Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are official, and they have a visor-like camera

The Google Pixel 6 is real, and Google has shown it off

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TheGoogle Pixel 6and Pixel 6 Pro have been revealed, and it looks just as the rumors predicted: a sleek flagship phone with a visor-like camera block. It’s also launching withGoogle’s first chipset, theGoogle Tensor, with a planned launch in ‘fall’ (Q3 2021).

The Google Pixel 6 looks notably different from theGoogle Pixel 5, according to images shown off by an official Googletweet. The new phone ditching an all-metal matte black back for a horizontal camera block that splits the rear into two distinctly-colored sections.

Here’s a sneak peek at the newest Google Phones powered by Google Tensor - the brand new chip designed by Google, custom-made for Pixel. Meet:📱 #Pixel6📱 #Pixel6 ProBoth are coming later this year.We’ll tell you a little about them in this 🧵 👇(1/13) pic.twitter.com/SRhzvRA7WCAugust 2, 2021

Thankfully, Google hasn’t been stingy on the details – that tweet is one ofthirteenexplaining all about the phone. Here are the top-level takeaways:

We made a chip!#Pixel6 is powered by our first ever smartphone SoC: meet Google Tensor(5/13) pic.twitter.com/0Kts53TfqmAugust 2, 2021

Separately, we know the Google Pixel 6’s two cameras will be a main and ultra-wide and its selfie camera will be positioned in the middle of the front display thanks to Marques Brownlee’s newvideomade after he claims to have handled one of the phones.

Brownlee also revealed a few other tidbits: the Pixel 6 Pro will have an around 6.7-inch display, and the rails (top and bottom edges) of the camera bar will be glossy silver on the Pro phones and matte black on the standard handsets. Neat!

Brownlee went even further in on the Tensor chipset itself, explaining that the new silicon gives Google the opportunity to switch out the same photo sensor it’s been using since the Pixel 2 for a new one tailored to its brand-new SoC.

But he also emphasized how Tensor enables the Pixel 6 phones to decode voice and process it on-device (as opposed to on Google servers) for faster responses from Google Assistant and other vocal interface features.

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Analysis: Pixel 6? Where’s the mid-range Pixel 5a?

The Google Pixel 6 wasn’t shown off atGoogle IO 2021back in May, but that’s not surprising – Google often waits to show off its flagship, which typically launches in October. What is surprising is that we haven’t heard anything official about the mid-rangeGoogle Pixel 5a, given that its predecessor launched around this time last year.

What’s more, a Bloomberg reportsuggestedGoogle would announce and release the Pixel 5a in August, and there’s plenty of time in the month left for the company to reveal it.

But Google has only mentioned that its Pixel 5a 5G will come out in the US and Japan, so either the mid-range phone will get a far more limited release than theGoogle Pixel 4a– or Google will only release a 4G LTE version globally.

Those aren’t the only questions, of course – will the Pixel 5a just inherit the Pixel 5’s perks, or will it get a taste of Tensor, too? We’ll have to wait until Google officially reveals the phone.

David is now a mobile reporter at Cnet. Formerly Mobile Editor, US for TechRadar, he covered phones, tablets, and wearables. He still thinks the iPhone 4 is the best-looking smartphone ever made. He’s most interested in technology, gaming and culture – and where they overlap and change our lives. His current beat explores how our on-the-go existence is affected by new gadgets, carrier coverage expansions, and corporate strategy shifts.

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