Google shows off Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro with custom Tensor processor and a new camera system

• The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro smartphones will launch later this year, powered by the new Google Tensor processor.
• Tensor is the first chipset designed by Google and it comes with several AI and ML improvements.
• The Pixel 6 smartphones will also feature a new camera system and high refresh rate displays.

Out of the blue, Google offered an early look at its upcoming generation of flagships, the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Unlike previous Pixel smartphones, the Pixel 6 series will offer several important upgrades in terms of processing power as well as the cameras – the crown jewel of the Pixel series.

Even though this was just an early look – a teaser of sorts – of the upcoming Pixel 6 smartphones, there’s a lot to unpack here already. Undoubtedly, the highlight is Google’s custom processor – the Android maker is calling it Tensor, initially rumoured to be Whitechapel.

Google Tensor could be the next big thing for the Android maker

As far as chipsets are concerned, Google Tensor is a significant development in the smartphone world which is dominated by Qualcomm, Apple, Samsung and to some extent, MediaTek.

For long, Apple has reaped the rewards of designing its own chipsets, allowing it to integrate its hardware and software that is not possible for most other smartphone makers.

Now, with Google making both Android and its own chipset, users can expect a more optimized experience on the Pixel smartphones.

But beyond the optimisations, the most prominent highlight of the Tensor chip is its machine learning and AI capabilities, exceeding anything that Google has done before. These new capabilities will also benefit the new camera system – more specifically, videos shot with the Pixel 6 smartphones are said to benefit the most.

Apart from this, Google says the new Tensor chip also brings enhancements to speech recognition and on-device transcription.

New camera system, high refresh rate displays and more

After rehashing the same camera sensor for several generations, Google is finally willing to take the next step and introduce a new camera system in the Pixel 6 smartphones.

Google hasn’t divulged too many details about the cameras just yet, but it has confirmed that the Pixel 6 will sport a standard and an ultrawide camera. The Pixel 6 Pro gets an additional 4x telephoto snapper. Both the phones will have a single front-facing camera, housed in a centre-aligned punch hole notch.

Google also confirmed that the Pixel 6 will sport a 6.4-inch Full HD+ resolution display with 90Hz refresh rate. The Pixel 6 Pro, on the other hand, gets a slightly larger 6.7-inch Quad HD+ display with 120Hz refresh rate. Both the phones will come with an under-display fingerprint sensor.

And if you think the design looks familiar, it is because the camera strip on the back is inspired by the Nexus 6P, the last Nexus smartphone.

We should know more about the Pixel 6 smartphones in the coming weeks.

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