It’s hard to remember, but 20 years ago, Apple was not a very cool company. Sure, OS X was intriguing, and the titanium PowerBook was definitely a cool computer, But when most people thought of Apple, it was probably the bulbous, colorful iMac G3 that popped into people’s heads. The company was starting to build its reputation for truly desirable products, but it wasn’t solidified just yet.
That all changed on October 23, 2001, when Steve Jobs pulled the first iPod out of his pocket. For a generation of music fans, it became the quintessentially cool item that was more than just a fad. It’s not a stretch to say it reinvented the music industry while simultaneously paving a path for Apple to become the world’s biggest company. It was the ultimate gateway drug to getting people who had never bought an Apple product before to see what all the fuss was about.
At this point, the somewhat skeptical reception to the iPod is part of tech industry lore – particularly Slashdot’s dismissal of the product as “lame” compared to a Nomad MP3 player. (Raise your hand if you ever used a Nomad. That’s what I thought.) And it’s not like the product was an instant hit – the first iPod cost $400 and only worked with the Mac, two factors that limited its appeal.
Those limitations helped it achieve some serious cachet, though. Seeing an iPod in the wild was a rarity, and my Mac-owning friends who were early adopters had to deal with my incessant questions and requests to hold it and spin its distinctive wheel. It didn’t help that my college suite-mate (who had a titanium PowerBook and iPod) and graphic designer friend (with a PowerMac G4 and iPod) were constantly going off about how great their hardware was. I was primed to become one of those switchers Apple liked to talk about in the early 2000s.
The iPod may have started out as a Mac-only product, but less than a year later, Apple opened it up to the other 98 percent of computer users by introducing a Windows-compatible model in the summer of 2002. Less than a year after that, Apple completely redesigned the iPod and released a new version of iTunes for Windows. At the same time, Apple launched the iTunes Music Store, making it a lot easier to get legal music onto an iPod. With that, the iPod moved fully into the mainstream.
There’s no good way to quantify how many people bought an iPod for Windows and then eventually switched to a Mac. But, Mac sales increased from about 3 million in 2003 to more than 7 million by 2007. Apple’s move to more powerful Intel processors in 2005 likely helped adoption, but the iPod “halo effect” was often cited in the mid-2000s as a driver of the Mac’s increasing popularity.
Growing Mac sales and the most popular consumer electronics device of the decade truly paved the way for the iPhone to be the monumental success that it was almost. Sure, the iPhone eventually killed the iPod, but as Steve Jobs said, he’d rather cannibalize Apple's sales with another Apple product than let some other company do it — this was how he justified the existence of the iPod touch, which was basically an iPhone without a phone.
I might be overselling the iPod to Mac to iPhone evolution, because I lived it. After getting a second-generation iPod in 2002 (embarrassing admission time: I also bought four more full-size iPods between then and 2009), I got my first Mac in 2003 and the first iPhone in late 2007. I remember being more excited about my first iPhone than my first iPod, mostly because it was light years better than the Moto RAZR I was using at the time. But my first iPod was similarly a huge step forward from the MP3 players I owned before. And in my early 20s, there was nothing more important to me than music.
That may not make me unique, but it’s still true. Before the iPod was everywhere, someone else who had one was someone you could trust. They took music as seriously as you did; they knew how liberating it was to have your 100 favorite albums with you, on demand, any time you needed them. In a world where Apple Music offers access to 90 million songs anywhere you are for 10 bucks a month, that might seem quaint. But 20 years ago, it was a revelation.
I still have the last iPod I ever purchased, a 2008 iPod classic with 120GB of storage – about the same space as I have in my iPhone 12 Pro. It’s still stuffed to the gills with music, some 11,000-plus songs, most of which come from albums I carefully selected over time. Most of them are still in my Apple Music library, which has now ballooned to more than double that size, with over 25,000 songs.
I’m still a firm believer in the art of making a good album, but I’ve also collected thousands of singles, or a handful of songs from artists who catch my ear on one of the many curated playlists out there. The music industry has changed, and so have I. Whether or not that’s a good thing is a debate for another time, but there’s no doubt that both the music and technology industries changed completely because of the iPod – something its humble introduction 20 years ago only barely hinted at.
Apple's tiny Bluetooth trackers are already fairly affordable, but Woot's latest one-day sale makes them even cheaper. You can get an AirTag from the online retailer for $26 today only, which is 10 percent off its normal price. Woot knocked the price of a four-pack down to $95 earlier this month, and while this price for one AirTag isn't as cheap as that, it remains the best discount we've seen on a single pack. Just make sure to familiarize yourself with Woot's return policy before picking one up.
AirTags are the trackers to get if you live within the Apple ecosystem. They pair just as quickly to iOS device as AirPods do and those with newer iPhones can use Precision Finding to see when they're close to their lost items. From the Find My app, you can force the AirTag to play a chime to better direct you to your things, and if the item isn't anywhere near you, the app can show you its last known location. With Lost Mode enabled, you'll get an alert when Apple's network of devices detects the location of the AirTag in question, and you can choose to share your phone number and message — just in case someone else finds your stuff.
Aside from the fact that AirTags will only work with Apple devices — sorry Android fans — the biggest problem with them is their lack of a keyring hole. So unless you plan on sticking the tracker in the folds of a wallet or a backpack pocket, you'll need an AirTag holder to hook it onto your keys and other items. Thankfully, you don't need to drop more than the price of the tracker itself on one of Apple's own cases; there are plenty of solid, affordable third-party AirTag cases out there right now. Also, while an AirTag's battery should last for a year, it's wise to keep a couple of extra watch batteries on hand for when you inevitably need to replace it.
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In a few short years, the cost of 5G access has dropped dramatically. What used to be a feature you could only find on premium devices like the Samsung S10 5G has made its way to phones as affordable as the $449 Pixel 5a. But we haven’t seen that trend play out the same way in the tablet space. For the most part, you still either have to pay a premium or forgo the feature altogether. Enter the TCL Tab Pro 5G, a new $400 tablet that’s exclusive to Verizon and comes with n260 and n261 mmWave support.
Outside of the fact it can connect to a 5G network, the most intriguing aspect of the Tab Pro 5G is that it comes with an 8,000mAh battery. With TCL’s On-the-Go reverse charging, you can use the tablet as an impromptu power bank for your other devices. Powering the Tab Pro 5G alone, TCL claims you can expect about 17 hours of mixed-use battery life. Using the included 18W power adapter, it takes about four hours to charge the device to full.
TCL
Otherwise, the Tab Pro 5G is about what you would expect when it comes to a $400 tablet. Internally, it features a Qualcomm 480 5G chip, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. You can add up to 1TB of additional space through a micro SD card. The 10.36-inch 1,200 x 2,000 resolution display is limited to 60Hz but includes TCL’s NXTVISION technology, which allows it to convert an SDR video into an HDR one. For taking photos, it comes with a 13-megapixel main camera and an 8-megapixel selfie shooter.
The Tab Pro 5G is available to buy today from Verizon. If you purchase online, you can save $100 on the tablet through the carrier’s Buy More, Save More Promo — but that means also buying an eligible Android phone.
Microsoft isn’t giving up on its dual-screen dreams. The company is back this year with a new Surface Duo that looks like it might fix some of the original’s flaws. Instead of a finicky and low-quality camera, the Duo 2 packs a triple-sensor system on its rear, in addition to a selfie shooter inside. The device also has a narrower overall footprint, faster-refreshing screens and some updated software. There’s also support for Microsoft’s Slim Pen 2, which should make drawing and taking notes a more intuitive experience.
But despite having addressed many of the previous generation’s issues and adding some useful features, the Duo 2 remains a frustrating device. And at $1,500, it’s still a pricey product with a niche, limited appeal.
Hardware and design changes
By now, you’re probably familiar with the Duo’s proposition. The second generation features a pair of 5.8-inch screens connected by a hinge. It’s also running Android 11 this year, with some tweaks to improve multi-display use. Combined, the two panels offer an 8.3-inch canvas, which is slightly bigger than before. You can flip one screen all the way around to use the Duo 2 in a phone-like single-screen state, use one side as a stand to prop up the other half or have both displays facing you like a book or tablet.
Like the original, this thing is an attractive piece of hardware with an impressively thin profile and a sleek silhouette. The Duo 2 is a bit heavier than its predecessor, and even heavier than the Galaxy Z Fold 3, and I’d chalk most of that gain up to its camera module. Despite the chunky protrusion on the back of the right screen, though, the Duo 2 is evenly weighted and felt balanced when open.
David Imel for Engadget
My main concern when I first saw the camera bump was that two sides would no longer lay flush against each other when opened all the way up. But the bump was surprisingly unobtrusive, and while I didn’t mind using the Duo 2 as a single-screen device, it’s still a bit too wide to replace my phone, especially for one-handed use. Though the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is heavy and its screen is a little too narrow and cramped, it still offers a better experience in this mode.
When the panels are back-to-back, the system will keep the last screen you used active, while the other shows a message saying you can double tap it to switch over. It’s basically two phones sandwiching a camera and you can use one side at a time. You’ll notice odd aspect ratio issues here and there, thanks to the uncommon 1,892 x 1,344 resolution, but for the most part apps expand to cover the whole screen nicely if you enable the automatic span setting. It even worked with the notoriously finicky Instagram, except… photo captions would overflow into the edges and get eaten up, and Stories still had blank space flanking them.
I did appreciate the 90Hz refresh rate when scrolling through my social feeds. The AMOLED panels are lovely, delivering crisp and colorful image and video quality. I do wish they got a bit brighter, though, since they’re about 200 nits dimmer than the iPhone 13 series.
When closed, the Duo 2 is basically useless since, unlike the Galaxy Z Fold 3, it doesn’t have an “external” screen. If you want to read your notifications while the device is laying on a table, you’ll need to leave it open or with one display facing out.
David Imel for Engadget
But Microsoft tries to offer you at least barebones notifications while the Duo 2 is closed via the new Glance Bar. The inside edges of the screens are curved slightly so you can see a little bit of the display through the hinge. When the Glance Bar is enabled, you can see the clock and other system info on this tiny sliver, and it’ll light up in different colors when you have incoming calls or messages. It actually drew my attention to the fact that the Duo 2 didn’t charge overnight by glowing red to indicate the battery was low.
While the Glance Bar is somewhat helpful, it’s also super tiny, which means you need to have Superman’s eyesight to see the clock from more than, say, a few inches away, which basically defeats the purpose. Plus, the Glance Bar works with just first-party apps for now, which means you’ll only get alerted to text messages and phone calls. Oh, and Teams calls, in case you’re that wired into Microsoft’s ecosystem.
The best uses for the Duo 2’s dual-screens
You can also use the Duo 2 in a few other modes (or “postures” as Microsoft calls them), thanks to the hinge, which is sturdy and smooth. It’s easy to open without too much force, yet strong enough to prop up one screen without it budging. Perhaps the best way to use the Duo 2 is in Book and Tent modes, the latter of which is wonderful for playing games while seated at a desk. It’s also handy for keeping an eye on Twitter or a YouTube live chat while working on my laptop.
David Imel for Engadget
Then, when you’re ready to turn your attention to something more intensive, switch over to Book mode and hold the Duo 2 up with both displays facing you. This can be very immersive on any device, and I had a similar feeling with the Z Fold 3. It’s not ideal for idle doomscrolling while you watch TV or firing off a quick reply to your group chats, though. When you have both screens on they basically demand you be actively engaged — whether it’s reading a book, or building a shopping list on one side while looking at recipes on the other.
The Duo 2 is satisfying in this mode if you’re holding it vertically. Flip to landscape orientation and the entire UI just struggles to keep up, especially if you’re using swipe-based navigation instead of choosing the older Android home screen, with back and recent buttons. In general, the Duo 2 feels a little clumsy when held horizontally.
Software quirks remain
I want to commend Microsoft for all the work it’s done to improve the Duo 2’s software. Compared to the hot mess of last year’s model, the system feels a little more cohesive. Part of that has to do with better support for multi-screen devices in Android 11. But quirks still remain and they’re still too numerous for me to list individually, so I’m just going to give you a few examples.
Like I said before, the UI doesn’t know what to do with the swipe-based navigation and in landscape mode, the typical swipe up to go home gesture doesn’t work. Instead, you’ll have to swipe in from the right to either go home or see all apps. To go back, you can only swipe from the left — bad news for anyone who preferred it the other way.
David Imel for Engadget
Also, trying to type in this mode is still a pain — you’ll lose more than two thirds of the screen to the keyboard (and a weird row of empty space at the bottom), so good luck trying to see what you composed.
Even in Book mode there are annoying quirks. There’s a pervasive touch input issue that other reviewers noted on the original Duo and it explains why I felt the Duo 2 is sluggish and finicky. Throughout the system, whether it’s trying to switch lenses in the camera or open the settings menu in a game, the system sometimes just doesn’t register a tap. I’d need to jab at it repeatedly for something to happen.
There are other issues too, but they happen inconsistently enough that I felt like the Duo 2 was gaslighting me. For example, the Microsoft Start app would randomly launch on the left screen when I had an app on the right. I promise you this wasn’t because I accidentally swiped over to the left to see the Start feed; This is a ghost app that appears on its own. There’s also that Instagram caption overflow problem I mentioned earlier that seemed to go away, but would reappear now and then.
Camera performance
The camera was one of the most frustrating parts of the original Duo, and I was hopeful that the second generation would be vastly improved. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. To be clear, the hardware is better. You get a triple camera system with a 12-megapixel main sensor, a 12-megapixel telephoto lens and a 16-megapixel wide option with a 110-degree field of view. The selfie camera also got an upgrade, going from 11-megapixels to 12.
Photos taken by the Duo 2 are better. In general, pictures were rich and bright, with sharp details, though the camera struggled in low light. There’s a weird cast in some of the photos where the camera seemed to white balance the same scene differently in back-to-back shots, but that’s a minor issue that other phones face too. More disappointing is the front camera, which delivered noisy, pale shots of my friends and I, and has a tendency to overexpose everything.
The biggest problem is that the Duo 2’s camera app still sucks. I thought that with a dedicated rear and front camera setup, the system would no longer have to guess what screen you wanted to use as a viewfinder. But instead of letting users decide which cameras they want to use at any time, Microsoft limits when you can use the rear cameras. If you unfold the Duo 2 so that the screens are more than 180 degrees away from each other, Microsoft disables the triple-sensor module and you’re stuck with the selfie option. Presumably, this is to prevent you from accidentally capturing the back of the device, but it just takes away user control. Why should Microsoft lock you out of the superior camera option on the Duo 2 just because the screens are open a little more than 180 degrees?
David Imel for Engadget
The UI is also supposed to allow you to use the spare screen as a photo viewer, so you can see your shots right after snapping them, but this didn’t happen consistently. And in a 10-minute photo shoot, the app crashed at least three times, showing a generic error message. To top it all off, the camera fails to keep up with rapid-fire shooting, sometimes taking a few seconds to snap a picture and save it to your gallery (I suspect this delay has more to do with the UI trying to pull up the image on the other screen than an actual processor issue). Throw in the touch input lag I mentioned earlier and the entire camera experience is a disaster. It’s as if Microsoft never bothered to test the camera at all.
Performance and battery life
Beyond the software quirks, the Duo 2’s high-end Snapdragon 888 chipset actually seemed to struggle at times. When I played a few rounds of Airplane Chefs in one-screen mode, the device ran hot and then completely stalled, leaving me unable to serve food to impatient passengers. This doesn’t just occur when I have the two screens flipped all the way around, either. On the whole, the area under the camera module tends to get warm. But when the Duo 2’s sides are stuck back to back, it seems to keep the heat from dissipating quickly enough.
Then there’s the countless number of times apps have just died on me. I handed the Duo 2 off to a friend with OneNote on the right screen, so they could try the keyboard. It refused to pull up the keyboard and shortly after stopped registering any touches. We closed and opened the device and the app still wasn’t working. Only a force quit revived OneNote. Oh and sometimes when I was using just one screen in landscape mode, a screenshot would capture the home screen instead of the app I was using on it.
David Imel for Engadget
The one thing I’m impressed with is that the Duo 2’s battery life isn’t any worse than before — which is a very low bar. This year’s model clocked 10 hours and 16 minutes with our video rundown test playing on one screen and the Android home page on the other. The original Duo came in at 10 hours and 32 minutes, and considering the faster screens, that seems fair. For what it’s worth, the Fold 3, which has a 120Hz panel, lasted 14 hours and 3 minutes.
Wrap-up
I could go on about all the little ways the Duo 2 struggles, but that would take forever. Some of them are minor and just require a little adjusting, while others, like the camera app, are downright unforgivable. Things Microsoft introduced to improve the experience, like the triple rear cameras and Glance bar, are only slight improvements. I appreciate the faster screens, but at this price they’re almost a given. I haven’t been able to test the Slim Pen 2, but it’s worth noting you’ll have to pay an extra $130 for it.
Like the Galaxy Z Fold 3, the Duo 2 is suffering a sort of identity crisis. Neither device works well as a phone replacement, but at least Samsung’s foldable has reliable software and good cameras. Despite the improvements, the Duo 2 is still a kind of gimmicky device that’s costly to boot and only people with $1,500 to burn and who really need a dual-screen phone should buy it.
Key specs
Processor: Snapdragon 888 with 8GB of RAM
Storage: 128/256/512GB
MicroSD card support: None
Displays: 2 x 5.8-inch AMOLED at 1,892 x 1,344 (401ppi) with 90Hz adaptive refresh rate; Combined 8.3-inch AMOLED at 2,688 x 1,892
Rear triple cameras: 12MP f/1.7 wide-angle camera with OIS; 16MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera (110-degree FOV); 12MP f/2.4 51mm telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom
Front camera: 12MP f/2.0 camera
Operating system: Android 11 with Duo 2 UI
Battery: 4,449mAh
Charging: USB-C port with fast wired charging at 23W.
Dimensions: Open: 184.5 x 145.2 x 5.5 mm (7.26 x 5.71 x 0.21 inches); Closed: 145.2 x 92.1 x 11.0 mm (7.26 x 3.62 x 0.42 inches)
You finally have a chance to try Android apps in Windows 11 — provided you're willing to live on the bleeding edge for a while. Microsoft has released an Insider Preview beta that enables the Amazon Appstore and support for running Android apps within Windows. Only 50 curated apps are available as part of the initial test (such as the Kindle app, Lords Mobile and Lego Duplo World), but Microsoft is promising more in the "coming months."
The aim, as before, is to make Android apps feel like they belong in Windows 11. You can multitask, check notifications and use Windows accessibility features. Mouse and keyboard input is available, although many apps will unsurprisingly benefit from a touchscreen.
The beta is only available in the US for compatible devices using AMD, Intel and Qualcomm chips. This won't do much to satisfy those frustrated that Android apps weren't available on launch. You'll still have to wait a while before an official release, let alone an Amazon catalog large enough to make a meaningful difference. It's a start, though, and it suggests the delay won't be as long as you might have feared.
Google’s Pixel 6 family is officially priced and will launch on October 28th, available to pre-order today. While not cheap, both the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, costing $599 and $899 respectively, land at tempting price points.
These phones are going toe-to-toe with the iPhone and Galaxy S series. Again. But will Google finally be able to get its phones in people’s hands? The company glimpsed success with its very competitively priced Pixel 3a, briefly edging out OnePlus in phone sales for a hot second. Then the Pixel 4 and Pixel 5 failed to repeat the success at tougher prices. Notably, the $600 Pixel 6 is $100 cheaper than last year's Pixel 5, but it looks to be a far better phone.
Each phone has a thick camera bar stretching across the back. The Pixel 6 has a dual-camera system, with wide and ultrawide lenses, while the Pixel 6 Pro adds a telephoto option. On both devices, the primary camera is a 50-megapixel sensor with a quad-bayer filter, which puts four pixels behind each standard color block — you’re not going to get 50-megapixel photos here, but something more in the realm of 12.5 megapixels. The Pixel 6 Pro’s telephoto camera is a 48-megapixel sensor with 4x optical zoom. There are no invisible front-facing cameras — or notches — but a pin-hole camera on both Pixels. There is also an under-screen thumbprint sensor for the first time in a Pixel phone. You can find the rest of the specs right here.
Reviews Editor Cherlynn Low spent time with both Pixels. We’ll dive deeper into her impressions below.
Spoiler alert: The best thing about the new Pixel phones is the reasonable pricing. But there are a lot of new things to tackle with the Pixel 6 series. This series has the company’s first “pro” phone, some Android 12-exclusive tricks and significant voice recognition enhancements — if you’re in the US.
The two phones differ slightly in design, which marks a departure from previous years. Instead of the matte soft-touch texture of older Pixels, both Pixel 6 phones have glass-covered sides, creating a premium feel. According to Cherlynn Low, they’re a little blockier and feel more like a Samsung device — which may not be a bad thing.
Both phones are also much larger than the Pixel 5, and though their screen sizes differ, they have almost the same footprint. But the main feature improvement in the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro is their cameras, and this is what Cherlynn (and I) are most excited about. For now, she could only gather some impressions while under the supervision of Google reps, but expect her own review to put all the cameras through their paces. As Cherlynn will admit herself, she loves a selfie camera opp.
Google has an answer to the Apple One bundle, and it includes a new phone. The Pixel Pass is a subscription service that includes a Pixel 6 or 6 Pro phone (with an upgrade in two years), an extended warranty, 200GB of Google One storage, Google Play Pass, YouTube Premium and YouTube Music Premium. The Pass starts at $45 per month for the regular Pixel 6, while it’s $55 for the Pixel 6 Pro.
A YouTube data leak has spoiled some of the surprises, however.
Sony has teased the launch of a new Alpha camera on October 21st at 10 AM ET, and judging by the YouTube metadata, it appears to be the long-awaited full-frame A7 IV mirrorless model. A list of now-stripped tags, if accurate, would make the A7 IV a formidable hybrid full-frame camera, on par with Canon's R6 (but hopefully without the overheating issues). Expect a 33-megapixel sensor and 4K 60p video with 10-bit All-I XAVC recording. And that’s probably just the start.
Facebook’s new Portal Go adds portability to the company’s video-chat-focused smart display. Like with previous Portals, it has an AI-powered camera that keeps you in frame during video calls, except this time you can carry it around the house. The Go has other improvements, too, such as a more personalized home screen and a new Household Mode that makes it more family-friendly. However, it lacks a lot of features that other smart displays have, and Facebook’s poor reputation precedes it.
Last year's Pixel came and went with only one screen size available, and for this year's flagship Google's giving you two options again. But instead of dubbing it the "XL" the bigger phone now carries the "Pro" moniker. The company says it's because it offers more professional features like a telephoto lens, but it also means it's named similarly to rival handsets from Apple and OnePlus. Check out the specs of some of the competition in the table below, and be sure to check out our hands-on with this fancy new phone while you wait for the full review later this month.
Google was all too excited to unveil Tensor, its first system-on-a-chip, in August. We knew it would be powering the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, and much like Apple's A-series mobile chips, it was an attempt at tying together Google's software with some custom-tuned hardware. In particular, Google positioned Tensor as something of an AI powerhouse, giving its new phones better hardware for image processing and voice recognition. Now, we know exactly what makes Tensor tick.
Google's SoC is a 5nm eight-core design broken down into big, medium and small cores. Leading the way is two ARM Cortex-X1 cores running at 2.8GHz. That's notable since Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 888 chip, which powers Samsung's Galaxy S21 and many other high-end phones, only has a single X1 core. It'll be interesting to see just how much faster Tensor is in comparison.
Below that, the SoC also features two Cortex A76 cores running at 2.25GHz, as well as four 1.8GHz A55 cores as the "small" bits. Thankfully, Google didn't skimp on graphics: the Tensor also has a Mali-G78 graphics core, which you'll also find on other flagship Android phones.
All of the talk of custom hardware may bring to mind the ill-fated (but gloriously inventive) Moto X, Google's 2013-era attempt at building a smarter smartphone. It wasn't the most powerful mobile around, but its always-on voice commands were a decent step towards ambient computing, something Google is still focused on today with the Tensor chip.
The new SoC allow the Pixel 6 to translate videos and messages quickly with its Live Translate feature, and it'll be smarter about recognizing your voice as well. That should be particularly helpful when it comes to using your voice to type, edit and send messages. Overall, the Tensor chip will perform around 80 percent faster than the Pixel 5, according to Google. That's a lofty figure, so we'll definitely be testing the Pixel 6 heavily to confirm those numbers.
Additionally, Google says Tensor also gives the Pixel 6 an extra layer of security. It'll work together with the Titan M2 chip in the phone to protect against malware and other potential attacks. That's a good step forward for Google, and we're hoping to see more security hardware in other Android phones down the line.
At this point, Tensor appears to offer everything we'd want in a new mobile chip: Fast speeds, and plenty of forward-thinking AI features. It could eventually make the Pixel phones Google's true iPhone equivalent: Flagship hardware that dances in concert with a custom mobile chip. (And if Google is truly successful, maybe Tensor could make its way over to devices from other companies.)
The Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are finally here, and they’re the most promising phones from Google in years. That’s largely thanks to Tensor, the company’s first mobile chip. We’ve already seen plenty of pictures and videos of the Pixel 6, but now we actually have devices to play with and detailed specs to share. One of the highlights of the Pixel 6s are the cameras, which not only received a processing boost thanks to Tensor, but also a serious hardware upgrade.
Additionally, these handsets bring faster-refreshing screens, Android 12-exclusive features and significant voice recognition enhancements. But the best thing about the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro is the reasonable price. Starting today, you can pre-order a Pixel 6 for $599 and a 6 Pro for $899, and they’ll be available on shelves October 28th.
Pixel 6 and 6 Pro hardware differences
That’s a surprisingly low price for the Pixel 6. You’re getting a 6.4-inch Full HD screen with a 90Hz refresh rate, not to mention a 50-megapixel main rear camera (with pixel-binning), 12-megapixel wide angle lens and an 8-megapixel selfie camera. For $300 more, the Pixel 6 Pro offers a sharper 6.7-inch 1,440p screen that goes up to 120Hz and has narrower bezels. The Pro also adds a 48-megapixel telephoto lens with 4x optical zoom, and its 11.1-megapixel selfie camera is both sharper and packs a wider-angle lens.
Cherlynn Low / Engadget
The other main differences between the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are that the Pro has a larger battery and comes with 12GB of RAM, while the smaller model has 8GB. Oh, and only the Pro goes up to 512GB of storage and has an ultra wideband chip for ranging and spatial orientation.
Pretty much every other feature is standard across the two devices. They’re both powered by Google’s new Tensor chip — an octa-core system comprised of two "Prime" Arm X1, two big and four small CPU cores. Both phones also have in-display fingerprint sensors, IP68 protection ratings, support for sub-6, mmWave 5G and pretty much every other standard you’d expect from a flagship in 2021.
A return to premium design and fun colors
The two also differ slightly in design, which marks a departure from previous years. Right off the bat, the phones feel markedly different from the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4. Instead of a matte soft-touch texture, both Pixel 6 phones are covered in glass with gently curved edges, lending them a premium feel. I’m not a fan of their new blocky shape, and the Pro in particular feels very similar to Samsung’s Note 20 Ultra. Thankfully, the Pro is lighter than the Note 20 Ultra and the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Cherlynn Low / Engadget
Both phones are also much larger than the Pixel 5, and though their screen sizes differ, they have almost the same footprint. As you’ve probably noticed in the images circulating around the internet, the focus of the backside is an approximately inch-tall bar that spans the width of the device. It houses the cameras (two for the Pixel 6 and three for the 6 Pro), and while it does protrude about half an inch from the back, it doesn’t cause much wobble when you place the handset on a flat surface.
As mentioned, the Pixel 6 has noticeably thicker bezels and its edges have a matte texture compared to the Pro’s shinier finish. They also come in a different trio of colors, and the Pixel 6 arguably has the better palette. I’m a fan of the minty blue option, and the blush version is nice too. Meanwhile, the Pro only has one fun shade that's not black or silver: the almost yellowish hue. Not everyone’s going to love it.
Android 12 and voice recognition
Both phones run Android 12 with some Pixel-exclusive features. The most obvious refresh is the Material You UI, which took a really long time to roll out to the beta (and arrives on Pixels first). If you’ve been following our coverage of Google’s software, you know that Material You adapts by taking the primary color elements of your home screen’s wallpaper and then applies that throughout the system.
That means you get colorful, matching hues for things like your keyboard, menu buttons, settings panel and notifications shade. Seeing it fully realized on the Pixel 6 was a treat. Good news for current Pixel owners: It will roll out to the Pixel 3 and newer devices today.
But when Google introduced Tensor earlier this year, it also promised big things were coming in areas like voice recognition and camera processing. The company teased us with some limited demos then, but at a recent briefing I was shown more of the features coming to the Pixel 6 and they’re truly intriguing.
First of all, Google has revamped its speech recognition software. Not only will the engine be better at understanding you, but it also suggests alternatives that might make more sense. For example, if you have a friend whose name is Bryan (with a ‘y’), and you’ve changed the spelling a few times from Brian (with an 'i'), the system will note the correct spelling going forward.
Google
Google will also let you insert emoji by saying things like “smiley face emoji.” During my demo, I said “hot pot emoji” and the fire and pot symbols appeared. (Sadly, Unicode doesn’t have an icon for hotpot yet. Shame.) You’ll also be able to say the words “Send” or “Clear” to submit or delete your message, and go into the text to edit it while you’re speaking by tapping the error and saying what it should be. No need to switch in and out of voice typing mode.
Arguably the most interesting of the Pixel 6’s voice features is the ability to translate languages as you’re typing. A Google rep pulled up a WhatsApp chat with a friend who uses Japanese, and typed “Certainly, I will do that.” Almost simultaneously, the Japanese characters (hiragana) appeared in the text field.
My Japanese is rusty, so I’m not entirely sure the translation was accurate, but an earlier message from the conversation did appear to correctly convert “so cool” to “totemo kakkoii.” The translation happens both ways, so if your friend is sending you something in a foreign language, Google can also convert it to something you can read.
Google
One of my favorite things about Pixel phones is their call-related Assistant features. Things like Call Screen and Hold For Me keep me from wasting time on robocalls or waiting for a representative who is “currently helping other customers.” The Pixel 6 will also get a new Wait Time feature that shows you how long you can expect to hold for the top 5,000 businesses in the US and even convert those annoying menus into an onscreen interface. That’s not only great for saving you time, but can help those with hearing impairments. I didn’t get to try it out myself yet, though Google’s rep did call HBO and the Assistant seemed to accurately transcribe what the automated operator said.
A serious camera upgrade
The main area where the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro have improved is their cameras and indeed, this is what I'm most excited about. We're at a point in the smartphone camera race where all the major players deliver excellent image quality regardless of whether they’re using a 108-megapixel or 12-megapixel sensor.
So where Google needs to stand out is with special features. And there’s a long list of new ones here thanks to that Tensor chip, including a Motion mode, object eraser and real tone for more accurate processing for people with different melanin levels.
Few of these are truly new in the smartphone world. We've seen the eraser option before on Samsung phones, where if there's a stray garbage can in your photo, you can select it and the system will remove it for you. During my demo, a Google rep took a picture of their colleague with passerby and a backpack in the background. They then tapped the extraneous person in the Photos app to outline and then delete them. There was a faint shadow on the wall that Google generated in its place, but it was otherwise as if there was never a person there.
Cherlynn Low / Engadget
The Motion mode also offers other familiar tools we’ve seen on Huawei and Sony phones. One is a long exposure setting that lets you shoot moving cars at night (or anything with lights, really) and have their tail lights appear in the image as iridescent streaks. Because my meeting took place during the day, a Google rep demonstrated this by taking pictures of videos projected onto a wall, including a waterfall. The Pixel 6 rendered beautiful light streaks and silky cascades of water. So far, I’ve been impressed by the images it produces, especially compared to samples taken with Huawei’s Light Painting mode.
The other feature in Motion mode is called Action Pan. Basically, if you have a fast moving subject, like a dog prancing through a field or a bike zooming down the street, it will let you capture a crisp photo of your subject against a motion-blurred background. Again, based on the demo at my briefing (of a Google rep cycling inside a room in circles), it seemed to work well.
With the Pixel 6 launch, Google is also officially introducing its image equity program. We've heard a little bit about this at I/O, where the company said it’s working to make the Android camera more inclusive. In the Pixel 6, Real Tone is baked in (not something you can turn on or off) and it should render people more accurately, and also better expose and color-balance scenes. Of course, this is something that will require more real-world testing for me to conclude it’s effective.
There's a slew of other photography-related features that I’d love to try outside of a controlled demo, including a Face Unblur tool. But while there’s plenty of software tweaks to check out, I’m also dying to grab some pictures with the new hardware. Both the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro now have a 50-megapixel main sensor with f/1.85 aperture. They also have a 12-megapixel ultra-wide option that has a 114-degree field of view, and the Pro has an additional 48-megapixel telephoto lens with 4X optical zoom.
Cherlynn Low / Engadget
A Google rep and I stood side by side with him holding the Pixel 6 Pro and me using the iPhone 13 Pro I had on hand. Both of us zoomed to the furthest we could to capture a little Android figurine sitting on a distant couch, and Google appeared to be the clear winner. While both devices rendered the robot, when we zoomed in it was evident the Pixel 6 Pro captured more detail, clearly showing the lines between its head and body, which were basically just smudges on the iPhone.
Up front, the Pixel 6 has an 8-megapixel camera while the Pro goes up to 11.1-megapixels, and the latter can capture selfie videos at up to 4K at 30 frames per second. Both devices can shoot at 4K resolution at 60 fps with their rear cameras, and there’s a new Speech Enhancement mode to play with that will drown out background noise to focus on what you’re saying. All these will also require extended real world testing before I can tell how useful they are.
In fact, there’s plenty more to test, including battery life, Tensor’s performance and the in-display fingerprint sensor’s responsiveness. You can already pre-order the Pixel 6 for $599 and the 6 Pro for $899, which is hundreds less than their Apple and Samsung counterparts, but I’d suggest waiting for our full review before spending your money.
Key specs
Spec
Pixel 6
Pixel 6 Pro
Display
6.4-inch 2,400 x 1,080 (20:9) OLED. 411ppi, up to 90Hz
6.7-inch 3,120 x 1,440 LTPO OLED. 512ppi, up to 120Hz
Just as Google kicks off its big Pixel 6 event, the company has finally started rolling out Android 12 on Pixel 3 and above. The company released the first public beta of the OS during the I/O developer conference in May, and it's been priming Android 12 for prime time since with several other betas.
Along with a major visual overhaul, Android 12 packs in a bunch of new features, including privacy and security upgrades. A Privacy Dashboard shows which sensors (such as GPS, camera or microphone) apps have accessed in a chart and displays an activity timeline. You'll be able to find out why apps needed access to data from those sensors.
An indicator will appear at the top of the screen when an app is using the camera and/or microphone, and you can shut off those sensors completely for all apps in Quick Settings. There's an option to only allow apps to see your approximate location rather than precisely where you are too. On top of that, Android 12 will handle the processing for more language and audio features on-device, including Live Caption and the Now Playing song recognition tool.
Although the Android 12 rollout is underway on Pixel, owners of compatible Samsung, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Tecno, Vivo and Xiaomi devices will need to wait a little longer. The OS will hit those phones and tablets, and ones from other companies, later this year. Google released Android 12 on the Android Open Source Project earlier this month.
There's another important thing to note about the Android 12 rollout. The dynamic color experience powered by the Material You design language is only available on Pixel devices for the time being. The color scheme will match the wallpaper you choose across the system and apps, and that look will be mirrored across other Google products, including smart displays, wearables, Chrome OS and the web. Google says other Android devices will get access to the experience later.
