Google Pixel 6 won't launch on October 5, but something will, according to rumours

A new rumour suggests that Google will hold an event on October 5 to announce hardware products, but that the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro will not be included in this event. Instead we may see Nest devices along with other software updates, perhaps including the latest additions to Android 12 and Google’s other services like Maps. 

That’s perhaps not surprising, as events could be arranged by entirely different teams within Google, and the company may also want to give the Pixel handsets breathing room with an event of their own later in the month. There is little doubt that the two Pixel phones will appear this year. According to Android Central, a Telstra promotion suggested that the Pixel launch might happen on October 19 instead. 

Adding fuel to all of this was a CNET post which was later removed, which outlined some of the products that would be mentioned, but did not include any Pixel phones. Obviously, not mentioning something doesn’t automatically mean that it won’t be included, but the removal of the post suggests that a mistake was made, perhaps with some embargoed material, that wasn’t supposed to be consumed by the public. 

• Google Pixel 6 rumored release date, price, specs and more
• Google's Pixel 6 has a secret weapon in its Tensor hardware

Google’s entire approach with the Pixel 6 is a bit disruptive. In some ways the company has totally ignored the usual process by which people leak things and the company which has its product leak just mutters “no comment”. Instead, twice this year, Google has responded to leaks by just releasing information of its own. This happened when a leaker suggested the Pixel 5a was cancelled due to a chip shortage, to which Google confirmed the phone was indeed launching, albeit to a limited number of markets. 

Then again, over the summer, it has pushed out official pictures of the Pixel 6 with seemingly not a care in the world if people see the design of the device before its official launch. However it has not commented on features, or given us much indication about what these phones will do differently to the last generation. For that we probably will need to wait for the official launch, which will happen whenever it happens, apparently. 

Google has even told us about the new Tensor chip it's fitting to the Pixel 6. This, in itself, has generated a lot of excitement and could mean the company has one of the fastest Android phones on the market, when it launches.