Pixel 6 / Pixel 6 Pro / Pixel 6a

I've been seeing the face unlock stuff a lot over the last few days. I can't tell if that's just wishful thinking or not. Especially with the fingerprint scanner being a bugaboo for a lot of folks. Plus, my only experiences with that tech have been less than impressive, too. No clue if the iPhones are good at it now, but they weren't initially. Samsung phones definitely still struggle with it. I'm all for adding it, but it better work if they bother.
iPhones have gotten better at it, mainly faster. There's also an official workaround for mask use that will unlock the phone if you're wearing your Apple Watch. The iPhone remains the gold standard for face unlocking, like it or not — a lot of the other solutions are either insecure (virtually anything that doesn't use a depth sensor or iris scanner), quirky (see the iris scanner) or basically the same.

I'm not sure Google could add a genuinely good face unlock implementation after the fact. Unless Google's AI is just that good at looking for authentic details, there are no companion sensors to make sure the authenticator is a real person. Something that could be fooled by a photo or video isn't really secure.
 
I just read an interesting caveat about the fingerprint scanner getting borked after a dead battery. Nearly all of the cases of that happening were after the November update. When I did it, it was prior to that update. Mine shipped with the October update and I didn't get the November one until a week later. I installed in manually over USB since it was rolling out slowly, too. It would also explain why this issue wasn't making waves last week. Soooo, you might not use my instance as a reason to let your battery run all the way down.
 
I just read an interesting caveat about the fingerprint scanner getting borked after a dead battery. Nearly all of the cases of that happening were after the November update. When I did it, it was prior to that update. Mine shipped with the October update and I didn't get the November one until a week later. I installed in manually over USB since it was rolling out slowly, too. It would also explain why this issue wasn't making waves last week. Soooo, you might not use my instance as a reason to let your battery run all the way down.
Correct, it is best to just not let your battery run all the way down because it is affecting those who did not update to the November patch too.
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Frigging Android 12 why doesn't it offer deeper colors? It's mostly just pastels. Ugh.

This setup I did, I want more of a deep purple accent, not a pinkish purple.
 

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I've been seeing the face unlock stuff a lot over the last few days. I can't tell if that's just wishful thinking or not. Especially with the fingerprint scanner being a bugaboo for a lot of folks. Plus, my only experiences with that tech have been less than impressive, too. No clue if the iPhones are good at it now, but they weren't initially. Samsung phones definitely still struggle with it. I'm all for adding it, but it better work if they bother.

iPhone 12 Pro Max on iOS 15 is basically flawless for me.

My sons Pixel 6 fingerprint scanner has been good for him as he said it is slow sometimes but has not had an issue with it recognizing his finger/thumb.

He does not use a screen protector so I wonder if all the concern may be tied back to screen protectors?
 
Spigen Case came early today. It's... eh, OK I guess.
  • The material is much harder/slicker than expected (though still not as slick as the phone's own body).
  • The body texturing isn't nearly as pronounced as the pics would imply, and provides seemingly minimal benefit.
  • The corners have very little relief space for drop absorption, and there's none on the sides (aside from what the texturing might incidentally provide).
  • I'm skeptical that that the upper-edge of the case sufficiently accommodates the earpiece and won't muffle it.
  • The buttons at least line up well and don't require any additional effort to use.
Still hoping Speck comes around and releases a case.
 
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Or this one I did tonight, it should give me the option for deep red, not pinkish;
 

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I like the external audio section near the end because it gives you a very good comparison of what the phones sounds like in comparison to the S21 and iPhone (this reviewer is an audio engineer). Have your headphones on.
 
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Spigen Case came early today. It's... eh, OK I guess.
  • The material is much harder/slicker than expected (though still not as slick as the phone's own body).
  • The body texturing isn't nearly as pronounced as the pics would imply, and provides seemingly minimal benefit.
  • The corners have very little relief space for drop absorption, and there's none on the sides (aside from what the texturing might incidentally provide).
  • I'm skeptical that that the upper-edge of the case sufficiently accommodates the earpiece and won't muffle it.
  • The buttons at least line up well and don't require any additional effort to use.
Still hoping Speck comes around and releases a case.
I currently have the Spigen rugged armor. Similar to your liquid armour review it's just okay for me.

I ordered a couple Rhinoshield cases for my wife and I about 3 weeks and they're finally arriving on Monday. I'm hoping they offer a little better protection and grip. I'm going to be adding an Oh Snap holder to it so I can use it mostly as a kickstand.
 
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I'm hoping Speck eventually makes a case for the Pixel 6 models. That's what I had for my Pixel 2 and I liked the grip, larger lips, and additional corner protection.
 
I'm hoping Speck eventually makes a case for the Pixel 6 models. That's what I had for my Pixel 2 and I liked the grip, larger lips, and additional corner protection.
I had the presidio for my pixel 2xl as well. It was a good case but eventually it started to fall apart a little. The little rubber side strips started to detach. But that was after probably a year of continuous use.
 
I ordered a couple Rhinoshield cases for my wife and I about 3 weeks and they're finally arriving on Monday. I'm hoping they offer a little better protection and grip. I'm going to be adding an Oh Snap holder to it so I can use it mostly as a kickstand.

Wasn't familiar with either of those. Please keep us updated on how they work out. All the kickstands I've seen are either metal that will interfere with wireless charging, or flimsy plastic.


I had the presidio for my pixel 2xl as well. It was a good case but eventually it started to fall apart a little. The little rubber side strips started to detach. But that was after probably a year of continuous use.

Huh, I had a Presidio on my P2 for the entirety of its four years and never had that issue, FWIW.
 
Curious do you use Auto Brightness ( Adaptive brightness )? Or set it to a specific Brightness level % indoors?
 
Really digging this live wallpaper, it just melts off the edges on the 6 Pro;
 

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Curious do you use Auto Brightness ( Adaptive brightness )? Or set it to a specific Brightness level % indoors?
Adaptive is my default, but I'll adjust brightness manually if necessary. Same for my iPad.
 
How can the fingerprint reader work ALL THE TIME with app logins..like banking etc and NEVER work to unlock the phone?
 
I was tolerating my cheap screen protector, and walked by a Zagg kiosk and decided to bite the bullet, $45 installed, making sure it was the one Google listed.

What a game changer, makes quality of life so much better and lifetime replacements, plus they put it on 500x better than I do. So happy.
 
I was tolerating my cheap screen protector, and walked by a Zagg kiosk and decided to bite the bullet, $45 installed, making sure it was the one Google listed.

What a game changer, makes quality of life so much better and lifetime replacements, plus they put it on 500x better than I do. So happy.

Is that for the 6 Pro? And is it tempered glass?
 
Custom dpi of 434 makes the 6 Pro screen layout look better. Got this from an XDA thread.
 

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Custom dpi of 434 makes the 6 Pro screen layout look better. Got this from an XDA thread.
Do you keep the transition animations at default 1? I've been turning down all 3 settings to .5. Been doing that for a while on all my phones. Just makes it feel much snappier and responsive.
 
Nerded out on wallpapers;
 

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Do you keep the transition animations at default 1? I've been turning down all 3 settings to .5. Been doing that for a while on all my phones. Just makes it feel much snappier and responsive.
Can this be done on any phone? EG 5a 5g?
 
If you can get into Developer Options, you should be able to adjust animations.
That is correct. Most even half way modern Android phones should allow this. I assume most people already know but I'm case you don't, to unlock developer options just go to about phone, scroll down to "Build number" and keep tapping Build number until it tells you that you have unlocked developer options. After that developer options should be under system settings.

While the default animations for the pixel 6 are pretty, they're a little too iphoneseque for my taste as far as how much time time they take and how extravagant (ie unnecessary) they are. Turning the 3 animations settings to .5 tightens things up nicely and really makes the phone fly. But if you like big pretty animations that take longer, nothing wrong with that either. To each his own.
 
^ Damn dude. That hurts just seeing it.

In other "news" - the first version of the Pixel Fold has supposedly been cancelled: https://www.androidauthority.com/google-pixel-fold-canceled-3059465/
While I love the idea, their timing was questionable. The people holding out for a new Pixel either jumped on the 6 or were going to hold out for the 7/8/etc. A first-attempt at tech that isn't quite there yet a few months after the Pixel 6 seemed odd. Still, I'm on board for a foldable Pixel (or an iPhone or whatever) down the line. Anything that isn't Samsung.
 
^ Damn dude. That hurts just seeing it.

In other "news" - the first version of the Pixel Fold has supposedly been cancelled: https://www.androidauthority.com/google-pixel-fold-canceled-3059465/
While I love the idea, their timing was questionable. The people holding out for a new Pixel either jumped on the 6 or were going to hold out for the 7/8/etc. A first-attempt at tech that isn't quite there yet a few months after the Pixel 6 seemed odd. Still, I'm on board for a foldable Pixel (or an iPhone or whatever) down the line. Anything that isn't Samsung.
This was a good move. Let Samsung and others really prefect the screen. Google has no need for it. All they need is a new 4a and google has a phone to cover all price points
 
I'm almost certainly going to be interested in a 2023 version of a Pixel fold, so the timing is fine with me. Maybe Apple will be ready to introduce "the world's first foldable smartphone" by then, too. It's game-changing tech if someone can do it right. Samsung isn't far away right now and I bet the Fold4 or (at the latest) Fold5 will be there.
 
I'm almost certainly going to be interested in a 2023 version of a Pixel fold, so the timing is fine with me. Maybe Apple will be ready to introduce "the world's first foldable smartphone" by then, too. It's game-changing tech if someone can do it right. Samsung isn't far away right now and I bet the Fold4 or (at the latest) Fold5 will be there.
I'm sure you're just kidding, but it always fascinates me how people think Apple always claims it's the first to something... it rarely does! Hype up features more than they might deserve, perhaps, but not pretend they're brand new. Apple didn't claim 120Hz was a novelty for the iPhone 13 Pro, for instance — it just touted the advantages.
 
I'm sure you're just kidding, but it always fascinates me how people think Apple always claims it's the first to something... it rarely does! Hype up features more than they might deserve, perhaps, but not pretend they're brand new. Apple didn't claim 120Hz was a novelty for the iPhone 13 Pro, for instance — it just touted the advantages.

It's mainly just me joking. I don't mind Apple stuff and easily prefer their aesthetics and polish vs. Microsoft and (usually) Google. I don't pay that much attention to their announcements anymore, but last I looked they had mainly shifted to "we waited until we could do this feature right" strategy...which was true in a lot of cases. Let Samsung roll out new hardware with busted-ass software and then polish it up and roll it out once things got more mature.
 
It's mainly just me joking. I don't mind Apple stuff and easily prefer their aesthetics and polish vs. Microsoft and (usually) Google. I don't pay that much attention to their announcements anymore, but last I looked they had mainly shifted to "we waited until we could do this feature right" strategy...which was true in a lot of cases. Let Samsung roll out new hardware with busted-ass software and then polish it up and roll it out once things got more mature.
Thought so. And frankly, that's probably the smartest strategy most of the time. Remember OLED phones for the first several years, for example? Yeah, Apple probably wasn't going to jump in until the accuracy, battery life and brightness were better. I also recall the original Galaxy Gear — basically, that was Samsung trying to beat the Apple Watch to the punch without doing its homework on what people wanted (see the creeper cam in the wristband).

To tie this back to the core subject... if this is true, Google is showing some appreciated restraint. It's not clear that Samsung has solved foldable problems, even with the Z Fold 3/Z Flip 3. Better to jump in if and when foldables are truly affordable and durable.
 
Pixel 6 delivered today and finally set up. That little discoloration above the day/date is an air bubble from installing my Zagg glass screen shield. Should dissipate within 24-48 hours. Case is the Urban Gray Caseology Vault.

Flat screen is the only way! (y)

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