What’s the difference and should you upgrade?

The Google Pixel 5 was released in the fall of 2020 and despite its flagship lineage, it had a lot in common with upper mid-range smartphones, both in terms of its hardware and price. Its successors, the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, offer massive changes for the Pixel lineup in design, hardware, and software. Yet, they are still very affordable phones despite sporting better hardware than the Pixel 5. If you still have the year-old Pixel 5, is it time for an upgrade? Let’s find out in this battle between the Google Pixel 6 vs Pixel 5.

Our thoughts: Google Pixel 6 Pro hands-on | Google Pixel 6 hands-on

Google Pixel 6 vs Pixel 5

Specs

Google’s Pixel 5 looks similar to older Pixel phones. It has a corner-mounted punch hole front camera and a square-shaped rear camera system in the upper-left corner. It also has a fingerprint scanner on the back.

You won’t find a square camera module on the back of the Pixel 6 series. In its place, you get a raised black horizontal row of camera sensors set near the top of the smartphones. There’s also no rear fingerprint sensor, as Google decided to use in-display fingerprint scanners instead. The front camera has been moved from the corner to the center of the displays for a more symmetrical look.

Also read: Google Pixel 5 review

Speaking of displays, the Pixel 5 has a 6-inch OLED panel with a resolution of Full HD+ and a 90Hz refresh rate. The standard Pixel 6 has a much larger 6.4-inch flat OLED display with the same resolution and refresh rate. However, the Pixel 6 Pro takes things to the next level with a curved 6.71-inch OLED screen. It has QHD+ resolution and ticks up its refresh rate to 120Hz.

The Pixel 5 has a glass front and an aluminum back and frame. Both Pixel 6 phones have glass on the front and back, while the frame is made from aluminum. Glass looks and feels better to most people, although the aluminum back of the Pixel 5 is more durable, as it won’t shatter on impact.

Thankfully, the Pixel 5 and the Pixel 6 phones all have an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. None of them have an old-fashioned headphone jack; you will need to use a wireless Bluetooth headset or a USB-C wired headset for your audio entertainment. However, the Pixel 5 did launch with a charger included in its box, while the Pixel 6 phones are among the small but growing list of smartphones that ship without a charger.

Related: The best Google Pixel 6 cases you can get

Hardware and cameras

The Pixel 5 packs the mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G processor under the hood, which is more than good enough for most users but is far from the fastest chip out there. For the Pixel 6 phones, Google went all out and co-developed (with Samsung) an in-house ARM-based processor called Tensor. It’s designed to compete with the current highest-performing processors, although we will need to do some performance testing to see how powerful this chip really is. However, Google does claim the Tensor’s CPU performs 80% faster than the Pixel 5’s processor, while the GPU performance gets a 370% boost.

Read more: Google Tensor vs Snapdragon 888 series

When it comes to storage and memory, the Pixel 5 kept it simple. You only had one choice: 8GB of RAM and 128GB of non-expandable storage. The standard Pixel 6 keeps the 8GB of RAM, but gives you the choice of either 128GB or 256GB of storage. The Pixel 6 Pro increases the RAM to 12GB, and you can get it with 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB of storage.

Another big difference between the Pixel 5 and the Pixel 6 models are their cameras. The Pixel 5 uses the same 12.2MP main sensor that’s been a part of many previous Pixel phones, but it did add in a second ultra-wide 16MP rear camera, along with an 8MP front-facing camera. The standard Pixel 6 increases the resolution of the main camera at the back to 50MP and also comes with a 12MP ultra-wide sensor, while the front-facing camera comes in at 8MP. The Pixel 6 Pro goes even higher, adding a third 48MP telephoto lens to the mix. Even the front selfie camera gets an upgrade to 11.1MP.

The Pixel 5 shipped with Android 11 on board with the promise of three years of OS and security software updates. The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro both ship with Android 12. Both will also get three years of OS updates, along with five years of security updates.

Related: Android 12 update tracker

Thanks to the Tensor processor, Google is throwing in some nice exclusive camera features to the Pixel 6 phones that are not included in the Pixel 5. That includes Magic Eraser, which lets you get rid of unwanted people or activities in their photos. Tensor also allows users to translate other languages in real-time due to its new transcription feature.

Moving on to the battery, the Pixel 5 comes with a 4,080mAh cell with support for 18W wired charging, 12W wireless charging, and 5W reverse charging. The standard Pixel 6 increases the battery size to 4,614mAh and supports 30W charging, with Google claiming it can go from zero to a 50% charge in just 30 minutes. The phone also supports 21W wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging as well.

The battery of the Pixel 6 Pro comes in at 5,003mAh and also supports 30W wired charging, but it increases its wireless charging speed to 23W. The catch is that you will need the new 2021 version of the Pixel Stand wireless charger to see those kinds of speeds. Google claims the Pixel 6 phones will normally last a full day on a single charge, but that could be extended up to two days by using Google’s Extreme Battery Saver feature. To hit the top wired speeds you’ll also need a Power Delivery PPS charger.

You get both sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G support with the Pixel 5. While the Pixel 6 Pro does the same, the standard Pixel 6 only supports sub-6Ghz 5G networks in the US. At least the unlocked model. If you get the phone from a carrier like Verizon, you get mmWave support as well, but the phone will cost you an extra $100.

• Google Pixel 5: $699
• Google Pixel 6: $599 / £599 / €649
• Google Pixel 6 Pro: $899 / £849 / €899

The mid-range Pixel 5 launched with a price tag of $699. Google lowered its pricing with the Pixel 6, offering it at just $599 at launch. So the Pixel 6 costs less than its predecessor despite having a much faster processor, a bigger display, a larger battery, and more advanced camera sensors. That’s pretty impressive.

The Pixel 6 Pro is more expensive with its starting price of $899. However, you are getting a lot for that extra $300. In addition to a larger display and battery, you are also getting more memory (12GB of RAM), a bigger front-facing camera sensor, an additional 48MP telephoto rear camera, slightly faster wireless charging, and support for 5G mmWave technology, among other additions.

As far as color options are concerned, you could only get the Pixel 5 in Just Black and Sorta Sage. Both the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro come with more color choices, with the Pixel 6 available in Kinda Coral, Sorta Seafoam, and Stormy Black. You can get the Pixel 6 Pro in Sorta Sunny, Cloudy White, and Stormy Black.

Google Pixel 6 vs Pixel 5: Which should you buy?

So, which phone comes out on top in the Google Pixel 5 vs Pixel 6 battle? Well, even if you could still buy a new Pixel 5 from Google (it’s has been discontinued), there’s no way we would recommend getting it over the standard Pixel 6. It blows away the year-old Pixel 5 with a much faster processor, new and more advanced camera sensors, a bigger battery, a larger display, faster charging, and more. On top of that, the Pixel 6 costs $100 less at launch in the US compared to the Pixel 5.

If you are still holding onto the Pixel 5, the choice is a bit more complicated. The Pixel 6 is better in many ways, but the Pixel 6 is still a great phone overall. Whether or not to upgrade comes down to how much you value the extra bells and whistles the Pixel 6 brings to the table. If you’re still happy with what the Pixel 5 offers, there’s no real reason to upgrade. But if you want more out of your phone, getting the Pixel 6 is definitely something to consider. Right now, you can get its price down to as low as $233 since Google is offering a trade-in value of up to $366 for the Pixel 5.

The Pixel 6 seems like the Google phone Pixel 5 users would consider upgrading to. But for those who want even more features, the Pro variant is a great option as well. You’ll get a larger display, an extra camera at the back, and a few other bells and whistles, but these things will cost you quite a bit more.