Google Pixel XL
Sabrina Ellis, Director of Product Management at Google, speaks about the new Pixel phone during the presentation of new Google hardware in San Francisco, California, US, October 4, 2016. Reuters/Beck Diefenbach

Google Pixel and Pixel XL are currently two of the top smartphones in the world. Google is no longer the company known for its software but a major player in the smartphone segment. The company’s operating system has enabled a number of players to make big bucks and now Google wants to be in the game. News of Google Pixel 2 is already making rounds. But also in the game is Huawei. The company launched the Honor 6X at the CES 2017 in Las Vegas. It will be interesting to see how the smartphone fares against the Google Pixel XL.

According to CRN, the Google Pixel XL comes with Android 7.1 Nougat, the latest OS from Google whereas the Huawei Honor 6X has the Android 6.0. It has a customised Android user interface known as EMUI that brings a simpler design style than standard Android. However, Honor 6X comes with EMUI 4.1 and not the latest 5.0. Updates are expected though in the second quarter. The Pixxel XL of course has the Google Assistant, probably the best personal digital assistant in the market currently.

While both Google Pixel XL and Huawei Honor 6X have 5.5-inch screens, they also come in aluminium bodies. The overall size is more or less the same for two. However, when it comes to display resolution, Pixel XL has a sharper display with a screen resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels, compared to Huawei Honor 6X’s 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. In terms of processor, both the companies turn to different manufacturers but end up roughly the same when it comes to clock speed.

The Huawei Honor 6X has a Kirin 655 chipset clocked at 2.1GHz while the Pixel XL sports a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, clocked at 2.15GHz, which is a bit faster than Huawei’s smartphone. While both the companies have promoted their smartphone cameras greatly, Pixel XL is said to have the best camera currently in the market. According to GSMArena, the Google Pixel XL has a 12.3MP primary camera with f/2.0, EIS (gyro), phase detection & laser autofocus and dual-LED (dual tone) flash.

Other Pixel XL primary camera features include 1/2.3" sensor size, 1.55µm pixel size, geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR and panorama. It can capture videos at 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps and 720p@240fps. The secondary camera is of 8MP with features such as f/2.4, 1/3.2" sensor size, 1.4 µm pixel size and 1080p video recording. The Huawei Honor 6X has a dual 12 MP + 2 MP primary camera with phase detection autofocus and LED flash.

Other features include 1/2.9" sensor size, 1.25 µm pixel size, geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR and panorama. It can record 1080p videos @30fps and has a 1080p capable 8MP secondary camera. The Google Pixel XL has a larger battery, a non-removable Li-Ion 3,450 mAh battery whereas the Huawei Honor 6X packs a non-removable 3,340 mAh battery. Another area where Google scores is the free, unlimited cloud storage in Pixel XL. It also comes with a 4GB RAM and 32/128GB internal storage options.

Huawei Honor 6X packs a 3GB RAM for its 32GB Model and 4GB RAM for its 64GB model. The biggest difference between the two smartphones is in their price. The Huawei Honor 6X 32GB variant is available for US$249.99 (AU$330 approx). The Google Pixel XL has a starting price of US$769 (AU$1,000 approx).

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