Google announces Pixel 6 phone with new chip, subscription service

FILE PHOTO: A sign is pictured outside a Google office near the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, U.S., May 8, 2019. REUTERS/Paresh Dave

(Reuters) -Alphabet Inc's Google on Tuesday announced the newest iteration of its smartphone - Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro - which will be powered by the company's first chip called Tensor.

The tech giant also launched Pixel Pass, a subscription service starting at $45 per month for U.S. customers that will include the Pixel 6 and access to the premium versions of YouTube and YouTube Music.

Pricing for the Pixel 6 will start at $599. The Pixel 6 Pro, with a larger screen, telephoto camera lens and upgraded front camera, starts at $899.

The new design has a metal body and a black band across the back that includes the camera.

Camera software improvements allow better capture of darker skin tones, part of Google's effort to make the camera more inclusive, it said.

The camera can reduce stray light in photos, which can make dark skin appear ashy, and has improved white balance and exposure tuning to more accurately reflect skin tone, Google said.

The phones will go on sale at U.S. wireless carriers on Oct. 28.

(Reporting by Sheila Dang in Dallas; Editing by Richard Chang)

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