The most exciting Pixel 6 features may never make it to older Pixel phones
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The best Pixel 6 features may not come to older Pixel devices and the custom-built Tensor chip is the reason behind that.
It has been the norm for Google to bring some of the features introduced with a new phone to older devices through software updates. It looks like only a few of Pixel 6 features, if any, will make it to previous phones.
Speaking to Android Authority, Google said that it plans to bring as many Pixel 6 goodies as technologically possible to older Pixel phones. The company spokesperson made it clear that some technologies are dependent on the Tensor chip, which only powers the latest crop of phones.
As with all Pixel features, we aim to bring as many features as possible to older Pixels where technically possible — though it might take some time to develop and offer a different experience. Some technologies will require additional technical investments, such as Live Translate, as our on-device language models are engineered to run on Pixel 6’s proprietary Tensor chip on TPU (which older Pixel models don’t have). We currently do not have a firm date for rollout to older Pixels at this point in time, but stay tuned for future announcements.
Looking at the tone of the statement, it doesn't look like features like Live Translate and Motion Mode will be rolled out to older Pixel smartphones. The phones have also received new camera hardware, so it's possible that some of the camera features are also exclusive to them.
The silver lining is that the Pixel 6 duo is quite affordable for a flagship series, starting at only $599. The bad news is that the best potential 2021 phones are not widely available.
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