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Google PlayAs the “official fan phone of the NBA,” Google’s Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are perfect for photographing every special moment both on and off the court. We put that to the test last weekend in Cleveland, Ohio, where there were dozens of exclusive basketball events—ranging from the slam dunk and three-point contests to the inaugural HBCU Classic and main event face-off between the best of each conference—that showed and proved there’s no better smartphone camera available for fans.
The Pixel 6 contains both a 50 megapixel wide camera and 12 megapixel ultra-wide camera, offering multiple ways to capture a fast break or a fire fit. Meanwhile, the Pixel 6 Pro comes with an additional 48 megapixel telephoto camera that ups your photo game even more. Regardless of which phone you have, though, capturing that perfect buzzer beater, celebrity sighting, or group selfie of everyone showing off flawless drip is effortless with the Pixel 6.
Starting with the first snap of the camera shutter, Google’s most pioneering feature on the Pixel 6 is Real Tone, which makes photos of people look more authentic. We’ve all seen the disparity in how many filters cater to lighter skin tones and just don’t do the variety of hues in Black and brown skin justice. Real Tone is a direct response to decades of underlying biases in camera technology that has historically excluded darker skin in its development.
Developed in collaboration with the Google Photos and Google Research teams, Magic Eraser works through automatic suggestions and user-controlled selections. All Pixel 6 users have to do is circle or brush over the unwanted object to remove it from the pic. Thanks to machine learning, there’s no need for precise brushing either as Magic Eraser can figure out what you’re trying to remove based on what you circle. Additionally, the software can point out suggested distractions in photos where users can erase them all at once or one by one. Magic Eraser even works to clean up older photos taken on previous cameras so it’s a literal game-changer whether you took a pic a minute ago or years ago.
Allowing users to easily capture a brutal crossover or a vicious block, Motion Mode consists of two key features: long exposure and action pan. Long exposure blurs the moving parts of a still image to bring the foreground into focus, while action pan applies a blur effect to the background of fast-moving objects in the frame. The feature works by the Pixel 6 taking several photos at once, combining them, and using on-device machine learning to identify the focal point of the photo before adding an aesthetic blur to the background. The end result is professional-quality images via an easy user interface.
The technology behind the Pixel 6 camera may be some of the most advanced fans have seen but its execution is rooted in simplicity. Rather than rely on clunky third party apps to achieve the perfect action shot, Google Pixel 6 builds all the tools you need right into the phone.
