the Google Pixel 6 it’s one of the best phones I’ve ever owned, but it’s also one of the most frustrating. In fact, if its many high points (camera, software, speed, design) weren’t so stratospheric, its many low points would make it hard to recommend.
As it is, those positives outweigh the negatives, to the point where I’ve started casting envious glances at the next pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. but with the The price of the Pixel 7 is not likely to changeAnd with money tighter than ever, Google will have to work harder to persuade me to upgrade.
So, with the phone’s launch on October 6 just days away, here are the Problems with pixel 6 that the Pixel 7 needs to fix if it wants to join our list of best phones.
1. A better fingerprint sensor
the The Pixel 6’s fingerprint sensor is terrible. It’s the hands (fingers?) that are the phone’s biggest flaw, a feature so poorly implemented that every unlocking experience becomes a game of will-it-or-won’t-it where the prize is simply access to your own stuff.
Want to quickly unlock your Pixel 6 to check Twitter? The news will be old by the time you get there. Photo opportunity? Good luck capturing that before the moment is over.
Granted, it’s not that bad, because one of the frustrating things about the scanner, which sits below the Pixel 6’s screen, is that it’s so unpredictable. Some days it works perfectly, one press unlocks the phone instantly; in others, it just doesn’t. But I’ve never been able to figure out how to increase my success rate, which makes every interaction with him a stressful affair.
We have reported extensively on the issue and Google’s attempts to fix the issue. 6 pixel fingerprint scannerBut I haven’t noticed much improvement. Google even suggests that you moisturize before usebut unless it offers me a year’s supply of free hand cream, that’s not really a solution.
However, there are reasons to hope that the Pixel 7 won’t have the same problem. Like ours Google Pixel 6a review makes it clear that there are no such problems with the cheapest phone scanner, which is fast and reliable. If the Pixel 7 does the same thing, that’s a big concern for me.
2. Improved cellular connectivity
As with the fingerprint scanner, this isn’t always an issue, but when it is, it’s very annoying. Essentially, the phone has random difficulties getting reception, and while this can often be fixed by toggling Airplane mode on and off, that doesn’t always work. It could be a problem with my network, sure, but I’ve been with it for almost a decade and have lived and worked in the same area for that long. And I have never had this problem before.
I’m not alone either: Google started receiving complaints about Pixel 6 connection issues on the heels of the phone’s launch last year, and even though updates were rolled out to fix the issue, some users continue to experience network outages and reception issues.
There is a suspicion that the culprit is the Pixel 6 modem, which is the 5123b made by Samsung, rather than one of the Qualcomm models found in almost all other flagship smartphones. Unfortunately, some dig codes done by 9to5Google indicate that the Pixel 7 will have another Samsung modemjust like the Pixel 6a, which doesn’t exactly assure me that the new phone will perform any better on this front.
3. Longer battery life
The Pixel 6 doesn’t have terrible battery life, but it’s nowhere near the best performer in this regard. In our tests, we got around a day of use, which matches Google’s own claims of 24 hours, or 48 with Extreme Battery Saver enabled. My own experience is that even if I start the day with a full charge, I usually have to recharge it before I go to bed. Depends on how I use it (and how late I stay out), obviously, but I rarely leave the house without one of the best power banks just in case.
That’s a far cry from my old phone, the OnePlus 8T, which could easily last more than a day without running out of juice. On the plus side, it’s a reasonably fast charger: It’s rated at 30W and can go from 0 to 47% in about 30 minutes.
The latest rumors suggest the Pixel could get a modest upgrade in battery size, with a 4700mAh cell compared to the 4612mAh one in the 6. But that only tells us so much; battery life is also affected by processor efficiency and screen power consumption, among other factors, and we won’t know more about this until the new phone is revealed. Fingers crossed that it has a little more to offer on this front than its predecessor.
Google Pixel 7: reasons to be cheerful
Those flaws can be annoying, but I can live with them because the Pixel 6 does several much more important things well. And something else.
The camera is one; I am a great photographer, but I have taken my Fujifilm X-T3 I leave the house much less often now that I have the Pixel 6 in my pocket. Yes, I would like to have the Pixel 6 Pro, with its telephoto zoom, but the Standard 6 is capable of taking fantastic photos in its own right. Also, the latest rumors suggest that the 7 could get an upgraded 50MP ultrawide sensor, compared to the current 12MP, so it’s very likely that the Pixel 7 will join our list of the best. best camera phones.
Software is another highlight of the Pixel 6, in part due to Google’s lovely vanilla. android 13 and partly thanks to all the little tricks enabled by the Tensor chipset inside. What tricks? Good, magic eraser it’s great, and I also love the amazingly fast and accurate voice typing and instant translation features. The Pixel 7 will run on the second-generation Tensor 2 chipset, so look forward to where that came from.
Given that the Pixel 6 is also super-fast in use, has a good display for the price, and has a distinctive and attractive design, there are more than enough positives to outweigh the negatives. So if the Pixel 7 can fix those flaws, I’ll pre-order at the earliest opportunity.
