The Pixel vi and 6 Pro are firmly in the easily of those who pre-ordered, but a lot of people are still on the contend. The new lineup may have received glowing reviews across the board, only shelling out $600 or $900 plus taxation for anything is a huge delivery for many (when you can't or won't accept reward of the usual contracts and trade-in deals, that is). You might be wondering if your trusty Pixel 2 or Pixel 3 is still proficient enough. I've finally switched to the Pixel half dozen after sticking with the Pixel 3 for all these years myself (granted, I got my hands on a few review loaners, likewise), so let's explore this question.

The obvious differences

The first and most significant alter you'll notice when you pick upward the Pixel 6 is its sheer enormous size and weight. The Pixel iii weighs roughly 150g while the Pixel 6 comes in at nearly 200g — a significant deviation you'll feel in your hand. This is because the Pixel 6 grows in every dimension, with a protruding camera bar stretching beyond the back as the crimson on acme of the cake. You're going to love this if y'all like big phones, but anyone who prefers their handsets to comfortably fit their hand will probably not similar it too much. In fact, the Pixel 6 is only about as large as the Pixel 3 XL. Google's latest lineup isn't really about picking the size you like, information technology's more about which feature set yous desire. If you'd like your phones to exist as pocket-sized as the regular Pixel 3, the Pixel six will likely not exist for y'all.

Pixel 3 vs Pixel 6 home screen

Despite the similar form factor beyond the Pixel three Forty and the Pixel vi, the new phone has a much bigger brandish and bombardment. The screen comes in at 6.4 inches, with a 90Hz refresh rate, and fills out the whole front almost perfectly, with only a small dot selfie camera breaking upwardly the middle of the status bar at the top — no unsightly notch or a bottom bezel to be seen. The battery is likewise a significant upgrade from roughly 3,400mAh on the 3 XL (and ~2900mAh on the regular 3) to ~4,600mAh on the Pixel 6. From my experience, this translates to a battery that comfortably lasts a whole day, which stands in stark contrast to my Pixel 3 that I routinely had to top off in the afternoon just to barely go far to bed without a dead phone. (Battery degradation may take been at play here, besides.)

The Pixel half-dozen too has a few new features that most probable won't find their way into older Pixels due to its specialized, Google-built Tensor chip. The new phone supercharges text-to-speech on Gboard, with improve speech comprehension, automatic punctuation, and back up for commands similar "send" or "delete." There'southward also Live Translate, which lets y'all automatically interpret text letters and stuff you run into in front of your camera.

Performance-wise, the Pixel 6 is an upgrade, just it's not every bit big a bound every bit I would take expected. In my experience, the Pixel 3 is yet perfectly adequate for nigh everyday tasks (barring hugely taxing things similar surfing the web while on video calls), which is impressive for a three-year-onetime phone.

Cameras

As whatever new Pixel generation, number 6 brings numerous camera improvements to the tabular array, like Real Tone for a more accurate representation of all skin colors. The new Magic Eraser removes unwanted objects and people who happen to pass past from images. Motion Manner lets y'all pick between Action Pan and Long Exposure, helping you create those professional looking photos of fast-moving objects. Information technology'south unlikely that any of these features will find their way onto older Pixels, so y'all'll need to upgrade to accept advantage of them. I haven't been able to test this Pixel half dozen stuff extensively yet, but from what I've seen, information technology's super fun to play with.

For anyone upgrading from a Pixel 3, it'southward too slap-up to finally have access to more than i lens on the back. I personally would have preferred a telephoto lens on the regular Pixel half-dozen in place of the broad-angle lens nosotros got, but it's nonetheless a whole new perspective to play with for those of united states who stuck out with the Pixel 3 until now. Only Google giveth, and Google taketh. The Pixel iii was the first (and last) in the series to come with two front-facing cameras, with a standard lens in improver to a wide-bending. I'g going to miss this on the Pixel half dozen, equally broad-bending lenses make a lot of sense for group selfies (groupfies?).

google pixel 6 seafoam 1

The Pixel three and Pixel 2 are also among those Pixel phones with grandfathered unlimited Google Photos storage, fifty-fifty if Pixel 2 owners can simply upload photos in compressed quality. Pixel iii owners volition be downgraded from original quality to loftier quality in early 2022, but hey, at to the lowest degree yous'll still get to go along unlimited storage, which is missing birthday from the Pixel 6 (and 6 Pro).

Degradations

At that place are some other degradations, also. The Pixel half-dozen's speakers audio so much worse. They're tinny, lack any semblance of bass, and are much less dynamic than the Pixel iii. While I've always enjoyed watching videos on my Pixel three without any farther peripherals, the Pixel 6 makes me want to connect to my Bluetooth hearing aids well-nigh every time I consume content. You lot can completely forget about listening to music on the vi's speakers, too, if you ask me — it's simply non enjoyable.

The fingerprint scanner is another betoken of contention for many. The Pixel vi breaks with the Pixel serial' traditional dorsum-mounted sensor, opting for an optical nether-display solution instead. Compared to other optical sensors, like the i on the OnePlus Nord, it doesn't seem half bad to me, only it's definitely not as fast to unlock as my trusty Pixel 3. Many reviews, including our own, even mention that the fingerprint scanner is an absolute subpar experience, then your mileage may vary.

Pixel 6 Pro review (12)

Pixel vi Pro pictured here, with its identical case.

Information technology's also a shame that Google did away with its cute fabric cases in favor of a pick of transparent alternatives, but that comes down to gustatory modality. At least the newly designed cases should protect your phone from drops much better than the hardshell cases of old.

What about the Pixel 2?

As for the Pixel 2, a lot of the points in a higher place as well apply, but here, I by and large see next to no reason non to upgrade. The Pixel 2 hasn't received software updates for well over a twelvemonth now and is still stuck with Android eleven. While it's a shame that its owners are left out on all the beautiful new things coming to phones with Android 12, the more pressing problem is the lack of contempo security patches. The Pixel two isn't protected from the nearly recent vulnerabilities institute in Android anymore, which makes information technology more decumbent to privacy breaches and data thieves. Cheers to Android'southward increasingly modular nature, some of these issues can exist mitigated without proper system updates, but it's however something you lot need to keep in listen when using the Pixel 2.

The Pixel 6 is slated to receive a total of five years of security patches, which should brand it one of the longest-lasting Android phones currently available. Included in these five years are the usual three years of full Android version upgrades, though we would take loved to see Google footstep up the game in this department, too.

Conclusion

While the case is pretty much closed for the Pixel 2, the situation is a piddling different for the Pixel 3, particularly the smaller version. The Pixel 6 will be an upgrade in almost whatever style, merely I still maintain that the Pixel three could be expert for some other year or so, especially if you throw in a battery replacement. It's a shame that Google no longer produces a pocket-sized flagship phone, but that'due south how things are now. Even the mid-range Pixel 5a isn't much smaller than the Pixel half dozen, almost forcing you to either suck it up or switch to another make birthday — if y'all'll even notice whatsoever Pixel 3-sized phone that's still satisfactory in this day and historic period. Things could be different in a year, so if you're willing to concur on to your Pixel 3 until October 2022, you could gamble on a more than fitting upgrade. At that betoken, it will be loftier noon to replace your Pixel 3, in whatever case. Information technology will be in the same endlessly outdated state as the Pixel ii by so concerning security patches, and information technology won't receive Android 13. Enjoying an extra year of unlimited Google Photos uploads might even so exist worth it, though.

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If you don't care much about the size, though, the Pixel half dozen is a more than clear recommendation, though. There are a few regressions, like the lack of a wide-angle selfie camera, worse sounding speakers, and a slower fingerprint scanner, but all in all, the Pixel 6 gives you the latest and greatest from Google and should be practiced to go for at least iii years, if not 5. Information technology's the most meaning hardware and software alter in recent years and comes in at a fair $600, which is cheaper than what the Pixel 3 launched at ($800), and information technology undercuts many comparable phones on the market today.

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