No, the Pixel 6 isn’t canceled. But you know what is canceled? Google’s compact flagship phones.
Let’s take a tour of the Google Nexus series, Google Pixel series, and compare Pixel 6 and 6 Pro/XL to some of the exciting upcoming flagships to try and understand why Google decided to abandon the “compact flagship” dream.
Google Nexus series: Ascension
Back in the day, the Nexus 6P was the biggest phone had ever released. Perhaps that’s why Google felt the need to also make the Nexus 5X – a more compact Google flagship.
For starters, Google hasn’t always been the go-to manufacturer if you wanted a compact phone. If anything, the company’s previous lineup – the Nexus, was kind of inconsistent when it came to size.
- Nexus One – 3.7-inch screen
- Nexus S – 4.0-inch screen
- Galaxy Nexus – 4.65-inch screen
- Nexus 4 – 4.7-inch screen
- Nexus 5 – 4.95-inch screen
- Nexus 6 – 6-inch screen
- Nexus 5X – 5.2-inch screen
- Nexus 6P – 5.7-inch screen
See how the Nexus 6 went “bananas” in terms of size, and then Google felt the need to “calm down” a little bit by bringing the Nexus 6P screen size down to 5.7-inches, as well as offering a whole new flagship for those who wanted a small phone – the Nexus 5X.
Google Pixel series: Bezel-ness
The Pixel 5 has the biggest screen on a Google flagship to date. However, the phone doesn’t necessarily feel big.
“Going back to the Nexus 6 itself, its gigantic size puts it into the phablet category… it doesn’t offer some kind of optimized layout for one-handed usage… we’re just left hoping that future updates will address these minor issues…”
This is a quote from our Nexus 6 review! As we’ve come to agree (seven years later) – when it comes to smartphones, size matters! It’s not a coincidence companies like Apple are trying to bring compact phones back.
- Google Pixel 1 – 5.0-inches, 143g
- Google Pixel 2 – 5.0-inches, 143g
- Google Pixel 3 – 5.5-inches, 148g
- Google Pixel 4 – 5.7-inches, 162g
- Google Pixel 5 – 6.0-inches, 151g
When you look at the Pixel lineup so far, it doesn’t look too different from the Nexus one (up until the Nexus 5). The size gradually goes up, and so does the weight (that’s what she…).
In fact, we have to applaud Google for not only keeping flagships compact but also lightweight! That’s arguably just as important. Actually, it would probably surprise you to find out that the Google Pixel 5 feels more compact than the Google Pixel 4, despite the increased screen size.
PhoneArena’s Smartphone Size Comparison tool.
Of course, that’s thanks to the shorter unified bezels around the phone. Despite the 6-inch screen, the Pixel 5 is shorter and thinner than the Pixel 4! So, yes – Google’s last flagship was even more compact than their previous one…
Google Pixel 6 & Google Pixel 6 Pro/XL: Challenging the big dogs with big phones
The Google Pixel 6 is going to be bigger than the Galaxy S21 and iPhone 12, while the Pixel 6 Pro/XL is going toe to toe with the S21 Ultra and iPhone 12 Pro Max.
As reported, the Pixel 6 Pro/XL is going to have a 6.7-inch screen. That’s not a surprise. It’s in line with all other major flagships like the Galaxy S21 Ultra, OnePlus 9 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, and Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra.
However, what is surprising is that the “small” Pixel 6 goes down to 6.4-inches. That’s considerably larger than the Pixel 5, and at the same time not much smaller than the Pixel 6 Pro/XL.
Furthermore, from all the images we’ve seen of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro/XL, the bezels around the new Google flagships seem considerably thicker than those on the Pixel 5. In fact, OnLeaks’ renders show a pretty thick bottom bezel, which goes against Google’s idea to have unified borders on the Pixel 5, which looked brilliant.
Sure, the look of the Pixel 6 isn’t 100% confirmed just yet, but the sources who’ve provided the renders are quite reliable. If all of this turns out to be true, we’ll end up with a 6.4-inch Google Pixel 6, which feels more like a 6.5-inch phone thanks to the thicker bezels and flat-screen design.
Are compact flagships back in fashion: Google Pixel 6 vs Apple, Samsung, OnePlus, Xiaomi
The iPhone 12 Mini is a true game-changer when it comes to compact flagship phones in 2021.
Taking a look over at the competition – the Samsung Galaxy S21 and iPhone 12 come to mind first.
Samsung’s phone comes with a 6.2-inch screen and thin bezels, making it brilliant for one-hand use.
The iPhone 12 (which I’ve owned and used for a while) also feels brilliant for one-handed use. The screen on this one is even smaller, at 6.1-inches, but the bezels seem a bit thicker than those on the Galaxy S22, making the two basically identical when it comes to width.
Then, the iPhone 12 Mini is pretty much the only flagship phone that beats the Pixel 5 when it comes to pocketability, but we know that this one is simply “too small” for some, and also “it dies really quickly” thanks to its tiny battery. Apple attempts to “fix” that with the just-released MagSafe Battery Pack.
Taking a look at upcoming phones flagship phones:
iPhone 13 series
It’s expected, for the iPhone 13 series, Apple will stick to the exact screen sizes and overall dimensions like on the iPhone 12 series of phones.
Galaxy S22 series
We don’t have much information on the Galaxy S22 phones since they are expected to debut in early 2022. We don’t expect a dramatic size increase on the Galaxy S22 since Samsung’s vanilla “S” phone has always been meant to feel “normal”. I mean – they literally have the S21+ for those who want a bigger S21.
OnePlus 9T
Given that the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8T shared the exact same 6.55-inch screen, we don’t expect OnePlus to go out of its way to make a new OnePlus 9T screen. This one will probably use the OnePlus 9 screen, which (surprise!) is the same as on the OnePlus 8 series.
Xiaomi Mi 11T / Xiaomi Mi 12 series
Again, as with OnePlus – Xiaomi used the same screen size on both the Mi 10 5G and the Mi 10T. It’s important to note that in this case, the Mi 10 5G had much slimmer bezels and a curved design, making it feel a lot more compact than the Mi 10T. So, it is expected that history will repeat itself for the Xiaomi Mi11T – if and when this phone comes out. When it comes to the Xiaomi Mi 12 series – it’s way too early to tell.
Bigger screens and bigger batteries on the Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro/XL
Apple’s new Battery Pack makes the iPhone 12 Pro Max feel heavier and thicker than before, but it increases the battery size by 1460 mAh.
Now, the good news from all of this is that apart from the bigger screens, we are also getting bigger batteries on the next Google flagships!
- Google Pixel 5 – 4080mAh battery
- Google Pixel 6 – 4614mAh battery
- Google Pixel 6 Pro/XL – 5000mAh battery
In fact, that might be why Google’s gone with bigger screens in the first place. Let’s not forget that the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro/XL will use a brand new Samsung-made flagship SoC, codenamed “Whitechapel”.
While the mid-range Snapdragon 765G on the Pixel 5 was super power-efficient and allowed for a compromise, the new “Whitechapel” processor will be flagship-grade, so it’ll naturally demand a bigger battery.
Regardless, the takeaway here is – we are saying goodbye to the compact Pixel flagship. Cheers! Here’s to the Pixel 5A, which will hopefully stick to a smaller screen…
