Home > Smartphone comparison > Pixel 6 vs Pixel 4 – which one to choose?

Google Pixel 6 vs Pixel 4

60 out of 100
Google Pixel 6
VS
48 out of 100
Google Pixel 4
Google Pixel 6
Google Pixel 4

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.4-inch Google Pixel 6 (with Google Tensor) that was released on October 19, 2021, against the Google Pixel 4, which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 and came out 2 years and 1 month before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Memory
  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery life
  6. Camera
  7. Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 6
  • Comes with 1814 mAh larger battery capacity: 4614 vs 2800 mAh
  • Has a 0.7 inch larger screen size
  • Delivers 93% higher peak brightness (849 against 440 nits)
  • Shows 36% longer battery life (18:55 vs 13:56 hours)
  • Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v5.2)
  • More recent OS version: Android 17 versus 13
  • Fingerprint scanner
  • Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 3200 MHz
  • 15% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (990K versus 862K)
  • Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
  • Has 33% more RAM: 8GB versus 6GB
  • Supports higher wattage charging (30W versus 18W)
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 4
  • The rear camera has a 2x optical zoom
  • Has 2 SIM card slots
  • Weighs 45 grams less
  • Better grip in hands – the body is 6 mm narrower

Review

Evaluation of Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 4 crucial features
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
📱 Primary usage:

Value for money (Beta)

Should I update?
No 72% Yes
Yes, we think most users will notice the upgrade.
Updating from Google Pixel 4 to Google Pixel 6 makes sense and should feel noticeably better in daily use.
Main improvements: battery life, camera, and performance.

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests
Phone:
Pixel 6
vs
Pixel 4

Display

Type OLED POLED
Size 6.4 inches 5.7 inches
Resolution 1080 x 2400 pixels 1080 x 2280 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19:9
PPI 411 ppi 444 ppi
Refresh rate 90 Hz 90 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max rated brightness 500 nits 450 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR 800 nits -
HDR support Yes, HDR10+ Yes, HDR10
Screen protection Gorilla Glass Victus Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Screen-to-body ratio 83.3% 80.1%
Display features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display tests
RGB color space 99.8% 95.5%
PWM 397 Hz 367 Hz
Response time 5 ms 2.4 ms
Contrast ∞ Infinity ∞ Infinity
Screen space comparison
Pixel 6
6.4″ (20:9 ratio) = 15.3 in2
Pixel 4
5.7″ (19:9 ratio) = 12.6 in2
~21% more screen space
Peak brightness test (auto)
Pixel 6 +93%
849 nits
Pixel 4
440 nits
Sources: NotebookCheck [3], [4]

Design and build

Height 158.6 mm (6.24 inches) 147.1 mm (5.79 inches)
Width 74.8 mm (2.94 inches) 68.8 mm (2.71 inches)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) 8.2 mm (0.32 inches)
Weight 207 g (7.3 oz) 162 g (5.71 oz)
Waterproof IP68 IP68
Rear material Glass Glass
Frame material Metal Metal
Colors Black, Blue, Yellow White, Black, Orange
Fingerprint scanner Yes, in-display No
Screen-to-body ratio
Pixel 6 +4%
83.3%
Pixel 4
80.1%

Performance

Chipset specifications of Google Pixel 6 and Google Pixel 4
SoC
Chipset Google Tensor Qualcomm Snapdragon 855
Max clock 2800 MHz 2840 MHz
CPU cores 8 (2 + 2 + 4) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex A55
- 2 cores at 2.25 GHz: Cortex A76
- 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-X1		 - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A55 (Kryo 485 Silver)
- 3 cores at 2.42 GHz: Cortex-A76 (Kryo 485 Gold)
- 1 core at 2.84 GHz: Cortex-A76 (Kryo 485 Gold)
L3 cache 4 MB 2 MB
Manufacturing Samsung TSMC
Lithography process 5 nanometers 7 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU) Tensor Processing Unit Hexagon 690
GPU
Graphics Mali-G78 MP20 Adreno 640
GPU shading units 640 768
GPU clock 850 MHz 585 MHz
FLOPS ~1085.4 GFLOPS ~898.5 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Benchmark comparison of Google Pixel 6 and Google Pixel 4
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Pixel 6 +53%
1438
Pixel 4
938
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Pixel 6 +28%
3372
Pixel 4
2628
Compute Score (GPU)
Pixel 6
7318
Pixel 4
n/a
Compute Score (GPU) 7318 -
Single-core score 1438 938
Multi-core score 3372 2628
Sources: Geekbench [3], [4]
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
Pixel 6 +15%
990213
Pixel 4
862803
CPU 381525 328636
GPU 162416 142561
Memory 178605 143710
UX 267677 247896
Total score 990213 862803
Samples [11 tests] Less than 3
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
Pixel 6
704
Pixel 4
n/a
Stability 63% -
Graphics test 5 FPS -
Graphics score 704 -
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
Pixel 6 +120%
1907
Pixel 4
868
Stability 60% 80%
Graphics test 11 FPS 5 FPS
Graphics score 1907 868
Sources: 3DMark [5], [6]
PCMark 3.0
Pixel 6
10273
Pixel 4 +5%
10742
Web score 7877 8046
Video editing 6652 6483
Photo editing 18508 24363
Data manipulation 10427 8951
Writing score 13858 12805
Submit your benchmark results

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Google Pixel 6
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-09-13 (Vladi♂️Slave♂️)AnTuTu 121281085
📘 2026-08-17 -> Paranoid _AntostAnTuTu 11930801
📘 2026-04-05 (Ethan Winters)AnTuTu 11927237
📘 2026-02-25 (Adora)AnTuTu 11933576
📘 2026-01-29 (Stormchasing)AnTuTu 11990213
Add View all (18)
Google Pixel 4
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-04-21 (ultracoretechnologybybkve)AnTuTu 11862803
📘 2024-07-09 (AZEN-SGG)Geekbench 6 CPU789 / 2349
📘 2024-03-01 (lol)Geekbench 6 CPU938 / 2628
Add View all (3)

Memory

RAM
RAM size 8 GB 6 GB
Memory type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory clock 3200 MHz 2133 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage size 128 GB 64 GB
Storage type UFS 3.1 UFS 2.1
Memory card No No

Software

Operating system Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 17) Android 10 (Can be upgraded to Android 13)
ROM Stock Android -
OS size 17.6 GB 9.55 GB

Battery

Capacity 4614 mAh 2800 mAh
Max charge power 30 W 18 W
Battery type Li-Ion Li-Po
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging Yes (21 W) Yes (11 W)
Reverse charging Yes, (wireless) No
Fast charging Yes (41% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full charging time 1:53 hr 1:20 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing 07:07 hr 05:06 hr
Watching video 13:13 hr 08:59 hr
Gaming 05:02 hr 03:32 hr
Standby 85 hr 68 hr
General battery life
Pixel 6 +36%
18:55 hr
Pixel 4
13:56 hr
Add your battery life

Main camera

Matrix 50 megapixels 12.2 megapixels
Image resolution 8192 x 6144 4000 x 3000
Zoom Digital Optical, 2x
Flash Dual LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K video recording No No
4K video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 30FPS
1080p video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
Slow motion 240 FPS (1080p) 240 FPS (720p)
Angle of widest lens 114° 119°
Lenses 1) Standard: 50 MP
2) Ultrawide: 12 MP
1) Standard: 12.2 MP
2) Telephoto: 16 MP
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Standard lens
Image resolution 50 MP 12.2 MP
Aperture f/1.9 f/1.7
Focal length 25 mm 28 mm
Sensor Samsung GN1 Sony IMX363
Sensor size 1/1.31" (≈ 0.76 inch) 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch)
Pixel size 1.2 micron 1.4 micron
Autofocus Laser autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Optical Optical
Telephoto lens
Image resolution - 16 MP
Aperture - f/2.4
Focal length - 45 mm
Sensor - Sony IMX481
Sensor size - 1/3.09" (≈ 0.32 inch)
Pixel size - 1 micron
Stabilization - Optical
Ultra-wide lens
Image resolution 12 MP -
Aperture f/2.2 -
Focal length 17 mm -
Sensor Sony IMX386 Exmor RS -
Sensor size 1/2.9" (≈ 0.34 inch) -
Pixel size 1.12 micron -
Stabilization Digital -

DxOMark main camera tests

Photo quality
Pixel 6 +16%
136
Pixel 4
117
Video quality
Pixel 6 +32%
133
Pixel 4
101
Generic main camera score
Pixel 6 +13%
126
Pixel 4
112
Bokeh 65 -
Preview 65 -
Zoom 79 -
Samples Photo samples of Google Pixel 6 from DxOMark Photo samples of Google Pixel 4 from DxOMark

Selfie camera

Megapixels 8 megapixels 8 megapixels
Image resolution 3840 x 2160 3264 x 2448
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.0
Focal length 24 mm 22 mm
Sensor CMOS CMOS
Pixel size 1.12 micron 1.22 micron
Autofocus No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS
Depth sensor (TOF 3D) No Yes
DxOMark front camera
Pixel 6 +4%
129
Pixel 4
124
Photo 130 116
Video 127 136

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.2 5
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.1 3.1
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared port No No
Network
Number of SIM* 1 2
Type of SIM card Nano Nano
Multi SIM mode - Standby
eSIM support* Yes Yes
Hybrid slot No No
LTE Cat* 20 18
5G support Yes No

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack No No
FM radio No No
Dolby Atmos No No
Speakers test
Max loudness
Pixel 6 +1%
86.3 dB
Pixel 4
85.6 dB

Other

Category Flagship Flagship
Announced October 2021 October 2019
Release date October 2021 November 2019
Launch price (MSRP) $600 $799
Successor - Google Pixel 10 - Google Pixel 10 Pro
SAR (head) - 1.19 W/kg
SAR (body) - 1.39 W/kg
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint		 - Hall-effect sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Face recognition sensor
Bundled charger Not included -
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

After analyzing all the data, we think that the Google Pixel 6 is definitely a better buy.

Cast your vote

So, which phone would you choose?
43 (38.4%)
69 (61.6%)
Total votes: 112

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