The Google Pixel 6 Pro appears to adopt the Mi 10 Ultra's camera

The Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro debuted in October last year, with one of the major differences between the two models being the presence of a periscope lens on the Pro model. The Pixel 6 Pro delivers excellent zoom as a result, and a new report purports that it may have borrowed some hardware from the unlikeliest of sources—Xiaomi.

As revealed by Tech Insights, the zoom lens on the Google Pixel 6 Pro appears to be identical to the setup Xiaomi implemented on its 2020 flagship phone, the Mi 10 Ultra. The components of the periscope lenses are similar: identical prism housings and voice coils, five lenses with the "same concavity and approximate optical density", with a bezel and two shims in the same order. Both phones use 48 MP CMOS sensors beneath the lenses as well. The Mi 10 Ultra uses the IMX598; the Pixel 6 Pro's telephoto sensor is unnamed but is likely to be the same as it has the same 0.8 µm pixel size but with a 1 mm extra sensor diagonal.

How interesting is all of this? Well, not very in actuality. Both phones deliver solid zoom performance. The Mi 10 Ultra goes up to 5x zoom while the Pixel 6 Pro is pegged at 4x, but we'd probably back the Google flagship in a zoom camera shootout thanks to its superior software.

Buy the Google Pixel 6 Pro on Amazon.