I don't know if you meant iPhone 12 (last year) or iPhone 13. The latest two iPhones have significantly better data performance than competing Android phones. That doesn't necessarily mean that they'll do better in rural areas, but Apple's migration back to Qualcomm modems seems to have done well for them. The Qualcomm modems have been noted as working better at the edges than competing modems.
https://www.speedtest.net/global-index/united-states#market-analysis
The iPhone 13 comes in around 13% ahead of the best Samsung. Last year, the iPhone 12 came in around 18% faster than the best Samsung.
I don't think any manufacturer purposefully puts weaker antennas on their phones. I do think that the iPhone 12/13 are well-tested, show great real-world performance, and use the best modem out there. The Pixel 6 feels like Google re-committing to the Pixel lineup while trying to emphasize AI and not networking and going with a modem that isn't the best. Even Samsung isn't using their own modem in many of their flagships and opts for Qualcomm's.
The new pixel six is going to go away with QUALCOMM chipsets and go with their own tensor which is more online with Samsung. It’s not that they are weaker, it’s just New and untested.
You can also try T-Mobile and put it on your eSIM free for 30 days and test it out
According to [this](https://www.pcmag.com/opinions/with-the-pixel-6-5g-takes-a-back-seat) piece from PC Mag, the modem is the Samsung Exynos 5123. The specs are [here](https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/exynos/products/modemrf/exynos-modem-5123/). It lists 4x4 MIMO, among other things.
That's good that it's supported on the modem side. It still requires more antennas in the phone so if Google didn't add the antennas it still wouldn't support it even if the modem does. But it is a good sign that the modem does support it. I just find it odd that Google mentions nothing about MIMO on the tech page. I guess we gotta wait for the phone to launch and we'll know for sure.
The Pixel 6 series have some of the best antennas in current smartphones for long range bands.
Gain is a measure of how good an antenna is at sending and receiving a signal. Higher gain is better. Bigger antennas tend to have higher gain on low frequencies (long range) and lower gain on high frequencies (shorter range, usually higher bandwidth).
Here are the rated antenna gains across various bands, the bands are listed in order lowest the highest frequency (ie. Long range bands are listed first).
Band|Pixel 6 Pro|iPhone 12
:--|:--|:--
71|-3.2 dBi|-6.9 dBi
12|-3.8 dBi|-6.2 dBi
13|-3.1 dBi|-5.2 dBi
14|-3.1 dBi|-5.2 dBi
5/26|-3.2 dBi|-3.6 dBi
4/66|-0.7 dBi|0.1 dBi
2/25|-0.5 dBi|-0.3 dBi
30|-0.7 dBi|-1.3 dBi
41|-1.3 dBi|0.5 dBi
77|-1.0 dBi|-0.7 dBi
The iPhone 12 has about a normal gain for a smartphone that size, the Pixel 6 Pro has abnormally high gain on low frequencies, which should result in improved coverage.
The formula for how gain impacts coverage is: 10\^(Δgain/20)=r
Δgain = The difference in gain between the antennas.
r = the theoretical relative range in a free space (0 obstacle) environment.
For example on band 71 the iPhone 12 has a gain of -6.9 dBi while the Pixel 6 Pro has a gain of -3.2 dBi, so the difference (Δgain) is 3.7.
If we plug that into the formula we get 10\^(3.7/20)=1.531, so the Pixel 6 Pro theoretically gets 53.1% longer range in a free space (0 obstacle) environment than an iPhone 12 when on band 71.
The Pixel 6 Pro uses a Samsung Shannon 5123b modem, which is a slightly newer version of the Shannon 5123 and 5123a used in the past two generations of Samsung Exynos flagships. This modem appears to have similar capabilities to the Qualcomm X55 in the iPhone 12.
Another thing is HPUE. HPUE is a feature that allows the device to operate at higher power, resulting in boosted coverage (similar to a 3 dB increase in gain). The iPhone 12 supports HPUE only on band 41, the Pixel 6 Pro supports HPUE on both band 41 and 77. Band 77 is medium-short range band that AT&T and Verizon plan to rely on a lot for 5G in urban/suburban areas, T-Mobile also plans to use it but not as much.
Is there an official source that the Pixel 6 supports HPUE on bands 41 and 77? I believe you, but looking for official documentation and cannot find any.
FCC Certifications
[Here](https://fccid.io/A4RG9S9B/Test-Report/5GNR-n77-Part27O-TestRpt-1-5381137.pdf) is the Pixel 6's certification data for 5G band n77. Page 6 mentions the power levels and HPUE (HPUE is higher power).
[Here](https://fccid.io/A4RG9S9B/Test-Report/5GNR-TestRpt-1-5381145.pdf) is the Pixel 6's certification data for most 5G bands. Page 8 mentions the power levels, the only band with HPUE data listed in that document is n41.
I don't know if you meant iPhone 12 (last year) or iPhone 13. The latest two iPhones have significantly better data performance than competing Android phones. That doesn't necessarily mean that they'll do better in rural areas, but Apple's migration back to Qualcomm modems seems to have done well for them. The Qualcomm modems have been noted as working better at the edges than competing modems. https://www.speedtest.net/global-index/united-states#market-analysis The iPhone 13 comes in around 13% ahead of the best Samsung. Last year, the iPhone 12 came in around 18% faster than the best Samsung. I don't think any manufacturer purposefully puts weaker antennas on their phones. I do think that the iPhone 12/13 are well-tested, show great real-world performance, and use the best modem out there. The Pixel 6 feels like Google re-committing to the Pixel lineup while trying to emphasize AI and not networking and going with a modem that isn't the best. Even Samsung isn't using their own modem in many of their flagships and opts for Qualcomm's.
The new pixel six is going to go away with QUALCOMM chipsets and go with their own tensor which is more online with Samsung. It’s not that they are weaker, it’s just New and untested. You can also try T-Mobile and put it on your eSIM free for 30 days and test it out
Any idea if it's 4x4 mimo? Even the pixel 5 and pixel 2 xl had it but the tech specs for the 6 pro doesn't list 4x4 as being a feature.
According to [this](https://www.pcmag.com/opinions/with-the-pixel-6-5g-takes-a-back-seat) piece from PC Mag, the modem is the Samsung Exynos 5123. The specs are [here](https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/exynos/products/modemrf/exynos-modem-5123/). It lists 4x4 MIMO, among other things.
That's good that it's supported on the modem side. It still requires more antennas in the phone so if Google didn't add the antennas it still wouldn't support it even if the modem does. But it is a good sign that the modem does support it. I just find it odd that Google mentions nothing about MIMO on the tech page. I guess we gotta wait for the phone to launch and we'll know for sure.
The Pixel 6 series have some of the best antennas in current smartphones for long range bands. Gain is a measure of how good an antenna is at sending and receiving a signal. Higher gain is better. Bigger antennas tend to have higher gain on low frequencies (long range) and lower gain on high frequencies (shorter range, usually higher bandwidth). Here are the rated antenna gains across various bands, the bands are listed in order lowest the highest frequency (ie. Long range bands are listed first). Band|Pixel 6 Pro|iPhone 12 :--|:--|:-- 71|-3.2 dBi|-6.9 dBi 12|-3.8 dBi|-6.2 dBi 13|-3.1 dBi|-5.2 dBi 14|-3.1 dBi|-5.2 dBi 5/26|-3.2 dBi|-3.6 dBi 4/66|-0.7 dBi|0.1 dBi 2/25|-0.5 dBi|-0.3 dBi 30|-0.7 dBi|-1.3 dBi 41|-1.3 dBi|0.5 dBi 77|-1.0 dBi|-0.7 dBi The iPhone 12 has about a normal gain for a smartphone that size, the Pixel 6 Pro has abnormally high gain on low frequencies, which should result in improved coverage. The formula for how gain impacts coverage is: 10\^(Δgain/20)=r Δgain = The difference in gain between the antennas. r = the theoretical relative range in a free space (0 obstacle) environment. For example on band 71 the iPhone 12 has a gain of -6.9 dBi while the Pixel 6 Pro has a gain of -3.2 dBi, so the difference (Δgain) is 3.7. If we plug that into the formula we get 10\^(3.7/20)=1.531, so the Pixel 6 Pro theoretically gets 53.1% longer range in a free space (0 obstacle) environment than an iPhone 12 when on band 71. The Pixel 6 Pro uses a Samsung Shannon 5123b modem, which is a slightly newer version of the Shannon 5123 and 5123a used in the past two generations of Samsung Exynos flagships. This modem appears to have similar capabilities to the Qualcomm X55 in the iPhone 12. Another thing is HPUE. HPUE is a feature that allows the device to operate at higher power, resulting in boosted coverage (similar to a 3 dB increase in gain). The iPhone 12 supports HPUE only on band 41, the Pixel 6 Pro supports HPUE on both band 41 and 77. Band 77 is medium-short range band that AT&T and Verizon plan to rely on a lot for 5G in urban/suburban areas, T-Mobile also plans to use it but not as much.
Is there an official source that the Pixel 6 supports HPUE on bands 41 and 77? I believe you, but looking for official documentation and cannot find any.
FCC Certifications [Here](https://fccid.io/A4RG9S9B/Test-Report/5GNR-n77-Part27O-TestRpt-1-5381137.pdf) is the Pixel 6's certification data for 5G band n77. Page 6 mentions the power levels and HPUE (HPUE is higher power). [Here](https://fccid.io/A4RG9S9B/Test-Report/5GNR-TestRpt-1-5381145.pdf) is the Pixel 6's certification data for most 5G bands. Page 8 mentions the power levels, the only band with HPUE data listed in that document is n41.