General First impressions - not great

[smallfish82]

So 2 days in, some real life testing and me not liking. Here's why:

1. Firstly, I noticed that the screen is yellowy, it's not pure white like you'd find from the S21 phones for example. It's minor but it bothers - like a niggling suspicious this phone can't manage the basics. White isn't white. Reality is overrated. [edit, so ok this might be a setting issue]
2. Secondly, taking photos of white surfaces in darker rooms and white turns blue. I don't mean, faintly tinged, I mean blue!
3. The phone is well balanced in the hand (unlike the S21U), however it feels very plasticy and cheaply built. Something about putting the power button above the volume rocker is not nice after 3 years with Samsung phones which are the other way around.
4. So, the camera AI is good, photo's look on the surface to generally be good quality. Noise is well handled by the AI but zoom in and you seen there's a lots of smoothing on a minute level. This is the sole Pixel win over the S21U in my opinion. [edit: watch out for 'bars' of 'noise' in photos though and random white balance issues - the latter is probably not as bad as Samsung's over HDR/WB saturation though]
5. The 5G modem, ow god, this is awful. I know, because I have a Samsung with the same modem and good look having working connectivity where the 5G signal is sub par - the phone should drop 5G and revert to more reliable 4G but it doesn't. You just end up with a dead connection. Walk around and experience disconnection from your digital world.
6. Why the feck can I not turn off 5G, I mean the preference option just isn't there. In no way. If your carriers 5G or 4G network flakes out, you are screwed. How dare you think of manually swapping to another technology to stay connected. Silly, stupid, user. Google (and your carrier) knows best... ergh
7. VoLTE/4G calling seems flaky on some networks - EE UK - well, you can't. They blame Google, Google blame EE. Good luck with that.
8. Make sure to cover your eyes when using the finger print reader in the dark too - it's optical/super cheap so it is the brightest light you'll ever see. I have notice one of my blood vessel is bit blocked. Great medical device. A++

I really wanted to love the Pixel 6 Pro. I have lived with a sub par S21U for 9 months. I thought it was lots of marketting spin and less substance. I was wrong. I'm a Samsung fanboi forever now. They can throw me their *(£" and I'll happily lap it up after this massive disappointment.

It'll improve with software updates. Just hold on. These are just the typical usual new problems.... yeah, after 5 years of hearing the same old crappy excuses by manufacturers, I think I'll go with my gut this time.

Hey, Google, where's my refund?!

 

[GohanBurner]

The fingerprint reader alone is why this is going back. Holy Christ. What were they thinking? If their goal was to create a bunch of eWaste then they succeeded.

 

[Morgrain]

So 2 days in, some real life testing and me not liking. Here's why:

1. Firstly, I noticed that the screen is yellowy, it's not pure white like you'd find from the S21 phones for example. It's minor but it bothers - like a niggling suspicious this phone can't manage the basics. White isn't white. Reality is overrated.
2. Secondly, taking photos of white surfaces in darker rooms and white turns blue. I don't mean, faintly tinged, I mean blue!
3. The phone is well balanced in the hand (unlike the S21U), however it feels very plasticy and cheaply built. Something about putting the power button above the volume rocker is not nice after 3 years with Samsung phones which are the other way around.
4. So, the camera AI is good, photo's look on the surface to generally be good quality. Noise is well handled by the AI but zoom in and you seen there's a lots of smoothing on a minute level. This is the sole Pixel win over the S21U in my opinion.
5. The 5G modem, ow god, this is awful. I know, because I have a Samsung with the same modem and good look having working connectivity where the 5G signal is sub par - the phone should drop 5G and revert to more reliable 4G but it doesn't. You just end up with a dead connection. Walk around and experience disconnection from your digital world.
6. Why the feck can I not turn off 5G, I mean the preference option just isn't there. In no way. If your carriers 5G or 4G network flakes out, you are screwed. How dare you think of manually swapping to another technology to stay connected. Silly, stupid, user. Google (and your carrier) knows best... ergh
7. VoLTE/4G calling seems flaky on some networks - EE UK - well, you can't. They blame Google, Google blame EE. Good luck with that.
8. Make sure to cover your eyes when using the finger print reader in the dark too - it's optical/super cheap so it is the brightest light you'll ever see. I have notice one of my blood vessel is bit blocked. Great medical device. A++

I really wanted to love the Pixel 6 Pro. I have lived with a sub par S21U for 9 months. I thought it was lots of marketting spin and less substance. I was wrong. I'm a Samsung fanboi forever now. They can throw me their *(£" and I'll happily lap it up after this massive disappointment.

It'll improve with software updates. Just hold on. These are just the typical usual new problems.... yeah, after 5 years of hearing the same old crappy excuses by manufacturers, I think I'll go with my gut this time.

Hey, Google, where's my refund?!

I got my P6 Pro today and would like to add something to a few of your points

1. My screen white is white, maybe your panel sucks?
2. Jea, the blue tint is well known in low light shots. Also visible in several reviews. Many phones go yellowish, googles algorithms goes blueish.
3. I actually prefer the power button above the volume rocker, so that's personal taste.
4. The smoothing comes from the Super Rez Zoom algorithm
5+6: Not sure if it's your provider, but I can set my preferred network, I can tell the phone to prefer either 5G, 4G, 3G or 2G.

 

[skimminstones]

my screen was yellow until i changed wallpaper settings to basic colour options and it became white.

 

[thetonyclifton]

Funny how people can view the same thing so differently but some of these are simply not true.

You can change network type away from 5G, first thing I did.

Samsung panels are absolutely not colour accurate to compare against.

Some of the other things are subjective. Build quality I think is great, my unit is as well built as any Samsung, iphone or One Plus I have owned.

 

[Nekromantik]

Lol that post about not turning off 5g! Seriously...look at what you can actually do before mentioning something so basic.
Secondly power button location different to Samsung is not a fault it's a design choice and your preference. All my OnePlus phones had power above volume also.

 

[xgerryx]

Lol that post about not turning off 5g! Seriously...look at what you can actually do before mentioning something so basic.
Secondly power button location different to Samsung is not a fault it's a design choice and your preference. All my OnePlus phones had power above volume also.

Oneplus phones have the volume on the left and the power on the right with the alert slider. Been that way since at least the 5. Seems like you would know this before mentioning something so basic LOL.

 

[blackhawk]

The blue in photo taken in a dark room is a WB issue most likely and/or there simply wasn't enough light in the red spectrum vs blue when shot.
May or may not be a defect or software glitch.

Samsung actually puts a lot of effort into their UI.
It looks and acts nothing like a Pixel. Samsung's stock customization is second to none with hundreds of free customization apps, themes and icon packs. I saw nothing released this year I wanted; display problems, 5G issues, major Android 11/12 fubars, and no SD card slot on most of the flagships.
So... fk it, got a 2nd new N10+ 4G Snapdragon running on 10. No regrets.

 

[skyman631]

If on AT&T, you do not get to choose between 4g lte or 5g. The option is not available. AT&T forces you onto 5g.

 

[Cares]

The fingerprint reader alone is why this is going back. Holy Christ. What were they thinking? If their goal was to create a bunch of eWaste then they succeeded.

What's wrong with it? I've used mine for almost 24 hours now and I have not had it fail a single time. I added each finger twice.

 

[GohanBurner]

It's not that it's broken, it's that it's annoying. It's slow as hell compared to my 4a 5Gs traditional FPR and it lights up like a Christmas tree Everytime you use it. No thanks.

 

[Keith W]

I have multiple fingers saved, it fails more times than it succeeds

 

[mrsean]

Samsung panels are absolutely not colour accurate to compare against.

P6 Pro screen is a Samsung panel too.

 

[96carboard]

About these fingerprint sensors.... unlike a knowledge-based password or pattern, biometric data is NOT protected by the US 5th amendment or laws in other jurisdictions that protect you against self-incrimination.

Nothing to hide? Then don't need a security lock to begin with, so its a non-starter if you try to argue that.

 

[96carboard]

P6 Pro screen is a Samsung panel too.

You sure about that? Might be. However in general what they mean is as found on phones with a samsucks label on them. They calibrate them in a more cartoonish manner.

 

[skimminstones]

had some issues at first when I was setting up but after the update i deleted the scans and re did them. Not one issue unlocking since.

 

[gettinwicked]

had some issues at first wheni was setting uo but after the update i deleted the scans and re did them. Not one issue unlocking since.

I guess I need this update. I've redone the print unlock several times for my left thumb, and a couple for my right. Still pretty bad. I've checked for an update a couple times, and nothing.

 

[smallfish82]

Funny how people can view the same thing so differently but some of these are simply not true.

You can change network type away from 5G, first thing I did.

Samsung panels are absolutely not colour accurate to compare against.

Some of the other things are subjective. Build quality I think is great, my unit is as well built as any Samsung, iphone or One Plus I have owned.

Not on mine you can't. I guess it's poor of carrier to stick that in their configuration and even worse for Google to enable the option in the first place...

The screen colour might be rectified as advised - the colour of photos on the Pixel 6 is more realistic but then the white balance is a lottery. [not that Samsung are great at it either of course!]

 

[smallfish82]

I guess I need this update. I've redone the print unlock several times for my left thumb, and a couple for my right. Still pretty bad. I've checked for an update a couple times, and nothing.

You might have a dud. Mine is better than the Samsung one (but hey, I last set up that like 6 months ago) but the light. Ow, the blinding light. I don't want to see the composition of my thumb each time I want to unlock the phone!

 

[smallfish82]

P6 Pro screen is a Samsung panel too.

I read this in several posts too. I guess Samsung is the largest producer of screen now... even Apple have used them IIRC.