Google Pixel 6 camera sample has appeared, but don’t get too excited about it Rear of the Pixel 6 Pro showing the camera bar and lock key
When the Google Pixel 6 was partially unveiled by the company, one of the biggest things we didn’t find out was the camera capabilities of the device, and as Pixel phones are known for their photography power, that topic is a big source of curiosity.
We may have seen our first Pixel 6 camera sample, though. In a now-deleted Facebook post by Google employee Zaheed Sabur (a post which was captured before deletion by Notebookcheck), a photo is shared which is apparently taken by the Pixel 6.
By ‘apparently taken’, we mean that Sabur themselves suggests as much, writing (translated by Facebook from Bengali) “even with our latest phones that haven’t been released yet, I can’t take such an amazing picture sitting at home” (referring to the fact they’re on top of a hill).
That description seems to suggest that this picture was taken by the Pixel 6, as that and the 6 Pro are the two phones we know the company has planned, that it hasn’t released yet.
There’s reason to believe, though, that this isn’t actually as accurate a Google Pixel 6 camera sample as you’d think.
Analysis: missing the point-and-shoot
The new Google Pixel 6 camera sample looks nothing like what you’d expect a snap taken on a Pixel phone to look like.
The image is very saturated, with the grass and sky especially standing out for how bold – and dare we say, artificial – they look. It looks like a kids’ cartoon. Photos taken on Pixel phones have previously been more natural-looking.
The snap looks as though it was taken on a Samsung phone, as the company’s AI tends to be a little too keen on its saturation and brightness boosts. Perhaps Google is just trying to compete with Samsung, as while Pixel phones used to top our best camera phones list, they sunk in the rankings in recent years with Samsung picking up lots of the higher places.
It’s more likely, though, that when Sabur took the picture, it looked a little different than it does now. It seems plausible that they edited it using software, in order to boost the saturation and shadows, to make it seem a little more triumphant and celebratory so that it would fit the messaging of the post.
So while it looks great, we’re not sure this Windows-operating-system-default-background-looking photo will be a totally accurate representation of the Google Pixel 6’s camera capabilities when it releases. We’d love to be proven wrong, but this looks like a better sample of Photoshop than it does the Pixel.
When the Google Pixel 6 was partially unveiled by the company, one of the biggest things we didn’t find out was the camera capabilities of the device, and as Pixel phones are known for their photography power, that topic is a big source of curiosity. We may have seen our…
