Google Pixel 6/6 Pro
Google has been making phones for a long time, but only in 2021 did it feel like the company’s Pixel lineup finally arrived. The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro feel like a new beginning following questionable releases (squints at Pixel 5) from a brand that, at one point, looked ready to give Apple a run for its money. By upgrading the cameras, using flagship components, and keeping the price lower than anyone expected ($599 for the Pixel 6!), Google has made it difficult for Android users to justify buying anything else.
Perhaps most important for the brand are the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro’s unique design. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the camera bar and tri-tone colors feel like the emergence of a signature aesthetic, something the company has desperately lacked as it bounced from one idea to the next. These devices aren’t perfect (the fingerprint scanner is meh, for instance), but what the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro promise are years of stability for those who want a flagship phone running pure Android. —Phillip Tracy
