A year late, $450 short, Google finally delivers last year's promised phone. This is my take on the Google Pixel 6 Pro and its relationship to the Pixel 7 Pro after using the it for a year.
The Pixel 6 Pro was a Disappointment
The Google Pixel 6 Pro was a Masterclass in Over Selling and Under Delivering and leaves a bad taste in my mouth especially after having been so excited as to preorder the phone to receive the free Google Pixel Buds with it. Within days of owning it, it had fallen off of various surfaces nearly a dozen times. The glass outer was incredibly slippery and the misbalanced weight made the top half of the phone much heavier than the bottom, very different from the Pixel 2 XL I was upgrading from. What made it even worse was the Google branded phone case came in two weeks after I received the phone, within that time I received a deep scratch on the glass.
The phone was clearly different and initial delivery was poorly handled, so what? I was still satisfied with the purchase at that point, the camera was still decent, the phone case and phone color weren't terrible, not as clean as they were online, but not awful. About three months later is when I began to get irritated.
The Pixel 6 Pro, for being a flagship, was incredibly laggy and featured many OS bugs. The fingerprint scanner was very slow, often times it was not active despite the print outline being shown on the screen (Don't just take my word for it - PhoneArena.com: Pixel-6-Bugs-Could-Make-Users-Ditch-Google). Apps would bug out and close, or wouldn't close, or wouldn't open, far more frequently than on my last phone. App features also struggled to function properly, such as the YouTube small screen or Google Maps driving mode. The phone often overheated, feeling like a brick left in the sun (Piunikaweb.com: Google Pixel-6-6-Pro-Overheating Issue During Normal Use Comes to Light) . It has actually shut down due to heat multiple times despite it not being incredibly hot outside. The GPS is awful, offering poor accuracy reminiscent of my 2016 Moto G. The actual phone service is poor as well, despite being a significant improvement to my Pixel 2 XL, it does not automatically connect to the best service, instead requiring me to toggle 2G on and off so that I can connect to 5G. It also failed to connect to Wifi when it was an option, instead using up data. However, shutting off or turning on data often left the phone struggling to find it again (Per 9to5Google, approximately 79% of users have had some connectivity problems - 9to5google.com: Pixel 6 Connectivity Problems). Then there is the Bluetooth, which is splotchy, but only for my AirPods and Garmin watch, despite not having such issues with the Pixel 2 XL. The battery continues to underwhelm as full day battery should be interpreted as work day. The screen was also dim, full brightness is still hardly viewable in the sunlight. A more annoying flaw is the shaking camera components as your phone moves. We also never saw the initially advertised facial recognition feature come to light.
Other basic issues include the design. Constantly worrying about how your phone is set down to avoid scratching the camera glass. The waterfall edge that prevents a screen protector or case from offering full protection to the phone. The type of glass used is more prone to cracking and scratches than on prior Pixel phones. The color schemes were mid, particularly the grimy paper white.
Poor Accessories
More problems related to the phone include the cheap $30 Google branded case that becomes dehydrated piss yellow far sooner than similar cases that are also cheaper (9to5google.com: Pixel 6 Case - Google Accessory Reputation). There was a poor selection of cases available for the Pixel 6 Pro. The Pixel Buds, which came free with preorder, offer nice features, similar to what AirPods do iPhone users, but are so uncomfortable to wear that it doesn't matter anyway. The audio itself is nothing to envy plus they fall out if you can stand having them in to begin with.. In spite of the fact that the phone constantly drops my connection to the AirPods between songs on Spotify, pausing and starting YouTube videos, and more, they're comfortable and offer decent sound.
Pros
The pros include the visually pleasing design and the camera software. There are a few other features like the Spam blocker and Pixel exclusive Recorder App that are worth noting, but are relatively inconsequential most of the time.
All this is to be expected from a flagship phone that cost $900 of course....
Is There Hope?
The Pixel 7 Pro seems to have at least fixed many of these problems. From reducing the screen curve (despite its beauty), covering much of the camera glass in metal, offering facial recognition, changing the screen brightness, upgrading the battery life, and presenting a snow white color rather than grimy paper. The Pixel 7 series appears to be last year's promised phone that's just a tad late to the market. I have not been one to trade in phones either as I like to have them as keepsakes. However, the Pixel 6 Pro made me take it seriously for the first time as the Pixel 7 Pro is the product that was advertised last year that I never received. The trade in offer was about $450 though, measly for the poor quality product we got and the price paid, but probably what it was worth all along.
The Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro both underwhelm after a year's use. We saw software countless bugs, hardware issues, poor planning, and clumsy work. The only plus side ended up being the camera. We were initially promised many features that we never received and those that we did failed to live up to the standards. Pixel phones were initially sold as a bargain flagship or high end mid tier phones that were practical and functional, with a tad less pomp. Now they're low end flagships with little price differential to make up for it, simply following the crowd. Like many other users (PhoneArena.com: Apple Brand Loyalty Skyrockets - Samsung Nosedives) If Google continues to operate by Over promising and Under delivering, I'll take my time to determine if I buy a Pixel again.
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