General First impressions - not great

[dabrownie]

so to add to this complaint thread, or whatever this is. i've had the phone since Nov 3rd. i have mostly all of the same issues except the color on the screen.

1. the screen is just fine for me.
2. the speakers are good, loud and has a decent balance between left and right when watching videos.
3. the screen when tapped, yes sounds weird, almost hollow which is not a negative for me, just..... different.
4. 5g.... crap, the best i have gotten is about 100mbps speed in one spot driving around and testing, not on the go but driving around 3 towns in different areas as i drive a bit everyday. and the average has been around 10mbps. then i switched to LTE and averaged around 20-30 down and 15 up and i just opened a new line for this phone, so new sim card and everything. on my oneplus 7pro i average 60-90 and 30-50 up on LTE everywhere i drive.
5. finger scanner.... horrible, just no, tried all the tricks you guys mentioned and nothing improved. i can quickly scan my finger on the Oneplus 7Pro and it grabs my finger right away. with this, i just either re-scan or hold it longer which feels useless to have in the first place.

now for the stuff i want to add and not sure if it has been mentioned as there are now 20 pages and dont feel like scanning through them all haha

6. the bluetooth (tested with the new pixel buds and oneplus buds and other bluetooth earphones and such) is basically useless anything below 90% and only the last 4 clicks of volume are good in day time and even then it goes from
4th click from max: feeling like 80% volume
3rd from max: feeling like 90% volume
2nd from max: feeling like 100% volume
maxed out volume: WHY DO MY EARS HURT???

7. i noticed the tap to wake works less then half the time, i turned off the lift to wake because when pulling out of my pocket i was sliding down the notification and toggling stuff ALL the damn time! it was super annoying, so i turned that off and turned on only tap to wake, but that dont even work well. i will tap, then tap tap, then tap tap tap tap, until i get annoyed and press the power button... oh the power button....

8. the power button on mine, not sure if its defective, but you can only click on it if you press on it EXACTLY in the middle of the button, and then press slightly hard on it to actually press it in and it clicks. the volumes buttons are fine, just the power button needs to be pressed right in the middle and a bit harder compared to the volume buttons. -_-

9. i noticed a "glitch", sometimes i will pull down the notification bar and there will be a black area between the toggles and the notifications. i will pull down again to see the toggles and then swipe up to go back to home screen but it will just go to a black screen, until i swipe up again and then i see the notifications. so im still in the notification area but in a black area of it. i can swipe down to see the toggles again or swipe up to see the notifications and then swipe up again to go to home screen or whatever app i was in. but this happens sometimes, its hard to replicate.

oh oh just noticed another small complaint

10. when double tapping a notification that i want to open, i HAVE to type in my pin to unlock so it goes to that app. with my OP7P i can double tap that notification to open it and go to it and it will just ask for my finger print, no pin needed. why do i have to type in the pin when the finger print is faster in this case??

so those are my add-ons for now, again not sure if they have been mentioned or not

 

[EeZeEpEe]

That's interesting you see the screen as warm. It's cooler than the my 4 XL which Displaymate has measure to be 6641k. I wonder what they'll measure the 6 Pro to be.

 

[PhilipL2021]

Ex Pixel 6 Pro owner here. I really wanted to like it as I've been in the Google eco system since the Nexus 4, and really didn't want to change, but the Pixel 6 Pro has made me change my mindset, sorry Google, this is the first time I've ever returned one of your products.

What has turned me off (no particular order):

1) The screen: never had a rounded screen before where the display went off the edge with the glass, and it looked great at first power up just for the novelty factor. However the strange distortion and shadowing on each edge of the display started to annoy me, and using the phone off centre whilst on the desk (next to my keyboard so off to one side), it seemed like the screen was a thick slab of distorted glass. Also some apps had too little padding and went over the edge. If everything else was okay, I'd have just got to use it. Okay perhaps I should have got a Pixel 6 rather than Pro... I know people like these displays, but I think they would please more people with a flat display then they would disappoint those liking a curved display.

2) The Tensor SoC. I'm not stupid Google, I realise this is more a marketing exercise than anything else, and confirmed by the low level details that are appearing now about the Tensor. The chip is basically some Samsung Exynos that perhaps never left the drawing board for one reason or another, and Samsung have dragged that out and said "We will let you put your name to this". It wouldn't be so bad if the Samsung Exynos was at the top of its game and made a good foundation for the Tensor branding, but it doesn't. So we have a SoC that isn't the best performing chip, although comes close in terms of raw speed but at an extra cost of power drain and heat. Partner that with a non-integrated Samsung 5123 modem from 2019, and you get extra power drain all the time as well. How this modem will fair in the US will be interesting, given US networks haven't seen it used before in earnest. This means networks and firmware are quite mature but tuned for Qualcomm modems, not so much for the Samsung 5123.

3) Under screen optical finger print sensor. Coming from a phone with a rear capacitive scanner, there is no competition, and the Pixel 6 Pro scanner is terrible, yes it works, it does the job, but no where near as good as what it replaces., it isn't progress. I stopped using it very quickly and went with a pin.

4) The aesthetics. Not a single person I've shown the Pixel 6 to has liked how it looks, and neither do I really. Some friends who are iPhone fanatics just laughed (okay they laugh at anything made by anyone other than Apple), but I get their point. The least derogatory word I can think for describing the design is utilitarian. Google need to stop brainstorming whilst playing table soccer and when in meetings sit in proper chairs rather than coloured bean bags and take it all a bit more seriously. I'm beginning to wonder if they deliberately want their phones to be unpopular as some sort of failed project they can offset tax against.

5) Android 12 (so not a Pixel 6 thing, but that added to everything else). 'Material You' should be called 'Mocking You' with silly color palettes with daft names. We can all do that Google, how about Almost Flamingo Pink, Bedroom beige, Not quite right white, Overtly orange, Storm in a tea cup black etc, have that for free! What is it with this silly naming and going all pastel and everything the same and rounded off in the UI? Why change black backgrounds on a dark theme to dark grey, it looks horrible and if I wanted the look of a cheap LCD display on a phone I'd buy a cheap smartphone from Aliexpress! The quick settings are now slow settings as you don't get many for the first swipe (just turning off Wi-Fi is now a pain), all the wasted space and padding is just a complete finger up to usability. As long as it looks good for screen shots on social media sites they don't care what it is like to use day to day it seems. Where is my ability to customise this Frankenstein monster of a phone and UI?

6) Screen brightness, it doesn't get that bright does it?

Overall, you could stick Android 12 with the Pixel software extras on any number of other devices and it would work considerably better, so I've no idea why they've gone with their own branding on an SoC that is mostly a Exynos processor, when most people, especially in the US, would be much happier with a Qualcomm chipset. Perhaps Qualcomm refused to let them rebrand their own offerings? It just seems we've been given inferior hardware simply because Google feels it needs to have its own branding on the chips inside the phone that no owners will ever see or care about, but they do care about that battery indicator dropping or no data signal.

I really tried to like it.

 

[PhilipL2021]

2. the speakers are good, loud and has a decent balance between left and right when watching videos.

Agreed, quite happy with the sound.

3. the screen when tapped, yes sounds weird, almost hollow which is not a negative for me, just..... different.

I can hear the difference comparing to another device, but not something I notice day to day. If I hadn't read on here someone saying it was hollow prompting me to compare it with something else I would never have realised.

4. 5g.... crap, the best i have gotten is about 100mbps speed in one spot driving around and testing, not on the go but driving around 3 towns in different areas as i drive a bit everyday. and the average has been around 10mbps. then i switched to LTE and averaged around 20-30 down and 15 up and i just opened a new line for this phone, so new sim card and everything. on my oneplus 7pro i average 60-90 and 30-50 up on LTE everywhere i drive.
5. finger scanner.... horrible, just no, tried all the tricks you guys mentioned and nothing improved. i can quickly scan my finger on the Oneplus 7Pro and it grabs my finger right away. with this, i just either re-scan or hold it longer which feels useless to have in the first place.

Are you in the US or elsewhere? I think the main issue with 5G compatibility is down to the Samsung 5123 modem, it may get better with new firmware tweaks over time.

now for the stuff i want to add and not sure if it has been mentioned as there are now 20 pages and dont feel like scanning through them all haha

6. the bluetooth (tested with the new pixel buds and oneplus buds and other bluetooth earphones and such) is basically useless anything below 90% and only the last 4 clicks of volume are good in day time and even then it goes from
4th click from max: feeling like 80% volume
3rd from max: feeling like 90% volume
2nd from max: feeling like 100% volume
maxed out volume: WHY DO MY EARS HURT???

I also took 6 attempts to get my Garmin watch over Bluetooth connected to the app on the Pixel 6 Pro, and even then it couldn't update the weather or notifications on the watch despite me turning on permissions for everything. The new Xiaomi I bought to replace the Pixel 6 Pro, worked first time. Could be an Android 12 thing.

Re the volume, yes noticed this, you need to use the on screen volume control to get finer control, the buttons just change the volume in too big a step, so it's just a bit quiet, then just too damn loud and you can't get that sweet spot using the buttons.

7. i noticed the tap to wake works less then half the time, i turned off the lift to wake because when pulling out of my pocket i was sliding down the notification and toggling stuff ALL the damn time! it was super annoying, so i turned that off and turned on only tap to wake, but that dont even work well. i will tap, then tap tap, then tap tap tap tap, until i get annoyed and press the power button... oh the power button....

Yep, noticed this as well, would just stop working. My theory is that it is using the light sensor, and if it thinks it is in the dark it stops responding to taps, I say this has it seemed to happen for me in dimly lit conditions, and facing it to a light source then double tapping would work.

8. the power button on mine, not sure if its defective, but you can only click on it if you press on it EXACTLY in the middle of the button, and then press slightly hard on it to actually press it in and it clicks. the volumes buttons are fine, just the power button needs to be pressed right in the middle and a bit harder compared to the volume buttons. -_-

9. i noticed a "glitch", sometimes i will pull down the notification bar and there will be a black area between the toggles and the notifications. i will pull down again to see the toggles and then swipe up to go back to home screen but it will just go to a black screen, until i swipe up again and then i see the notifications. so im still in the notification area but in a black area of it. i can swipe down to see the toggles again or swipe up to see the notifications and then swipe up again to go to home screen or whatever app i was in. but this happens sometimes, its hard to replicate.

The whole notification shade and quick settings is ridiculous, how this got past usability testing I have no idea.

oh oh just noticed another small complaint

10. when double tapping a notification that i want to open, i HAVE to type in my pin to unlock so it goes to that app. with my OP7P i can double tap that notification to open it and go to it and it will just ask for my finger print, no pin needed. why do i have to type in the pin when the finger print is faster in this case??

so those are my add-ons for now, again not sure if they have been mentioned or not

Tip, try a single tap, that should give you the finger print option, double tap gives you the pin code.

 

[dabrownie]

Agreed, quite happy with the sound.



I can hear the difference comparing to another device, but not something I notice day to day. If I hadn't read on here someone saying it was hollow prompting me to compare it with something else I would never have realised.



Are you in the US or elsewhere? I think the main issue with 5G compatibility is down to the Samsung 5123 modem, it may get better with new firmware tweaks over time.



I also took 6 attempts to get my Garmin watch over Bluetooth connected to the app on the Pixel 6 Pro, and even then it couldn't update the weather or notifications on the watch despite me turning on permissions for everything. The new Xiaomi I bought to replace the Pixel 6 Pro, worked first time. Could be an Android 12 thing.

Re the volume, yes noticed this, you need to use the on screen volume control to get finer control, the buttons just change the volume in too big a step, so it's just a bit quiet, then just too damn loud and you can't get that sweet spot using the buttons.



Yep, noticed this as well, would just stop working. My theory is that it is using the light sensor, and if it thinks it is in the dark it stops responding to taps, I say this has it seemed to happen for me in dimly lit conditions, and facing it to a light source then double tapping would work.



The whole notification shade and quick settings is ridiculous, how this got past usability testing I have no idea.



Tip, try a single tap, that should give you the finger print option, double tap gives you the pin code.

Yea I'm in the US using t-mobile on a new line with new sim card. So no issues on that side.

The tapping on screen is like that on any conditions, light, direct sunlight, indoors and everywhere literally. But I did discover the single tap and then finger print actually works and goes to that ap. A bit different from my oneplus that requires 2 taps and then finger print.

The notifications... Well no updates on it so far, it went away after a reboot.

Now new thing I just noticed...
I was just on my way to the mall, using Hotspot for my car tablet. Open up the camera to take a video of the changing colors on the trees. I did the double tap on the power button to quickly open the camera. Took video and clicked the power button to turn off the phone while still using Hotspot. Arrived at the mall, turned off my car, reached for my phone in the cup holder and it was HOT! Like literally hot! At first I thought "maybe I was driving with it in direct sunlight." but then realized that my cup holder is lower and the sun doesn't hit the cup holder. I click the power butting and the camera app is still on. Not recoding but just on the app. So it was still running in the background while I was using Hotspot made it over heat. It even gave me a warning to let the phone cool off for a while before using it.

 

[android_dan]

So a complaint thread. And a certain amount of posters with low post counts. And so many others are having none of these issues. Kinda makes you go hum....

I mean if I were someone of weight at say Samsung or Apple paying to have others spread discontent here would be money well spent right?

 

[dabrownie]

So a complaint thread. And a certain amount of posters with low post counts. And so many others are having none of these issues. Kinda makes you go hum....

I mean if I were someone of weight at say Samsung or Apple paying to have others spread discontent here would be money well spent right?

I'm just a normal Joe, had the phone since Nov 3rd and been daily using it. Comparing it to the oneplus 7 pro. What you want me to do? Show you where I work? My bank account transactions so you can see that I'm not being paid by any company other than my work place? I can take video of my phone using it so I can show you that I do have the phone and I'm just a regular person

 

[android_dan]

I'm just a normal Joe, had the phone since Nov 3rd and been daily using it. Comparing it to the oneplus 7 pro. What you want me to do? Show you where I work? My bank account transactions so you can see that I'm not being paid by any company other than my work place? I can take video of my phone using it so I can show you that I do have the phone and I'm just a regular person

Don't take it so personal. Didn't mean to imply that everyone who had a complaint was paid off. But when so many good reviews come in, and so many are having little to no problems, that these reviews/comments here are so over the top seem strange.

 

[dabrownie]

Don't take it so personal. Didn't mean to imply that everyone who had a complaint was paid off. But when so many good reviews come in, and so many are having little to no problems, that these reviews/comments here are so over the top seem strange.

I can see how it would seem strange. I totally get it as I scanned through the oneplus 9 forums myself before getting the phone to see what issues it had and if it was worth getting with those issues. I went ahead and got the oneplus 9 even after reading about the issues because I wanted to see for myself. And you know what, I returned the oneplus 9 because I wasn't happy with those issues in the end. So it's good to share the issues that normal people encounter because YouTubers will never tell you about those issues. And along with these issues there might be some other people that might have found workarounds or fixes to them. So yes, it seems like a lot of complaints but it's also for us that got the phone early. Not everyone has gotten their phone, there's a lot of people that are still waiting.
And sorry for taking it personal

 

[ilmar72]

Don't take it so personal. Didn't mean to imply that everyone who had a complaint was paid off. But when so many good reviews come in, and so many are having little to no problems, that these reviews/comments here are so over the top seem strange.

Good reviews?
I only see those if I" Google" the phone. Don't see to many in any of the forums.
This phone is a disappointment at Best.

 

[MacGuy2006]

My P6P 256 arrived yesterday and I played with it for a bit. The fingerprint sensor is about the same as on my old Xiaomi Mi Note 10, which is hit or miss.

Photos in good light appear to be oversharpened and over-HDR-ed. They are actually a little better than what Xiaomi does on the Mi Note 10, but the main camera on the Mi Note 10 seems to have slightly better detail. The iPhone 13 Pro seems to produce a somewhat more pleasing balance overall.

Night photos are also oversharpened, not terrible, but still. Often there is too much HDR processing applied, which makes the images look weird compared to the iPhone 13, and more similar to the Xiaomi ones.

Yesterday the battery went from 88% to 14% in about 6 hours, which is a bit disturbing. I hope it gets better over the next few days, or this will be the main reason to return it.

I like MIUI 12 better than the stock Google Launcher, which is better than 11, but can push into the tacky territory. The stock widgets are kind of a joke mostly, IMO. I had to install Nova over it and now it's more to my liking. Still not as elegant as the iOS-like MIUI, but far better than stock, unfortunately.

I hope that Google adjusts the cameras by toning down the overprocessing and gets a better balance. And that it does it soon, to stay competitive. This hope would make me keep it, as long as the battery lasts long enough for my purposes.

Ironically, it was the rapidly deteriorating battery that prompted me to get rid of my last Pixel.

 

[Seany72]

OK I decided to try another Pixel 6 Pro and this time around everything just seems better than before. I have an issue with Snapseed app whereby anything saved in the app I cannot share it for some reason and says 'media file error'. I think it's an Android 12 app issue. I was out today taking alot of night shots and some daytime and I have to say even at night with Night Sight in a city with lights the 4x zoom is great. Tried uploading images here but keep saying images too large even though they aren't. Daylight photos are so crisp and clear. Only bad thing is if too close to a light source that lens flare is bad

 

[Seany72]

Is anyone having signal problems, I thought I'd fixed it but i didn't. I turned off adaptive network and battery,worked better for 10 minutes then dropped again. 4G in my house is solid on all previous phones but what I've noticed today is the signal goes to full if I take my hand away from bottom of the phone. Like my hand is blocking signal cos as soon as I put my hand back it drops again reminds me of an old iPhone that has similar issue years ago. It isn't affecting speeds or connection but with a low signal I worry about battery life. Battery life has been great so far and signal seems better when I'm out and about. But at home is worse than all previous phones I've had

 

[EeZeEpEe]

Is anyone having signal problems, I thought I'd fixed it but i didn't. I turned off adaptive network and battery,worked better for 10 minutes then dropped again. 4G in my house is solid on all previous phones but what I've noticed today is the signal goes to full if I take my hand away from bottom of the phone. Like my hand is blocking signal cos as soon as I put my hand back it drops again reminds me of an old iPhone that has similar issue years ago. It isn't affecting speeds or connection but with a low signal I worry about battery life. Battery life has been great so far and signal seems better when I'm out and about. But at home is worse than all previous phones I've had

What service are you on, how low does your signal get with your hand, and how exactly are you covering it? Just with your pinkies when holding two handed? I'm at 3/4 at home and covering the bottom fully with my palm, which I would never do, doesn't affect the signal. I'm on T-Mobile in Tampa and I have 5G majority of the time with some 5G UC and it's usually 3/4 to full. Rarely half or lower. That being said, I would think if you were connected to WiFi with WiFi calling on, battery still shouldn't be an issue.

 

[Guyinlaca]

I've only had the phone for a day but so far I like it.

THE PROS:
+Feels faster and more fluid than the already fast Note 20 Ultra
+Camera is better than the Note 20 Ultra
+Stereo speakers sound great. More bass than the Note 20 Ultra
+The slightly smaller size makes it easier to hold
+Battery life only drained 5% in 8 hours of standby
+Charges fast with Samsung 45w Charger
+The haptics are great, very similar to an iPhone

THE CONS:
-Screen isn't as bright or vibrant as Samsung models. Have to set it 20-25% brighter to achieve the same levels.
-Android 12 is a mess. The massive clock is tacky. No lockscreen or font customization?

I've had no overheating issues, and my screen doesn't have the hollow effect people are complaining about. Could it be the way the phone does vibration and haptics? I'm glad I got the unlocked version as I can see root being necessary to fix Google's strange choices.

 

[Izy]

THE CONS:
-Screen isn't as bright or vibrant as Samsung models. Have to set it 20-25% brighter to achieve the same levels.

I have something similar where you have to adjust the slider 20% more for same brightness as my Galaxy Note 9

but it really comes down to slider levels

the Note 9 is meant to be like 710 nits and 1000+ maxed out but the difference is much larger
about 90% on the pixel slider is same as 100% note

but
40% note is like 60% pixel
and 30% note is like 40% pixel


the pixel is way brighter on top end
but also way slightly dimmer on low end (not including extra dim)

basically the sliders tuning for brightness are off so it feels like its not as bright

 

[MacGuy2006]

I am done with the Pixel 6 Pro. It's going back next week.

I just took a bunch of night shots at a restaurant and outside with the P6P and also with an iPhone 13 Pro. Looking at the photos on my 85" TV the differences are striking. The iPhone images are much sharper and much more detailed and consistent. The Pixel has a slightly better white balance, but you can change that easily on the iPhone or post, and it's really not much of a difference.

I personally find a lot of the Pixel's daytime photos to be substandard, with HDR so strong that it makes them look weird, as well as over-sharpened. The only area the Pixel wins is the zoom, but I can live without it.

Add to this the finicky FPS and the old 5G modem, and the considerably shorter battery life, and the couple of hundred in savings compared to the iPhone is just not worth it to me.

I don't think software tweaks are going to bring this phone up to standard. Too bad, I really had high hopes.

 

[MacGuy2006]

Since there was some back and forth here about the Pixel's 5G modem, here is a comparison to the newer Q modem of the Galaxy 21U:

"

Conclusion: Qualcomm Beats Samsung​

The numbers are the numbers, and the numbers say—for now—that the Google Pixel 6 Pro's modem-RF system aren't quite up to the standards of the latest Qualcomm products.

What that means for you is that in urban areas, the Pixel 6 Pro on the T-Mobile and Verizon networks won't have quite the level of performance of the iPhone 13 or Samsung Galaxy S21 line (much less the upcoming Galaxy S22). You'll see data connections struggle in weak signal spots of cities. The jury's still out in rural areas, given the two different sets of results we got. "

Google Pixel 6 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S21: Which One Wins At 5G?

The Google Pixel 6 Pro has a new modem in the US 5G game. We took it for a weekend of testing to see how it matches up against the Samsung Galaxy S21+ and Ultra.

www.pcmag.com

It would also explain the battery drain.

 

[Opensystem]

I'm starting to feel like this thread is more a Reddit thing than a developer site thing..