Google has made the unusual move of confirming a load of details about its forthcoming smartphones, the Google Pixel 6 and the Pixel 6 Pro.

Sharing images of the device, Google has now confirmed that the design is as previously leaked, with a camera bar across the entirety of the rear of the phone.

Both the Pixel 6 and the Pro will have this design, but the Pixel 6 Pro has more space above that rear camera bar.

Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro photo 1
Google

The cameras have been upgraded, with Google saying that the new camera system is too big to fit in a little square like the previous devices, hence the move to something more substantial.

The Pro has three cameras, with a 4x optical telephoto lens.

There are three colour combinations for each of the models, with the Pro getting a "light polished aluminium" frame and the 6 getting a matte finish. We can also see from one of the Pixel 6 Pro images that it has curved edges to the display.

It looks like a complete rethinking about what the Pixel is trying to be - and a huge step away from the fairly understated design of the Pixel 5.

Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro photo 5
Google

The phone will naturally have Android 12 and Material You, while many of the experiences will lean on Google's evolving prowess with machine learning - it will drive voice commands, translation, dictation and captioning - which takes us onto the next thing.

A big part of this announcement isn't about the phones at all, it's about something else - Google Tensor. Google has been long rumoured to be working on its own silicon - codenamed Whitechapel - and now we have confirmation and it's called Tensor.

Not much has been said about Tensor so far, but Google says that it thought about the design from a user perspective, to ensure that all the artificial intelligence and machine learning applications could run on it - from computational photography to real time translation.

Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro photo 2
Google

Security is also at the heart of Tensor with a new security core and Titan M2, which Google claims will make Pixel 6 have "the most layers of security in any phone."

Google says that Tensor has been in development for 4 years.

"This is the biggest innovation in Pixel we've made to date, designed in collaboration with our AI and Android teams to deliver the best experience at the intersection of hardware, software and AI for years to come," said Sundar Pichai CEO of Google.

This is all just a tease for now, to make sure you don't get too distracted by Samsung's big announcement in mid-August, or the launch of a new iPhone in September, with Google promising that all will be revealed later in the year.

Usually, Pixels are announced in October and that's when we'd expect to get the full details about the Pixel 6 and the Pixel 6 Pro.