Pixel 6 Preview: Here’s What Google’s First Smartphone Chip Can Do

Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy lineup took about 5 years to essentially hit their stride. Now with 5 smartphones of its personal within the books, Google is gearing up for some main modifications that would propel the Pixel lineup to mainstream success. Ahead of the Pixel 6’s official launch later this fall—sure, it’s confirmed—I bought an opportunity to sit down down and discuss with Google’s Rick Osterloh, senior vice chairman of gadgets and providers, for a preview of the Pixel 6 and the brand new Google-designed chip that’s powering it—yep, these rumors had been true, too.

However, earlier than we dive into the brand new stuff, let’s have a look again on the Pixel’s journey. The unique Pixel, the Pixel 2, and the Pixel 3 shared an analogous two-toned coloration scheme and comparatively simple look that was primarily designed to point out off Google’s software program. The Pixel 1 was the launchpad for Google Assistant, the Pixel 2 introduced Google Lens, and the Pixel 3 launched Night Sight, which modified the best way smartphone makers strategy cellular images. 

With the Pixel 4, Google remixed its earlier two-tone coloration scheme and launched Motion Sense as a approach to tentatively introduce ambient computing. Then got here the Pixel 5, which sidestepped typical flagship aspirations. While it had a neat bio-resin coating, it didn’t provide a lot in the best way of improved {hardware}. These final two Pixels might have appeared like Google was throwing concepts towards a wall to see what caught, however all of the whereas the corporate was persevering with to construct out its AI and machine studying efforts as a part of a imaginative and prescient for the longer term of smartphone computing.

So right here we’re at this time with the Pixel 6, which isn’t solely Google’s new flagship, however it’s the primary Pixel to make use of a Google-designed processor, referred to as Google Tensor.

“Our team’s mission in the hardware division is to try and create a concentrated version of Google, and we do that by combining the best assets the company has in AI software and hardware,” Osterloh informed me.

Instead of counting on off-the-shelf silicon from one other firm because it has up to now, Google determined to design its personal system-on-a-chip (SoC) to ship the form of AI and machine studying efficiency Google must make its imaginative and prescient a actuality.

“We’ve been doing that a little bit with Pixel over the years with HDR+, Call Screener, and Night Sight, and all these things are using various techniques for advanced machine learning and AI,” Osterloh mentioned. “But what has been very frustrating is that we’re not able to do as much as we would like on phones.”

That’s about to vary. Osterloh mentioned the brand new chip “is our biggest smartphone innovation since we first launched the Pixel five years ago.”

“The name is an obvious nod to our open-source AI software development library and platform,” he continued. “The major aim is to try to bring our latest AI innovations to the phone so we can literally run our best [AI and machine learning] models on the Pixel.”

Osterloh didn’t give many particulars on Tensor’s chip structure, total efficiency, and even who Google partnered with for its manufacturing. But he did say that Tensor unlocks the power to run “data center level” AI fashions domestically on the chip, with out the necessity for assist from the cloud. The chip’s help for extra highly effective on-device AI efficiency can be a privateness profit, as a result of the telephone received’t must ship your knowledge to the cloud for extra processing.

“No one has developed a true mobile SoC, and that’s where our starting point was,” Osterloh mentioned. “We see the future of where our research is headed and we co-designed this platform with our AI researchers.”

So what precisely does Tensor make attainable that earlier chips couldn’t? Osterloh confirmed me some Pixel 6 options coming this fall, made attainable by Tensor on a near-closing prototype of the Pixel 6. Unfortunately, Google prohibited Gizmodo from recording pictures or movies of the gadgets throughout this preview, however I can say the Pixel 6 appears to be like pretty much as good within the photos and movies Google offered because it does in particular person.

To begin, Osterloh confirmed me a reasonably normal photograph of a younger youngster to focus on some of the difficult and commonest points with cellular images: attempting to snap a pointy image of a topic that simply received’t sit nonetheless. Parts of the photograph, just like the youngster’s arms and face, appeared blurry. But by leveraging Tensor and computational images, the Pixel 6 was in a position to convert the photograph from one which would possibly find yourself within the recycle bin to one thing you’d really need to hold.

Osterloh says that by designing Tensor to go well with Google’s wants, Google was in a position to change the reminiscence structure to extra simply manipulate knowledge—even whereas it’s being processed—to higher offload sure duties to Tensor’s AI engine, which improves each efficiency and energy effectivity, as a substitute of relying extra closely on a chip’s picture sign processor like loads of different processors do.

“What we’re trying to do is turn this physics problem into a solvable data problem by using Tensor,” Osterloh mentioned. “The way we do that is for a scene like this, we will take images through two sensors at once through the ultra-wide sensor at very fast exposure, so we can get a really sharp picture, and then we take it through the main sensor at normal exposure.”

The computations don’t cease there.

“In parallel, we’re also trying to detect motion with one of our machine learning models, and we’re also trying to determine with our face detection model whether there’s a face in the picture,” he mentioned. “And so we use all of these machine learning techniques at the same time in parallel, using the TPU and all available resources in the phone.”

The outcome was an image that, whereas not 100% tack sharp, was nonetheless heads and shoulders above what had beforehand been a cute however blurry photograph.

Tensor’s capabilities aren’t restricted to pictures. Osterloh additionally confirmed a comparability between movies of the identical scene captured by an iPhone 12, Pixel 5, and a Pixel 6. When it involves video, the calls for positioned upon AI efficiency improve, however with Tensor, the Pixel 6 is ready to do issues like present real-time HDR whereas additionally utilizing object detection to establish a sundown, which permits the Pixel 6 to intelligently modify white steadiness and improve dynamic vary. Those had been facets each the iPhone and Pixel 5 weren’t in a position to correctly think about.

“You can almost envision Tensor as being built to perform computational photography for video,” Osterloh mentioned. “To be able to process machine learning in real-time on our videos as they’re going is a big change from where we’re at.”

But maybe essentially the most spectacular demo I noticed was when Osterloh performed a video of somebody giving a presentation in French. Despite taking six years of French in center and excessive faculty, understanding greater than a random phrase or two was approach above my degree. However, with a few fast faucets, Osterloh was not solely in a position to activate dwell captions, he additionally enabled dwell translation, permitting the Pixel 6 to transform the recording from French to English in actual time. Google’s Live Caption and Interpreter Mode options have been out there for some time on numerous gadgets, however they’ve by no means been out there to be used on the similar time on a telephone, just because earlier chips couldn’t ship the form of AI and machine studying efficiency to help them.

Osterloh additionally demoed one other new voice dictation characteristic in Gboard that allows you to communicate as a substitute of sort whereas texting, and the Pixel 6 is in a position to mechanically right a lot of its errors in real-time. In circumstances the place it misses, you may right issues your self with out interrupting the message. It’s good to see that Tensor additionally helps simple enhancements like drastically enhancing the velocity and accuracy of speech recognition.

Now let’s discuss concerning the Pixel 6 itself. Google isn’t but releasing detailed specs, however the Pixel 4 and 5 had been criticized for being underwhelming. So I requested Osterloh if Google would ever make a flagship-level telephone once more.

“Yes,” he mentioned. “Here it is: The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro.”

The new Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro share some design components with earlier Pixels, however reimagined in a contemporary, playful, and fairly enchanting new approach. Instead of a two-toned design, Google opted for a tri-color aesthetic with glass panels in back and front, out there in a number of combos that to me appears to be like like an avante garde interpretation of a ironmongery store paint swatch—I imply that in one of the best ways attainable.

Screen bezels are even thinner than earlier than, the Pixel 6’s selfie cam has shifted extra towards the middle, and each have huge, brilliant OLED shows. Both the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are literally fairly giant. We’re speaking gadgets with screens at the very least 6.5 inches or bigger. The Pixel 6 Pro particularly felt comparable in measurement to Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Ultra. 

Instead of a normal digicam bump in again, the Pixel 6 has what Osterloh described as a “camera band,” which not solely provides some visible attraction however calls consideration to the Pixel 6’s digicam much more—a design ingredient that Google began exploring on the Pixel 4. And whereas we don’t know the Pixel 6’s digicam specs, the band additionally highlights the most important distinction between the usual mannequin and the Pro. The base Pixel 6 options broad and ultra-wide cameras, and the Pixel 6 Pro in the end will get a a bonus telephoto cam with a 4x optical zoom.

Both the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro really feel very very similar to premium gadgets, when it comes to design, elements, and software program smarts. To me, it is a vastly encouraging course reversal from final yr’s mid-range Pixel—and that is coming from somebody who as soon as accused Google of not caring concerning the Pixel’s {hardware}.

Now let’s return to Apple and Samsung’s telephone lineups, which took years to hit their stride. Apple’s sixth telephone was the iPhone 5, which is among the most beloved iPhones of all time and proper up there with the unique iPhone and the iPhone X as an important iPhones ever. For Samsung, between the S6 and and S6 Edge, we noticed the introduction of a glass design in back and front together with a curved show that primarily crystalized Samsung’s telephone design for the next 5 years. With the Pixel 6 and the brand new Tensor chip, we’re about to see how Google will use AI and machine studying to essentially push its imaginative and prescient of ambient computing.

Between Osterloh’s insights, the demos I noticed, and the Pixel 6’s {hardware}, my greatest takeaway is that Google is extremely assured relating to this launch. Usually, corporations attempt to hold particulars like this locked down (as a lot as attainable within the age of leaks and rumors) till they get formally introduced. But with the Pixel 6, Google isn’t simply doubling down on AI and machine studying, it’s attempting to capitalize on greater than 5 years of analysis and growth in a major approach. While it’s nonetheless too early to name the Pixel 6 successful—we’ll have to attend til the autumn to really spend time with the gadget—I’m inspired by what I’ve seen up to now.