Love it or hate it, that chunky turtle rubber on the back of the Pixel 6 means that Google’s flagship lineup has a distinctive design identity that is far from generic. We think it would benefit from a case, as it looks sleek but can feel super slick without one; with a 6.4-inch screen, this is a large phone that’s close to the size of Nothing (1). So if size is important to you, the smaller, more affordable Pixel 6a may be worth buying.
It comes in a variety of colors, all with beautiful two-tone colors and “quirky” names to match. They include “Kinda Coral,” “Solta Seafoam,” and “Stormy Black. In fact, we see that these names are a mix of peach and red, paired with teal and green, and a variant of black and gray (which we tried).
[content-egg-block template=offers_logo hide=price]We found that the rear camera we tried out produced good image quality in all lighting conditions. Color grading of the photos is slightly more saturated and warmer than the neutral treatment familiar on the iPhone, but this also reduces editing time. You can post your snaps directly to social without worrying about post-processing. The Pixel is also more accurate in processing skies. If clouds are gray, they will show up in a dramatic gray, rather than the blue often seen on iPhones.
The Pixel 6 looks different from other Pixel phones. A large black camera rubber extends across the entire top of the back. It is a bit reminiscent of the Nexus 6P. The new turtle rubber has a distinct protrusion that gives you a nice index finger placement if you are trying to use the phone with one hand. It also has no apparent wobble when using the phone on a desk.
Now is a good time to talk about color variations; the Pixel 6 comes in all the fun colors; the Sorta Seafoam (our Google Pixel 6 review unit) features a blue-white back and pastel yellow-green accents on the top and actually reminds me of Seafoam; Kinda Coral is my personal favorite colorway, with bright orange accents on the top. Stormy Black is the most subdued of the three colors, featuring a sleek color combo of black and gray. In contrast, the Pixel 6 Pro’s colors are more luminous and professional.
The Pixel 6’s screen is bright enough for sunny days, reaching a peak brightness of 490 cd/m² with the ambient light sensor torch pointed at it and the phone’s auto brightness setting turned on; there is no shortage of brightness when viewing HDR10+ material, peaking at 758 cd/m², 13% brighter than last year’s This is 13% brighter than last year’s model.