This review was originally published on March 29, 2022, and was updated on August 26, 2022.
I'll confess. I've been a huge fan of Google's Pixel phone lineup since the original Pixel. I appreciated the subtle tweaks the company made to the plain version of Android. I also appreciated the Microsoft Surface-like approach Google was using to try and influence the likes of HTC, LG and even Samsung with its own smartphone initiative.
But, for the last few years, it's felt as if Google's Pixel lineup was lost. The Pixel 4 had some promise but fell short on several fronts. The Pixel 5 felt like the search giant just mailed it in -- going back to the basics, without really pushing the Pixel line forward. In fact, during that time, the A-series -- Google's budget-friendly versions of its high-end smartphones -- were not only the best deal, but were the best phones Google made.
It didn't feel right for the company behind Android and all of the services millions of people rely on daily to have to settle for having a lineup of low-end entry-level smartphones. In August of 2021, when Google announced that it would use its own Tensor processor[1] in the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, it sent a message that the company was finally getting serious about its smartphone ambitions. It's not a marginal investment to design, develop and produce your own chips, especially when Qualcomm has off-the-shelf chips for every tier of smartphone ready on a yearly cadence.
But announcing something as ambitious as Tensor and following through by delivering an experience that goes beyond what's been offered in the past are two different things. After spending the past year using the Pixel 6 Pro off and on, I can confidently