Google Pixel 6 Pro - 5G Android Phone - Unlocked Smartphone with Advanced Pixel Camera and Telephoto Lens - 256GB - Stormy Black

Google Pixel 6 Pro is an amazing device. I opted for the unlocked version to use with Spectrum Mobile, and 256GB since I sometimes had more than 128GB on my last phone (photos, videos, downloaded maps for Google Maps and outdoors apps,etc.). First, let's address 5G service: It is hit-or-miss. It ain't the phone's fault, it's just the nature of 5G. It has very short range from towers (that's why 5G towers are popping up in subdivisions, city streets, etc.) and can't penetrate buildings like earlier services. So, don't blame the phone if 5G don't work where you are. 4G and LTE are your reliable friends. Also, even if you do have 5G showing on the phone, don't expect blazing speeds. I've tested speeds with 5G on and off while sitting in restaurants, doctors offices, city traffic (as a passenger) and at home. Sometimes 5G is 200mbps or better, and sometimes it is slower than 4G/LTE. It depends on distance from the tower, signal strength and traffic on the tower. Don't write negative reviews for any phone based on unrealistic 5G wishes. Now, about the Pixel 6 Pro: Here's what I like: 1. The very large screen lets me read without always using reading glasses. 2. Battery life seems to be very good for the amount and types of usage. I try to stay between 20-80% charge for longevity sake. 3. The cameras (3 of them) are very good. I opted for the 3-camera 6 Pro for the cameras, allowing me to capture travel scenes without the added weight and hassle of the Nikon plus it's lenses, charger, etc. We just returned from Aruba, and I didn't miss the Nikon at all. I use the wide angle (0.7x) and telephoto (4x) a lot, and it's pretty good when you use digital zoom at 20x. I use the photosphere feature often when traveling, and it's a great way to share the experiences. And, the night and astrophotography capabilities are way better than expected. Get a mini tripod and try those sometimes (astrophotography shots can take 4 minutes). As a guy that used manual film cameras before digital was possible, I would like more control of the camera functions, but there are apps for that. After your images upload to Google Photos, try the Magic Eraser editing tool you've heard about to get rid of unwanted people or cars from a scene. It ain't totally automatic, but it sure beats the old ways of doing it. I don't shoot many videos, but I might now that I have better capabilities. If concerned about scratching the cameras, apply a tempered glass protector for the camera. It's cheap and easy. And they have a cutout for the flash and microphone. 4. Phone calls are reliable and clear. No problems with dropped calls. 5. Google's Spam Filters prevent most calls from getting through. If an unwanted call (or one you can't answer immediately) rings, flip the phone face-down to shush it. Better yet, turn the ringer off before church service starts. 6. The fingerprint reader works fine for me. Take time to train it for more than one finger, and increase sensitivity before applying a screen protector. 7. There are many useful settings, so take your time and explore them. 8. International use was easy. All I had to do was call Spectrum Mobile to enable international use, then take off. They charge per minute for calls, per text message, and per MB for data (please turn off mobile data roaming). It was super easy and reliable in Aruba, although we did get a welcome to Jamaica message. Now, what I don't like: Nothing. I did my research and knew what to expect. Who would order a phone costing over $1000 (taxes, accessories, etc.) without knowing what they're getting? I could gripe that it's too tall for most shirt pockets, but I specifically wanted a big screen, so it ain't Google's fault. I could gripe about the swiping gestures, but I like them after learning how they work. There are many other smartphones out there, so do your own homework and buy one you like. Would I buy this phone again? Yes. Absolutely. But I was hoping the 7 Pro could be available before I killed my Pixel 3. Oh well, that's neither phone's fault.

Best android experience you'll ever have! Smooth and awesome display! Camera better than any phone one the makket and I have pictures to prove it! For a flagship phone it's expensive in my book but way cheaper than iPhone 13 pro or Samsung Galaxy s22 ultra. So it doesn't have the bells and whistles they have. The spam calling feature alone it worth it ! And security and all so yes this phone is best for the money! And too me still expensive but you'll like it ! UPDATE: 8-21-2022 Loved my my phone but nothing but problems! Bugs or whatever. Wifi calling never worked since day one! Contacted Google and did everything and they said to take it to Asurion ( fix it tech repair) well I did and they said I needed a new motherboard! My phone was in pristine condition and in a case since I took it out of the box! No marks , scratches or anything on it! They put a new motherboard and still same problem. Now I paid $800+ for this phone brand new and Google wants to fix it . Now they want me to send it back . So I took pictures of every part of the phone because I should of automatically got a new one! Now who knows sent the phone to there warehouse and took pictures showing it was working . To be inspected at the warehouse to see if the phone is in pristine condition!!!!! There wasn't such a scratch on it ! Anything. So now I spent $800+ and no phone and they don't want to send me a brand new one! Unreal ! I will never buy a Google product again unless they make the 100% right ! With a brand new phone , that works ! I bought one other Google phone and returned it! It takes the best pictures and software is unbeatable but , if this doesn't get resolved I'm going back to Samsung! I hate iPhones so . Here's the deal I've been with android since day one!!! Seriously! Google needs some kind of quality control and stop worrying about releasing a phone every year to keep up with apple and Samsung! And start treating there customers "RIGHT," ! ITS B.S. ANYMORE AND I'M TIRED OF GETTING TREATED THIS WAY LIKE I DID SOMETHING WRONG ! Update 8-31-22: Recieved my new phone from Google and knock on wood it's working very well !

Screen micro scratches from literally being a screen; I've taken extremely cautious care about this phone. it has micro scratches on all the sides of the screen. no clue as to why? like it never even left my pocket and if it did it was charging. Adaptive battery isn't function properly. no clue as to why... TBD to see what I've done wrong.. typical self. Battery overall on this phone doesn't even last; e.g. Today!. today I had 2 hours and 15 minutes of screen time with 35~% battery left. I only checked Instagram as often as hours past and notifications by unlocking the device, if it was a Whatsapp I opened and replied. not at all heavy usage. I have almost no applications for those wondering.(nothing in the background chogging on the battery) phone is like brand new(have it 13 days~, from day of posting) I've check what takes so much battery and it's the mobile data standby. tried fixing it, didn't manage.(better optimization for this please. takes 40% battery on the casual.) Fingerprint reader : It's fine for the most part; if you're trying to unlock your phone with weird gesture angles it won't really read rather it will think you're holding and not momentarily. It's decently fast, takes me to notice that I know I'm in the lock screen which isn't really fun.(not instantaneous, 1 - 3 seconds) Screen : It's awesome, the 120hz feels so smooth. not sure if the "adaptive" screen refresh rate(10 - 120 hz) actually does something but if it does you cannot notice it.(screen takes 1%-2% battery at most, so good work!) Processor : since it's googles first try I won't be cancelling them about this(they've done much better than Samsung and that's a sure) ; It overloads easily, if you open the DIALR/phone app and just spam the numbers(in the numpad for calling) you can crash the application. while I typed on the Gboard(default keyboard for this phone) It froze the current app(even sometimes made the screen unresponsive(you'll understand why it's odd.), Google needs some serious updates which don't happen as frequent as I'd like especially for a new phone(had 0 in these 13 days). Google's handling for these app crashes and freezes mean you can't really notice them since it's not crashing all the time, it freezes for like 1~ - 4~ seconds(it comes back after. doesn't reset the progress aswell) which is some great work on the development side of android handling application's with their environment's. overall Tensor needs better integration with android like iPhone's IOS has with their bionic chipset, and some heavy optimization's. by the way if you hadn't notice I'm nitpicking on purpose since the phone just came to launch and is brand new and has all sorts of new idles(environments) that Google needs to handle/fix. ehm "TENSOR" excited to see what Google does with this Phone in the future. As for first try Google you absolutely nailed it.

Love this phone (Pixel 6 Pro). I've been using it for at least a month now and it functions perfectly. I bought it as new, not refurbished. It came new and unlocked as described. The battery life is awesome. I am a heavy phone user, I use the hotspot a lot and the battery lasts all day. The camera is amazing. The pictures are incredible. There are so many features, I may never use them all. I like the size of the phone, it's larger than my Pixel 2 so I can see everything more clearly. The screen is very tough and the colors are brilliant. The sound quality is also excellent. I bought a Falcon case from Encased to protect the phone and they look great together. I'm hoping to own this phone for a very long time and I believe it is built to last. I only wish it had an easily replaceable battery, but it seems that no phones do at this time.

A caveat here: as a computing device, this is pretty solid, though not incredible. It has an amazing camera and it's pretty snappy. But as a phone...it's borderline unusable. It's 5G capable, but I'm never on 5G. Or even 4G. It spends most of its time on LTE or with no connection at all, something that my old Note never did in the same area with the same carrier. A restart sometimes helps, but usually only slightly. I've not once had full bars on it. The battery barely makes it through the day, because 46% of the battery usage is searching for cellular signal. It drops wifi, texts won't go through, often simply won't bother dialing when you input a number, and only directs calls to me about 40% of the time. I'll find voicemails from people wondering why I didn't pick up when the phone never even rang or notified me that a call was coming in, often WHILE I'M HOLDING THE PHONE AND LOOKING AT IT. If a call does go through, it often sounds like I'm talking to a robot. Turns out, I'm not alone...number one complaint on this phone is the poor connectivity. Google even has a beta program to try to fix it, but they've so far failed. I've tried to trade it in for a new phone, and no one will accept this one as a trade in. It is also prone to glitches, crashes, and occasional screen non-responsivity. Not to a degree that it's a dealbreaker, but certainly more than I've experienced with other phones. A couple subjective dislikes: I don't like the stock Android interface. I loved it on the Pixel 1, but the updates have made it so that I have to memorize gestures, and I prefer simple "back" and "Home" buttons. The camera bulge is just a big bar all the way across the back and it's ugly as all hell. But that's just me, your mileage may vary on that. Bottom line, if I'd paid $350 for this thing, I'd shrug and say "oh, well, you get what you pay for." But this is a $1200 flagship phone that flat out won't work most of the time. I will never again buy a Pixel, which is sad because the Pixel 1 was one of the best phones I've ever had.

I have tried a lot of different brands, especially recently. Of course I had many Samsungs but the disappointment over customer support on a brand new phone that got wet was enough to start me looking. I've tried LG, ONEPLUS, and now I'm on the Google Pixel. The LG had half of the screen fade vs the other half. The ONEPLUS fell and cracked severely but did not shatter. It is still usable as a backup but I would be afraid of it getting wet. As for the Google, it is perfect except the battery runs out too early so I would have to carry a power bank wherever I go. Photos are great, being better than Apple and Samsung. Speed is way up there. Works really well with Bluetooth including the hard one of hearing aids. A problem I do have that is not their fault is that changing brands will get you thoroughly lost when trying to adjust settings. Was that menu option under this setting like Samsung or under that one like ONEPLUS or unlike any other.

From a lot of the reviews, I felt that this might have been a bad purchase I made. I was wrong. With the latest Android 13 update, I would say that the fingerprint sensor is almost as fast as my Samsung S10+ fingerprint sensor. I don't typically use face unlock so I don't really miss that feature. Battery wise, it is very impressive only after a couple days or a week of use. You need to have the phone learn the way you use your phone! The phone will then optimize the battery to better suit your needs. I assume this is because we don't use a lot of the apps we have on our phones, but they are "good to have" apps. I typically have my Pixel 6 Pro charged once a day and rarely do I run out of juice even though I am the type of person who doesn't charge overnight and charges the phone to, at max, 90% and try to never go below the 30% range. With that in mind, I am still getting out a good full day of use before plugging it in for charge or setting it on a charging stand. This is my first time ever using a 6.7 inch screen display. Very vivid and beautiful display! The 120hz really helps to bring the Google experience together as a very smooth and easy to use software. The biggest gripe I have about the display is the curved display.. if the display was only slightly curved like the Google Pixel 7 Pro, I think this would have been the best of the best phone released by Google ever since the Nexus 6P was released! Camera wise - takes very nice natural photos and only gripe I have with it that doesn't bother me anymore is the telephoto lens. If you are not using the lens and just using the phone normally, you will hear a loud click noise when you shake the phone. I have learned that the phone isn't broken - the camera housing was built in such a way to reduce shaking when taking a long distance photo or video. Overall, 5/5 experience from me! The phone has tremendously improved from when it was released a year ago - if the phone is still on sale (purchased at $649.99), highly recommended for a premium experience with a mid-tier price bracket.

Update 2022-12-02 Went for Pixel 7 Pro because they offered hope and a good trade in. Physically, the 7 is more slippery and they moved the volume and power buttons just enough that the Pixel 6 case doesn't work. Finger print reader is the same meh. Camera might be slightly better. Curved screen edges are a bit less painful for viewing, but the long, narrow format still feels slightly off, never got used to it. One complaint is that my fat fingers encroach on the screen real estate. Bezels are useful. Connectivity with FitBit for notifications remains spotty on both the 6 and the 7 with two different FB models. Verdict: Don't bother. Update 2022-07-07 The messaging app is a disaster trying to use RCS with other parties that don't have reliable RCS, it does not automatically drop back to SMS/MMS, so messages sit unsent and silent until you check on them. The 21st century doesn't work as well as they seem to expect. The latest fun is that on the charging stand and charger I have been using all along, it no longer charges. It vibrates indicating charging state, the charge indicator shows charging and it discharges over night, does not feel warm like it is burning battery. It will quick charge with a cable connected charger. Add in the ongoing bluetooth connectivity problems and whatever else I have complained about, this phone is an annoying POS. Every time I drop it, I hope the screen is broken so I can crapcan this inexcusable, expensive crap. Maybe if I remove the case... If only there were a decent, unmolested Android replacement available. Update 2022-04-14 Had it a few weeks now. The camera is good, bluetooth headset doesn't usually connect or if it does, phone does not appropriately switch audio devices. The fingerprint sensor is often annoyingly slow when it works, I am still cursing the design choice to put it in the screen rather than somewhere that would have physical identification and be easy to use. Curved screen is a pointless gimmick that interferes with viewing and I suspect it is also the cause of swipe navigation being a less than positive experience. The vibration notification seems to be variable, sometimes so subtle you can miss it, sometimes feels OK. I rely on my Fitbit for silent notifications, otherwise I often miss them. I boosted my rating to three stars, there are too many significant caveats with owning this flagship device to rate it higher IMHO. Update: Purchased another one after returning the first. The packaging of the second unit had very nice double security seals with a printed arrow on the tear tab, the first had a cheap adhesive circle that looks like it was applied haphazardly. So far, the finger print sensor is faster. Will update next week if things are working well or sooner if it looks like a repeat experience. I've had the phone for less than five days total, it's on it's 6th spontaneous restart, currently running in Safe Mode because that is the recommended first step in diagnosis. Negative points for Safe Mode going into Airplane Mode after I had logged in and put the phone down. The restarts have been before and after the February update. Good things: Battery life is pretty good IMHO, my dock came unplugged one day and I woke up to it having a 50% charge after 36 hours. Other good things: Migrating to the new phone was mostly seamless. Camera seems good, haven't really checked it out. Real problems: random little glitches in animations, it's kind of like working with Linux as a GUI desktop, it's just not quite "there" in the way Windows and Mac OS are. Attached is an image of a cute little persistent booger. Sometimes it switches the phone to BT unit when you pick up a call, sometimes it doesn't. Other negative observations that aren't problems: My first phone with a wrap-around screen. Complete waste of effort IMHO, serves no purpose other than making the usable screen narrower and distorting the text at the beginning and end of lines. Too narrow/too long, it falls out of pockets that my old XL stayed in. Fingerprint sensor has been good at identifying me so far, but it's a bit slow, you have to consciously hold finger there for a second. I miss having a tactile identifier for it so I don't have to look at the phone before I unlock it. Update: Returning it. Randomly restarted in Safe Mode. Random restarts are completely unacceptable, I am on-call 24/7 very often and having a phone sitting and waiting for you to log in before it runs messaging apps is unusable.