The Pixel 7 is a stable alternative for many who need an Android telephone with a reasonably sized display screen and a superb digicam at an inexpensive worth. It is not all that totally different from the Pixel 6, however that is a superb signal as a result of it exhibits that Google caught with the identical successful components it established final yr, leading to one other well-rounded flagship Android telephone that also undercuts Apple and Samsung on worth.With the $599 (£599, AU$999) Pixel 7, which launches on Oct. 13, Google largely centered on three main areas: Refining the telephone’s design, increasing its digicam capabilities and integrating extra Pixel-exclusive software program options. The pricier Pixel 7 Pro prices $899 and provides an additional telephoto digicam and a bigger 6.7-inch display screen.
LikeElegant designGood digicam for the valuePhoto Unblur sharpens outdated photosFree VPN
Don’t LikeBattery life might be higherNot as a lot Android model assist as Samsung
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Google Pixel 7 Review: Same Great Value
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The Pixel 7 builds on lots of the parts first launched with the Pixel 6 and pushes them ahead. It has a second-generation Tensor G2 processor that powers some new digicam options. The design is just like the Pixel 6’s, however with extra of an emphasis on the digicam bar. And as soon as once more, Google is leaning into Pixel-exclusive software program options, such because the inclusion of its VPN service free of charge.The Pixel 7 affords a wonderful mixture of options, digicam instruments and worth. Battery life might be longer, and you will get an additional era of Android OS software program assist by going with Samsung as an alternative. But the Pixel 7 nonetheless manages to supply quite a lot of worth for its $599 worth.
Pixel 7 design is sort of a extra polished Pixel 6The Pixel 7 has smaller bezels than final yr’s Pixel 6.
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The Pixel 7 has the identical general design language because the Pixel 6. Once once more, the digicam is prominently highlighted with a horizontal bar that stretches throughout the again of the telephone. But the Pixel 7’s digicam strip is manufactured from steel as an alternative of glass, which feels much more like a press release piece.Google moved away from the Pixel 6’s two-tone design with the Pixel 7, which is as an alternative blanketed in a single colour on the again. The Pixel 7 is on the market in snow (white), obsidian (black) and lemongrass (yellow). I’ve been utilizing the lemongrass model, which seems like probably the most thrilling colour choice of the bunch.
The Pixel 7 additionally has smaller bezels on the entrance, which supplies it a barely extra trendy and premium look than the Pixel 6. But the display screen is a hair smaller, at 6.3 inches in comparison with the Pixel 6’s 6.4 inches. Still, it is giant sufficient to supply extra display screen house than gadgets just like the Samsung Galaxy S22, iPhone 14 and Pixel 6A, all of which have 6.1-inch shows. The Pixel 7 seems like the fitting dimension for many who desire a Goldilocks display screen that is huge however not gigantic. The Pixel 7 Pro (proper) has a bigger 6.7-inch display screen in comparison with the 6.3-inch Pixel 7 (proper).
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Google says the Pixel 7’s show reaches 1,000 nits of brightness and 1,400 nits of peak brightness, though I nonetheless discovered myself struggling to see it in brilliant daylight in some conditions. The Galaxy S22 lineup, however, impressed me with how brilliant their shows are.
The Pixel 7’s steel edges.
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Like its predecessor, the Pixel 7’s display screen has a 2,400×1,080-pixel decision, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus cowl glass for sturdiness and the flexibility to spice up the refresh price as much as 90Hz for smoother scrolling and animations.Pixel 7 cameras vs. iPhone 14 and Galaxy S22The Pixel 7’s digicam has some slight enhancements in comparison with final yr’s Pixel 6.
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The Pixel 7 has a 50-megapixel major sensor and a 12-megapixel ultrawide digicam, just like the Pixel 6. But Google says it is made some behind-the-scenes modifications that ought to enhance the Pixel 7’s zoom high quality.When zooming in at 2x, the Pixel 7’s 50-megapixel major sensor now crops into 12.5 megapixels within the center. Google says the end result must be just like that of a 2x optical lens. The Pixel 7 can even zoom as much as 8x digitally, representing a slight improve from the Pixel 6’s 7x zoom.The Pixel 7’s 2x zoom is usually crisp and detailed, though in lots of instances the Pixel 7’s picture seemed simply nearly as good as ones taken on the Pixel 6, iPhone 14 and Galaxy S22. The images under of an artwork exhibit at my native park are an instance of this.
But within the couple of cases by which I did discover a distinction, the outcomes had been spectacular. Take a have a look at the images of an indication within the park under, which was taken on every telephone’s most digital zoom degree. The Pixel 7 could not have the longest zoom (that honor goes to the Galaxy S22’s 30x digital zoom), nevertheless it actually has the cleanest picture. And it is undoubtedly a tighter shot than the 5x digital zoom you are capable of get with the iPhone 14.This skyline throughout the East River on this picture, which was taken at a 2x zoom, additionally appears to be like sharper within the Pixel 7’s picture in comparison with the iPhone 14’s. In different situations, the Pixel 7 typically held its personal. Sometimes it produced a greater picture than Apple or Samsung, and different instances it fell behind each. The indoor portrait under was taken in dim lighting and is not as sharp or detailed because the iPhone’s, for instance, though it is on par with Samsung’s.In brilliant daylight, the Pixel 7 captured a transparent and detailed picture in Portrait mode that adequately isolates the topic within the foreground. However, I most popular the images from Apple and Samsung, as a result of they forged fewer shadows over the topic’s face.
But the Pixel 7 performs effectively in evening mode images and colourful images taken in daylight.In the picture under, which was taken in an nearly utterly darkish room, each the Pixel 7 and that iPhone 14 produced pretty brilliant photographs with some element. The iPhone’s picture is the most effective and the brightest, and it additionally has the crispest element. But the Pixel 7’s picture remains to be sharper than Samsung’s and has extra correct colour. Taking images in evening mode on the Pixel 7 can be just a few seconds sooner than doing so on the Pixel 6, though it primarily matches Apple and Samsung relating to capturing velocity.I additionally actually loved this picture of flowers on the park taken on the Pixel 7. Of the three telephones, I believe Apple did the most effective job of balancing colour and element whereas remaining true to the scene. But Google’s picture has extra element within the petals than the Galaxy S22, which I respect.But what’s extra fascinating is without doubt one of the new enhancing options Google added to the Pixel 7. It’s referred to as Photo Unblur, and it is so much just like the Face Unblur function that debuted on the Pixel 6 final yr. The thought is that as an alternative of simply sharpening new images as Face Unblur does, you possibly can undergo your picture library and repair decrease high quality images that will have been taken on older cameras.I could not imagine how effectively the Pixel 7 sharpened up this picture of me from practically 10 years in the past. Take a have a look at the images under to see the distinction.
In my expertise, this function works greatest on images which are out of focus. If a photograph is simply too grainy, as a result of there simply wasn’t sufficient gentle when the picture was initially taken, there is not a lot Google can do about it. Photo Unblur is a superb instance of the kind of stuff I want Samsung was doing extra of, as I wrote in my evaluate of the Galaxy S22 Plus earlier this yr. It’s good to see that Google is considering extra than simply picture high quality relating to images upgrades.As for video, one of many largest additions on the Pixel 7 is a function referred to as Cinematic Blur. That ought to sound acquainted to Apple customers, contemplating the iPhone has a really related function referred to as Cinematic Mode. This function blurs the background of a picture to make the topic pop extra, identical to Portrait Mode for images. The Pixel 7’s Cinematic Blur works effectively and is enjoyable to make use of, however the iPhone’s made the scene look extra pure. You can try how these clips evaluate within the Pixel 7 video evaluate embedded on this article.
Pixel 7 Real Tone and Guided FrameGoogle says it improved the Real Tone algorithms on its new Pixels.
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Google can be making the Pixel’s digicam extra equitable with the Pixel 7, a continuation of the efforts it launched final yr. Google mentioned it improved its Real Tone digicam system with greater than 10,000 portraits of individuals of colour to additional refine how Pixel telephones render pores and skin tones. Real Tone also needs to work higher in dim lighting, the corporate mentioned.To put this to the check, I photographed a few of my colleagues utilizing the Pixel 7, iPhone 14 and Galaxy S22 and requested them which picture they appreciated greatest and why. When exhibiting them the images, I did not reveal which photographs got here from which telephone to keep away from any potential bias. Here’s what they needed to say in their very own phrases, which I’ve edited frivolously for readability. I additionally inserted the names of every telephone into their suggestions, for the reason that photographs they reviewed had been beforehand labeled as Phone 1, Phone 2 and Phone 3.Theodore Liggians, Associate Social Producer:”Compared to the remainder, the Pixel 7 was probably the most impartial throughout the board. In low gentle, it maintains what you’d see along with your eyes, which isn’t what you need your telephone to do in low gentle conditions. In low gentle, the Pixel 7 appears to take hotter images to spice up a topic’s colour. Outdoors, it does an amazing job of sustaining the blues of the sky and avoiding a blown-out background. The lens flare is a distraction and would not seem in the identical picture from the Galaxy S22, so I’m not sure if it is a telephone or consumer induced difficulty.
“The Galaxy S22 was the best in my eyes. If you didn’t know these photos were taken in low light, you would never know. In high exposure settings, like outdoors, the Galaxy S22 still manages to dial down the brightness and maintain the vibrance of a subject. The Galaxy S22 walks the tightrope of color balance and correction with perfection.”The iPhone 14 appears as whether it is boosting saturation greater than attempting to paint right in low-light and high-exposure conditions. In low-light circumstances it appears to flip flop between being too heat or being boring. In outside pictures, colours appear deep and smoothed over by software program — nearly like an auto filter.”Imad Khan, Senior Reporter:”Overall, I just like the images from the Pixel 7. Outdoors, it did a superb job of capturing the topic within the heart whereas doing a little blurring of the background. Of course, it is not on the degree of an actual macro lens, however it’s Instagram-ready. There is a few lens flare, which does distract from the general picture. Indoors and in low-light conditions, it does preserve colours and textures correct. Overall, the colours appear correct and never saturated. HDR can be good.”The Galaxy S22 additionally has wonderful images. The lens has a shorter focal size, that means it pulls the middle of the body nearer but in addition exhibits extra of New York behind me. There’s nonetheless lens flare on the backside and it appears that evidently post-processing has smoothed over part of my shirt. The wider focal size does elongate me a bit, and might look considerably unnatural. But the low-light readability is nice. It’s nonetheless capable of seize textures in my clothes.
“The iPhone 14 seems to be the brightest of all the cameras. There’s almost a glow around my head when out in the sun. Still, the focal length allows for good framing and the background has a more natural blur. It’s still very subtle as it’s still a camera phone. There’s still a lens flare, but this time it’s higher up on my body. Low-light photos look more muted than the first two. I can see a loss in detail and clarity. There’s more noise present. Indoor shots with good lighting look accurate and skin tones look good, although I think there’s some minimal skin smoothing going on.”Lai Frances, Managing Social Producer:”The Pixel 7 seems to be the most stable in terms of color for mixed lighting. A little bit too real, actually. The colors that pop out feel like the colors you’d see with your eyes. When it comes to low lighting, it’s impressive how it manages to lighten up the photo and keep the real tone. However, indoor lighting feels a bit blown-out when it comes to skin tone.”The Galaxy S22 appears to be probably the most constant in colour throughout the board. Out of the three, this took the most effective images irrespective of the lighting state of affairs, and it is fairly spectacular. The images had been crisp, the lighting labored, the topic (me), nevertheless, is OK. In different phrases, this digicam could be the one to suggest.”The iPhone 14’s outdoor photos were quite similar to the first two phones. But when it came down to low, mixed, indoor lighting the color tones tended to shift to either a warmer or colder side. The mixed lighting photo felt like it was losing contrast, while the indoor and low lit photos felt warmer compared to the whole batch of other shots.”
The Pixel 7 and 7 Pro even have a brand new function referred to as Guided Frame, which makes use of spoken cues to assist folks with blind or low imaginative and prescient take a selfie. This function works routinely when you activate Google’s TalkBack display screen reader.To check Guided Frame, I captured a selfie of myself and my husband sitting on our sofa with my eyes closed. The telephone precisely instructed me whether or not we had been each in body or if certainly one of our faces was partially cropped out. Pixel 7 efficiency and battery lifeThe Pixel 7’s entrance digicam now has face unlock.
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The Pixel 7 runs on Google’s new Tensor G2 processor, which is principally used to energy among the new digicam options talked about above reminiscent of Photo Unblur. Performance appears in keeping with what you’d count on from a flagship smartphone; scrolling across the interface typically feels clean and apps launch rapidly. The fingerprint sensor additionally appears sooner than the Pixel 6’s, which is a welcome enchancment. I have not observed any bugs or hiccups like those who beforehand impacted the Pixel 6 across the time of its launch.You can even unlock the Pixel 7 along with your face, not like the Pixel 6. But Google cautions this function is not as safe as utilizing a PIN or the fingerprint reader, because it depends totally on the Pixel 7’s front-facing digicam. As such, the corporate is positioning it solely as a way of unlocking your telephone relatively than authenticating purchases.
Apple’s Face ID, by comparability, tasks 1000’s of invisible dots to create a depth map of your face (and can be utilized to authorize Apple Pay). The excellent news is that face unlock does appear to work rapidly on the Pixel 7. It often acknowledges my face nearly immediately.
Battery life on the Pixel 7 is lengthy sufficient to get by way of a day. But you may wish to pack a charger if it is going to be a protracted day and you propose on utilizing battery-intensive options usually. When I left the excessive refresh price setting turned on, switched off adaptive brightness, had the Now Playing music recognition function turned on and left the always-on show energetic, I received a bit of greater than 15 hours out of the Pixel 7 — which is sufficient to get by way of a full workday after which some. Turning a lot of these options off boosted battery life by about an hour on a equally busy day. But battery life will all the time fluctuate relying on how and while you use your gadget. On days once I was much less energetic and spent most of my time at house or on the workplace, I nonetheless had roughly 30 to 44% of my battery capability left by the point I went to sleep.Pixel 7 software programThe Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro (pictured) run on Android 13.
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The Pixel 7 runs on Android 13, however Google additionally infused its Pixel-specific options all through the working system. Just like on earlier gadgets there’s Wait Times, which estimates how lengthy you could be on maintain when calling toll-free numbers, and Hold For Me, which prompts the Google Assistant to attend on maintain for you.
But Google added some new options into the combination as effectively. Pixel 7 and 7 Pro homeowners will get entry to Google’s digital non-public community, or VPN, free of charge. You would often should subscribe to the premium tier of Google One, the corporate’s digital providers bundle, which prices $10 per 30 days. That function is coming later this yr, so I wasn’t capable of check it, however you possibly can learn extra about Google’s VPN right here. Other software program enhancements embrace speaker labels for Google’s Recorder app, audio message transcriptions and the flexibility to transcribe automated menus when calling toll-free numbers straight away, relatively than having to attend.Google additionally guarantees 5 years of safety updates for the Pixel 7 lineup and at the very least three years of Android OS upgrades. That’s not dangerous, however Samsung pledges 4 generations of Android model updates along with 5 years of safety updates. Pixel 7: The backside lineThe Pixel 7 Pro (left) and Pixel 7 (proper).
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The Pixel 7 is a continuation of the Pixel 6, providing a superb mixture of helpful options, stable digicam know-how and the fitting pricing. It comes after Google tried just a few totally different methods to make its Pixel telephones stand out over the previous a number of years.
The Pixel 4, for instance, had a motion-sensing radar system to allow sooner unlocking and touchless gestures. But it by no means caught on. Google then simplified the Pixel 5 by eradicating this radar system and focusing extra squarely on the digicam. The Pixel 6, nevertheless, appears to have set the course that Google intends to stay with for the foreseeable future by including options that reap the benefits of its Tensor chip.That mentioned, there are some enhancements I’d wish to see within the Pixel 8, notably round battery life. Samsung additionally beats Google relating to Android software program era assist, show brightness and the sheer magnification degree of its digicam zoom. However, the Pixel 7’s zoom is impressively clear at its most degree, and options like Photo Unblur assist the Pixel’s digicam proceed to face out.Overall, the Pixel 7 packs quite a lot of worth, particularly for $599, making it a powerful alternative for Android followers upgrading from a telephone that is greater than two or three years outdated.
Google Pixel 7 specs vs. Google Pixel 7 Pro, Apple iPhone 14, Samsung Galaxy S22
Google Pixel 7
iPhone 14
Galaxy S22
Google Pixel 7 Pro
Display dimension, decision, refresh price
6.3-inch OLED show, FHD+ (1,080 x 2,400 pixels) , 90Hz
6.1-inch OLED; 2,532×1,170 pixels
6.1″ AMOLED; FHD+ (1,080×2,340); 120 Hz
6.7-inch LTPO show, 120Hz QHD+ (1,440 x 3,120 pixels)
Pixel density
416ppi
460ppi
425ppi
512ppi
Dimensions (Millimeters)
155.6 x 73.2 x 8.7 (mm)
147 x 72 x 7.8 mm 6.07 oz; 172g
70.6 x 146 x 7.6 mm
162.9 x 76.6 x 8.9 (mm)
Weight (Ounces, Grams)
6.9 oz; 197g
6.07 oz; 172g
5.89 oz; 167g
7.5 oz; 212g
Mobile software program
Android 13
iOS 16
Android 12
Android 13
Camera
50-megapixel (major), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide),
12-megapixel (extensive), 12-megapixel (ultrawide)
50-megapixel (extensive), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 10-megapixel (telephoto)
50-megapixel (major), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 48-megapixel (telephoto)
Front-facing digicam
10.8- megapixel
12-megapixel
10-megapixel
10.8- megapixel
Video seize
4K
4K
8K
4K
Processor
Google Tensor G2
Apple A15 Bionic
Snapdragon 8 gen 1
Google Tensor G2
Storage/RAM
8GB + 128 GB, 8GB + 256 GB,
128GB, 256GB, 512GB
8GB RAM + 128GB 8GB RAM + 256GB
12GB + 128 GB, 12GB + 256GB, 12GB + 512GB
Expandable storage
None
None
None
None
Battery/Charger
4,355 mAh
Undisclosed
3,700 mAh
5,000 mAh
Fingerprint sensor
Under show
No (Face ID)
Under show
Under show
Connector
USB-C
Lightning
USB-C
USB-C
Headphone jack
None
None
None
None
Price (USD)
$600
$799 (128GB), $899 (256GB), $1,099 (512GB)
$800 (8GB/128GB)
$600