When the Google Pixel 6 debuted it brought a new feature in the form of Magic Eraser, which lets you use AI to remove unwanted background subjects in pictures, and the Pixel 6a took it a step further with Camouflage mode. Turns out, this expanded mode is now coming to the earlier Pixel 6 devices.
When the Google Pixel 6a goes on sale on July 28, the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro will be getting an update that brings Camouflage mode with it - confirmed to The Verge by a Google spokesperson.
Camouflage mode in Magic Eraser doesn't remove an unwanted object but instead tweaks the colors so it isn't as obvious, usually by dropping the saturation. This method isn't as prone to failure as the AI-powered standard Magic Eraser mode, which can often leave noticeable smudges when the AI doesn't quite work out what was meant to be in the background.
This new mode coming to Pixel 6 devices should give owners of those older phones an extra camera tool to play around with, and is another in a long line of updates that Google has given to its flagship phones.
Analysis: making the Pixel 6 an even more tempting buy
In our Google Pixel 6a review, we pointed out that a year of Pixel 6 price cuts made the older phone roughly similar in terms of price to the newer one - despite the Pixel 6a ostensibly being a budget version.
And with Pixel 6a features finding their way over to the Pixel 6, there's one more reason to opt for the superior older phone over its budget alternative.
That's as long as the Google Pixel 6a's price remains stable after it launches - when 'cheap' phones like this are overpriced on launch, we often see the companies cut the prices quickly after only a month or so on sale. So maybe towards the end of the year we'll see the Pixel 6a get a more tempting price point.
Until then, though, the Google Pixel 6 is by far the best phone out of the two.
