Google Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro launch event Live updates: Google Pixel 6 series announced

The Google Pixel 6 Pro will be available in three colours too - Cloudy White, Sorta Sunny and Stormy Black.

The Google Pixel 6 will be available in three colours - Sorta Seafoam, Kinda Coral and Stormy Black.

The live stream is over for the Pixel 6 event. 

Live Translation works across apps on Pixel 6 from Messages to WhatsApp to Instagram. So basically you could watch an Instagram Live in another language and the phone will have a live translation of it, thanks to the Tensor chip. 

Google says that the Pixel 6 and its Tensor chipset run the most advanced speech recognition model, which can ensure the phone understands exactly what you are saying. Pixel ensures the fastest voice typing capabilities and the model can adapt to the user's habits. 

Google says that with Tensor they can now apply computational photography to video on the Pixel 6 as well. Google has developed an algorithm called HDRNet, which can now run directly on the 4K videos to ensure better colour accuracy in the video quality. 

Pixel 6 camera gets the 50MP primary wide sensor, which is capable of capturing a lot more light. The new ultra-wide sensor is capable of capturing more light as well. The Pixel 6 Pro gets the triple camera. 

Tensor has a 20-core GPU. Google says the chipset is designed for total performance and efficiency. 

Both Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro have a new 50MP camera on the back. Google says the primary sensor now captures up to 150 per cent more light (compared to Pixel 5’s primary camera). The phones have new ultrawide lenses with larger sensors. Pixel 6 Pro has a triple camera, which includes a 50MP main camera, a 48MP telephoto camera, and a 12MP ultra-wide camera. 

Pixel 6 Pro also has 4X optical zoom and up to 20x zoom with an improved version of Pixel’s Super Res Zoom. There’s also an upgraded ultrawide front camera that records 4K video. For instant Snapchat access, a new Quick Tap to Snap feature is coming exclusively to Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro later this year.

The Pixel 6 still has a dual camera: 50MP+ 12MP ultra-wide camera. 

Google is also adding a new Magic Eraser feature, which can make distractions in photos disappear. This will be coming to Google Photos. 

Google is also introducing a new Pixel Pass subscription services for users in the US. It will give users access to a new Pixel 6 along with Google One, YouTube Premium and YouTube Music Premium, Google Play Pass, and Preferred Care. This is at $45 per month. The Pixel Pass with Pixel 6 Pro starts at $55 per month. After two years, users will have the option to upgrade to a new Pixel.

Let us take a closer look at the Google Tensor chipset, details for which have been revealed in a new blog post by the company. Google says the Tensor chipset can unlock new experiences that require state-of-the-art ML or machine learning models such as Motion Mode, Face Unblur, Speech enhancement mode for videos, and applying HDRnet to videos.

Google says Tensor was developed in partnership with Google Research team and is capable of tasks that would require high performance. According to the blog, Google Assistant on Google Tensor uses the most accurate Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) ever released by Google. Google also says they can use high-quality ASR model even for long-running applications such as Recorder or tools such as Live Caption without quickly draining the battery. 

Google also claims the Pixel 6 can handle more complex tasks related to photography easily and quickly. Computational photography is a big aspect of the Pixel series, and Tensor chipset will just take it further. 

Pixel 6 Pro comes with a triple camera at the back, 6.7-inch dynamic display (10 to 120 Hz) with Tensor chipset and a bigger battery. It comes 12GB RAM. Pixel 6 Pro will start at $899, and Pixel 6 at $599. 

Pixel 6 is here powered by Tensor. But we don't know much about the chipset yet. Google says they have upgraded the camera sensors and lenses along with computational photography on the Pixel 6. Google isn't really talking specifications here. 

Pixel will be capable of new AI experiences thanks to the Tensor chip. Google says it took them years to make the chipset. Google has dedicated Machine Learning models (ML) which run on the Pixel phones thanks to the Tensor chipset. 

Rick Osterloh, SVP for devices is in front of the camera now. He's talking about AI and how the phone needs to understand the user and their world, their context. They are calling Pixel, the most personal and most helpful phone. 

The Pixel launch event starts with a video of the new Pixel 6 phone. 

The live stream has begun, though the show is yet to start. Right now Google is just showing us all the other products they have in the market such as Nest cameras. 

Google will likely talk about how the new Pixel 6 series is a lot more secure thanks to the Tensor chipset. 

When the Pixel first came out it was supposed to take on the iPhone and the camera was excellent, one that stood out in the Android market. And it was true more or less till the Pixel 3 series. But in the recent iterations, the Pixel cameras haven't quite come out on top thanks to the growing competition in the market from other Android phones such as OnePlus, Xiaomi, vivo, which have all drastically improved their cameras. With the new Pixel 6 series, and their redesigned camera, can Google come back on top once again? 

Typically, the Snapdragon premium 800 series from Qualcomm is seen as the benchmark of what an Android phone can deliver in terms of performance. But the Tensor chip from Google could outdo this. For one, a report from XDA Developers has said it comes with two Cortex-X1 performance core, two A76 performance cores and four A55 performance cores. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 has only one Cortex-X1 core, and if Google uses two, its Tensor chip might be a lot more powerful. At least on paper. Whether that actually turns out to be the case is what we will have to wait and see. 

A new report by Nikkei suggests that over 7 million units of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro will be produced. That is twice the Pixel phone shipments from 2020, which added up to about 3.7 million units.  

Google is expected to announce more details today of the rumoured Pixel Pass programme. This subscription-based programme will allow Pixel users to upgrade to newer devices each year along with bundled subscription plans for Google One, YouTube and other services. More details on the service are expected to be revealed today.

While the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro have all the attention, we will have to wait and see if Google launches other hardware products in the Pixel line such as the PixelBook laptop, and a new Pixel tablet. The Pixelbook was launched back in 2017, but it has been discontinued and so far there has been no Pixelbook 2. Will Google showcase this at today's event? We will have to wait and see. 

The Pixel 4A was the last device that came to the Indian market. Pixel 4 and Pixel 5, Pixel 5a 5G were not launched in India at all. With the Pixel 4 series, the Soli radar chip was the reason why it did not come to India. Read more on that here. However, Soli was dropped in Pixel 5 series, but the phones were not launched in India either. The trend sadly is expected to continue with the Pixel 6 series. This is a marked change from when Pixel phones launched back in 2016 and were introduced in India at the same time as the US market. 

All eyes will really be on the Tensor chipset from Google. Google is ditching reliance on Qualcomm and going the Apple (A series) and Samsung  (Exynos) way. The Pixel 5 ran the Snapdragon 765G chipset and all we know is that the Tensor chip is a massive performance leap compared to the previous one. Just how the Tensor chip performs in real life will be key.  

We know a few details about the Google Pixel 6 series thanks to Google officially announcing some details about the phone back in August. Check it out here.

The Pixel 6 event starts at 10 am PT or 10.30 pm IST tonight. The live stream is being played on a dedicated site for the event:  pixelevent.withgoogle.com as well as the official Google YouTube channel.