaks your words in the language of your choice.
One can imagine the potential of such a function when one is abroad.
Finally, the Google 6 Pro can display simultaneous subtitles on any video.
Watching a Japanese manga on YouTube?
Press the small "CC" button at the top of the screen, on the right, and French subtitles will appear.
For the Pixel 6 Pro, enough to cultivate a real identity.
For the user, enough to have a smartphone not quite like the others ...
Autonomy: its only weakness
Despite its 5,000mAh battery and adaptive display, the Pixel 6 Pro doesn't stand out with insane endurance.
It only takes a day of somewhat intensive use, with watching videos, listening to music, playing games and surfing the Internet… the smartphone's battery needed recharging after around 12 hours.
And this recharge is long: two hours.
Another downside: the terminal, which is compatible with 30W wired charging (23 W wireless), is supplied without a charging unit.
It will therefore be necessary to go back to the cash register.
The Pixel 6 Pro nonetheless remains, without doubt, the most exciting smartphone of this end of the year.
Otherwise some weaknesses in the field of autonomy (and a memory of 128 GB non-expandable), the latest from Google achieves an almost flawless.
It confuses, it surprises and offers a renewed experience in the world of telephony which too often turns a little in circles.
At 899 euros, it's also 360 euros cheaper than Apple's iPhone 13 Pro at the same screen size and memory.
The iPhone 13 Pro which now has a serious competitor ...
* Rear: 50 megapixel wide-angle (f / 1.85); 12 megapixel ultra-wide-angle (f / 2.2), 48 megapixels with x4 optical zoom (f / 3.5). Front: 11.1 megapixels (f / 2.2).
** 3120 x 1440 pixels, with adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz.
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