In 2019, I switched from a Pixel phone to a Samsung phone. In the three years since then, I haven't been tempted to go back – I really enjoyed what Samsung offered. But that changed as we got closer to the launch of the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, as rumors and leaks had me wondering if I could go back to Google. I spent the last week using a Pixel 6 Pro as my primary phone and the results surprised me.

The reason I chose Samsung, not only to replace my Pixel, but for all other OEMs, came down to top-of-the-line, well-built, reliable hardware with equally well-designed software to accompany him.

Since making that decision, I've re-evaluated it every year to see if I'd be tempted to go back, and haven't been – until now. The Pixel 4 had a poor battery life of battery, lacked an ultra-wide camera, and traded in a fingerprint scanner for face unlock. The Pixel 5 was a solid phone for the price, but it couldn't hold up against my S20 Ultra's hardware But the Pixel 6 Pro achieved what the others couldn't, so it's no surprise to see it win our readers' choice vote for best phone of 2021.

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Hardware

Google called the Pixel 6 Pro its first flagship phone, and it had a good reason. Every Pixel has always made some sort of compromise, whether it's the dated design The original Pixel (which I still love), the inconsistent screen quality of the Pixel 2 XL, the bathtub notch and insufficient RAM of the Pixel 3 XL, the poor battery life of the Pixel 4 and the overall mid-range of the Pixel 5. The Pixel 6 Pro has none of these issues.

The screen doesn't pull any punches. I know a lot of people find the size an issue, but 6.7″ is the sweet spot that I've come to appreciate over the past two years . 90Hz was pretty good on the Pixel 4 and 5, but it can't compare to 120Hz it's becoming the norm in the rest of the market, and it's good to see that Google is finally catching up and bringing it to 1440p.

Like the Galaxy S21 Ultra, this is an LTPO panel, so where other screens can only switch between 60Hz or 120Hz, this phone can vary the refresh rate between 10Hz and 120Hz depending on the task at hand. Smooth scrolling and battery efficiency. Win-win.

The only downside to this display is its curvature. In recent years, Samsung has ruled the radius of its curved displays, culminating in the subtle curve of the S21 Ultra. be not a dealbreaker, I still wish it was flatter.

Battery life on the 6 Pro was amazing in my testing, easily getting me around seven hours of screen time on a recent trip to London. It was a trying day for the Pixel , with me spamming the camera at every opportunity and constant use of Google Maps GPS on 5G. Based on previous experience, I would have been lucky to get five hours of screen time at the time of my S21 Ultra under similar circumstances.

The real star of this show is Tensor, the beating heart at the center of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. All the good about this phone comes down to this chip, which has been outstanding so far, especially for a first generation product.

The 6 Pro stayed smooth throughout my testing and never lost a frame. Pixel phones have always felt smooth thanks to the streamlined and optimized nature of Google's Android skin, but nothing comes close of that. Every swipe of the app drawer, every tap of the keyboard, scroll through Facebook, and the Minecraft session went without a hitch. Tensor does a lot more than make the phone fast, but we'll discuss that in the relevant sections .

Unfortunately, the hardware experience wasn't perfect, and I was disappointed with the speakers. The earpiece isn't loud enough to generate a decent stereo image, and everything you listen to sounds still like it's moved to the bottom of the phone. Every Samsung phone I've owned, from the S10+ to the S21 Ultra, has excelled in this department, so the Pixel's weak speakers let me down.

The cameras

Image gallery (2 images)

You can't talk about a Pixel phone without mentioning the cameras. It's been the most notable feature of Google phones since the Nexus 6P, and it continues in what I consider its spiritual successor. Previous Pixels, which all use very similar hardware, everything in the 6 Pro's camera suite is all new. The main 50MP sensor takes incredibly detailed images, and it's nice to finally have a good zoom on a Pixel.

What impressed me most about these cameras was the low-light performance, which you can see above. The first image is a four-minute exposure taken on a tripod in Astrophotography mode. The conditions were far from perfect, with streetlights about ten feet away and lots of ambient light from nearby houses, but I got an amazing shot of the night sky and an even better gif.

In the gallery above you will see comparison photos taken of the Pixel 6 Pro and my S21 Ultra at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The first photo in each comparison is the Pixel and the second is the S21 Ultra.

I expected the Pixel to crush my S21, but it didn't. Both phones took good photos for the most part, with the Pixel more natural and the Galaxy with more obvious HDR Which of those you prefer will come down to personal preference, but the Pixel's photos could easily be changed to match the S21, which would be harder to do the other way around.

The only place where my S21 was better was the ultra-wide camera. Due to low lighting, neither phone took particularly impressive images here, but the photos illustrate a clear difference: the Samsung is much wider than the Pixel. I love shooting with an ultra-wide lens, but I didn't feel wide enough every time I tried to on the Pixel. When you consider that the S21 Ultra also manages to group together in a really good macro mode, and there's clearly a winner there.

As for zoom capabilities, they were on par most of the time. Thanks to Google's Super Resolution Zoom, digital cropping at 10x on the Pixel 6 Pro was as good as 10x optical on the S21U. exceeds 10x helped the Samsung phone come out on top, but I usually avoid that because the pictures aren't good. The only area the Pixel misses here is video capture. far than 4X, while the S21U can do 4K up to 10x thanks to this dedicated sensor.

Overall, I preferred the shooting experience on the Pixel 6. Shutter lag isn't an issue on this phone like it is on the S21 Ultra, and things like Night Sight and Astrophotography are so far ahead of anything Samsung has to offer.

Software

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I love One UI, especially One UI 4. It's been my favorite version of Android ever since I first saw it, so if I ever got tempted by Google, I'd have to make some changes. Google delivered, making Android 12 the best Android version yet. Material You looks great, the new animations are smooth, and the overall performance is great.

But using a Pixel is so much more than the stock Android experience. Unlike older Nexus phones, Pixels get exclusive features that no other phone will ever see. I will always remember when MKBHD called a Pixel (I forget which one) "the smartest smartphone". That's the perfect description, even more so for the Pixel 6 Pro. Thanks to Tensor, I've never seen Assistant respond so quickly , and the new voice typing in Gboard is second to none. In my week of use, I went from voice typing to constant use.

The software feature I liked the most, however, was call screening. I know this is old news for those of you in the US, but here on the other side of the pond, it's only been available for a few months. It's also not the full version found in the US, because you can't ask it to stand by or make a reservation for you for But the basic incoming call filtering functionality got me excited. Spam is a big deal here, and watching these callers interact with the assistant made me smile.

So is this case closed? I like the hardware and the software experience is good too. When you factor in the £850 price tag (which is significantly cheaper than my S21) it looks like to a no-brainer. Unfortunately, there are still a few sticking points, and I'm not about to sell my Galaxy for a Pixel.

The software experience, good as it is, still isn't enough to switch me over. Android 12's Quick Settings redesign has been controversial with users, and for good reason. adding an extra step to switch between Wi-Fi or mobile data is annoying, and the design of the buttons themselves wastes so much space. easy access to important system functions.

Another great example is the battery stats screen, which no longer shows a correct screen when reading the time. To gauge the battery life of my Pixel 6, I had to tap each segment of this graph, note the screen time for that period, then add it up.

Then we have all the features you will only find on a Samsung phone, especially in the Good Lock app. With Good Lock, I can make many tweaks that were previously exclusive to custom ROMs and rooted phones , all from an official app. Hiding status bar icons, changing Android gesture navigation and using custom icon packs are just a few of the wonderful things possible on a Samsung phone .

Timely updates aren't a real benefit of the Pixel anymore either. Samsung regularly releases security patches before or at the same time as Google, and my S21 Ultra got a stable Android update 12 less than a month after Google updated the Pixels.One UI 4 has all the great features of Android 12, without most of the annoyances.

Now, if I had tried the Pixel 6 at launch and compared it to my S21, I might have been tempted to switch, despite the software issues I just mentioned. But between the release of the Pixel 6 and the handover of a Pixel, I was able to try something else.

The Z Fold3 completely changed my priorities when buying a phone. Battery life and cameras were two of the biggest deciding factors, but they now rank much lower. Battery isn't great on the Fold3, but it charges quickly, and I always carry a power bank anyway, even when testing the Pixel 6. The cameras aren't as spectacular as the 6 Pro or the S21 Ultra, but they're good enough. Now that I'm working from home, I only go out to take pictures once or twice a month, and even with the S21 Ultra in my pocket, I prefer to use my Sony A6300 instead .The Fold3 has nearly ruined other smartphones for me, and I'll be incredibly disappointed when I have to send it back.

What happens when it comes back? I might sell the S21 Ultra and get a Pixel 6 Pro. I might upgrade to the Samsung Galaxy S22 due next spring. Instead, I'll keep my current phone until the next generation of foldables arrives. If Google surprises us with a Pixel Fold next year, that might be what I'll buy, but for that to happen, I'll have to before the Pixel had a chance to win me over, the Fold3 had already stolen my heart.

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About the author

Zachary Kew-Denniss (237 articles published)

UK based Android enthusiast specializing in all things Samsung and Android. There is a 90% chance my articles will contain references to SpongeBob SquarePants or Transformers. Current devices: Galaxy S21 Ultra Galaxy Watch4 Galaxy Buds/Buds+/Buds Pro Pixelbook iPad Pro 2020

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