Google Pixel 6

Google’s cut-throat Pixel 6 is a force to be reckoned with.

The Pixel 6 in particular is just a lot of phone for $600 — it’s hard to think of anything on the market that can compete with it at that price. Google is offering a better experience than basically any other Android phone maker in the markets where the Pixel is available, and often doing so for a lower price. It’s even undercutting OnePlus, which built its entire brand on selling premium phones for lower prices.

The Google Pixel 6 is a winner – but more than that, it represents Google at its best. This phone and the Android 12 experience are powerful, playful, reliable, and exciting. Assuming Google continues on with the software support they’ve provided Pixel phones since the dawn of the brand, the Pixel 6 is absolutely the best Android 12 smartphone value on the market today.

Regardless, we wouldn't call this a showstopper and for what the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro deliver in terms of overall device and experience quality, we have to applaud these new made by Google devices. It's been a while since we've had a truly flagship Google Pixel release, but the new Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are very much in this class of devices, with features and performance that may cost hundreds more with competitive offerings.

Whichever version you’re considering, the Pixel 6 series is a superb return to form. Google is clearly aware that its strengths lay in smart software and excellent photography, and those are the areas where the Pixel 6s deliver most. The company also didn’t neglect basics like battery life and display, and though I wish the fingerprint sensor was faster, there’s little to complain about. Best of all, Google is offering you all these flagship features for hundreds less than the competition.

Which should you choose? I'm a sucker for the Pro's telephoto cameras, but I can't stop marveling at what you get for $599 in the Pixel 6. That's easily the best phone for the money, period.

The Google Pixel 6 gets a lot right and on the whole, you get excellent hardware and software for a reasonable price. However, the question is largely whether the design is a step in the wrong direction or not.

The Google Pixel 6 delivers the best Android experience for the money with superb cameras, smart photo editing features and new Google Assistant powers in Android 12, but the battery life could be better.