The latest to turn their attention to the phones is Max Weinbach in an appearance on the Mobile Tech Podcast with Myriam Joire and Weinbach filled in many of the gaps missing regarding the specs for these phones.
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Weinbach has an excellent history with Android rumors. But it’s important to note that his claims are based on alleged leaks from unnamed sources, so they cannot be verified. With that in mind, let’s dive into the details.
Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro: Whitechapel chipset
Google’s rumored move to its own chipset for the Pixel 6 line is probably the biggest news surrounding this phone. According to Weinbach’s sources, the “Whitechapel” processor will fall somewhere between the Snapdragon 888 and Snapdragon 865 when it comes to performance with “some hints of Exynos 2100 in there.” That last bit is expected as the chip is made by Samsung and uses the same 5nm process as the Exynos 2100, which was the chipset used in the international version of the Samsung Galaxy S21 lineup this year. Most comparisons indicated that it came up just slightly shy of the Snapdragon 888, a marked improvement from the previous year’s Exynos 990. Assuming we can expect roughly the same from Whitechapel, it sets the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro firmly into flagship territory. The wild card with Whitechapel is the AI enhancements that Google has presumably included. This is something Apple pressed hard with the A14 Bionic and it’s expected that we’ll see something similar from Google.
Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro: Battery and display specs
Weinbach seemed more confident in his leaks regarding the Pixel 6 Pro which he indicated would include a 5,000mAh battery, a 120Hz QHD display and triple cameras. The Pixel 6, he indicated, would have dual cameras and a full HD display, but was unsure of refresh rate, and only speculated that it would have a roughly 4,500mAh battery. Both devices should feature full 5G support including mmWave. While Weinbach didn’t mention it, last week’s rumors gave us the display size for the Pixel 6 Pro as 6.67-inches and the Pixel 6 as 6.4-inches.
Pixel 5a and Pixel Watch
After wrapping up on the Pixel 6 models, Weinbach shared a few details regarding the Pixel 5a and Pixel Watch. The Pixel 5a he claims will be more expensive than the Pixel 4a and will still lack wireless charging. This suggests a $399 to $449 starting price, not terribly surprising given that the Pixel 5a seems like it will be a blending of the Pixel 4a and Pixel 4a 5G with presumably an updated processor in the range of the Snapdragon 778G. Finally, Weinbach mentioned that the Pixel Watch will also launch alongside both Pixel 6 models, this was already the expectation, but it’s good to see further confirmation of that timeline.
Outlook
As someone that was hoping for Google to make a flagship Pixel again, this is all welcome news. The major outstanding details about the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro hardware are the camera specs. Google is playing catchup there and while its computational photography remains outstanding, last year made it clear that the company can’t skate by on marginal camera hardware anymore.
