Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro appear to be refined versions of two of the greatest Android smartphones available

The new Android phones to beat seem to be the $599 Google Pixel 7 and the $899 Pixel 7 Pro.

The Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are all about refining this year after last year’s Pixel 6 underwent a major redesign. The sleek new design of the previous-generation models is built upon in Google’s newest flagship phones, which also feature more sophisticated cameras and an upgraded Google Tensor G2 processor that promises faster speeds and clever enhancements to everything from making phone calls to removing blurry images.

Can the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro compete with top-tier devices like the iPhone 14 and Galaxy S22? They appear to be worthy updates to two of the greatest phones you can purchase. Before they go on sale next week, we got a chance to test both of the new devices. Let’s get started.

Where to buy the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro in advance

Both the $599 Pixel 7 and the $899 Pixel 7 Pro are now preorderable through the Google Store and other top retailers, and both are scheduled to delivery the following week. The higher-end 7 Pro is available in Snow, Obsidian, and Hazel finishes, while the Pixel 7 is available in Lemongrass, Snow, and Obsidian.

You can get a free $100 e-gift card when you preorder the Pixel 7 from Best Buy, and a free $200 e-gift card when you buy the Pixel 7 Pro. With an acceptable trade-in, you can additionally receive up to $400 toward both phones. With a similar campaign, Amazon is giving away $100 in Amazon gift cards for the Pixel 7 and $200 in Amazon credit for the Pixel 7 Pro.

• Google Pixel 7 is available at Best Buy and Amazon for $599.
• Google Pixel 7 Pro (starting at $899 at Amazon and Best Buy)

Elegant refinement

Even if the Google Pixel 7 improves upon the vibrant, rectangular style first seen in last year’s models, it still quickly stands out as unique. This is largely due to the redesigned metal camera bar in the back, which looks much sleeker than the all-black bars on the Pixel 6 series and housing the rear lenses (two for the Pixel 7, three for the Pixel 7 Pro).

Both variants are available in Snow and Obsidian (white and black), respectively, with each phone having its own shade of green. The colours are quite usual for Google (a bright lemongrass on the Pixel 7 and a foresty Hazel on the Pixel 7 Pro).

Although more colour variation would be wonderful, especially given that the Pixel 6 comes in some cool yellow and red tones, they all appear to be sufficiently beautiful. Both phones had fantastic close-up looks and were light and comfortable to grip, but like the new iPhone 14 series, their shiny backs are quite easy to fingerprint.

The Pixel 7’s 6.3-inch 1080p screen, which claims 25% more brightness and a 90Hz refresh rate for fluid scrolling, is comparable to the screens in the Pixel 6 series. A huge 6.7-inch display with a clear 3120 x 1440 resolution and an even smoother 120Hz refresh rate is available on the Pixel 7 Pro if you upgrade. In the brief time I had with them.

These displays were impressive;

YouTube videos appeared vivid and brilliant, and the Pixel 7 Pro’s extra-fluid screen felt wonderful to use when navigating websites.

The second chip produced by Google themselves, the new Tensor G2 processor, powers the new smartphones. Naturally, it promises better speeds (the prior Tensor chip performed admirably in comparison to competing phones, albeit lagging in some tests), but just as significant is its capacity to provide an even more sophisticated camera experience.

Cameras become increasingly intelligent and available.

With the Pixel 7 family, the Google Pixel series appears to keep up its tradition of offering one of the greatest camera experiences of any phones we’ve tested. Improved Real Tone technology (which is intended to capture skin tones more accurately, especially for those with darker skin tones) and a new Cinematic Blur video feature, which will enable you to create dramatic, movie-like focus effects, similar to Cinematic mode on the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14, are two features that the Pixel 7 standard model promises.

The front camera on the Pixel 7 can record 4K video at 60 frames per second and has a broader field of view for taking expansive group selfies. It is now on level with its Pro equivalent.

The Pixel 7 Pro model, as with earlier incarnations, seems to be the one to buy if you’re a more serious photographer. The triple-camera setup in Google’s more expensive phone features a 5x telephoto lens and 30x Super Res Zoom, which should result in incredibly sharp zoomed-in images even from very far away.

There is also an enhanced ultrawide lens with a Macro Focus feature, which is intended to catch the minute details (such as the ridges on a dog’s snout or the petals of a flower), and which sounds a lot like the Macro mode on the iPhone 14 Pro.

Of course, hardware is only one component of a Pixel camera, and these phones continue to stand out by providing useful software options for enhancing your photos inexplicably. Included in this are Photo Unblur, which sharpens blurry photos, and Guided Frame, a function that enables people with poor vision to still capture clear selfies by using audio and vibrations.

These features will be added to the Pixel’s standard camera benefits, such as Magic Eraser (for removing unpleasant people and objects in the background) and Motion Mode (for maintaining video smoothness during situations with a lot of motion).

While experimenting with the 7 Pro, I was impressed by the quick pictures I was able to take of every new Google product on exhibit. However, we’ll need to use both phones for a longer period of time to see how well their cameras perform in real-world situations.

Greater usefulness and daily calling

The new Tensor G2 processor powering Google’s new phones promises improvements to fundamental functions like transcription and call quality in addition to enabling a better camera experience (you know, the whole reason you need a phone in the first place). When you call a company for customer service, you won’t have to wait on the line for hours thanks to the new Direct My Call tool and the impending Clear Calling feature that will eliminate background noise while you’re on the phone. Additionally, the new Pixel phones include VPN by Google One built-in, which guarantees that your web browsing will be secure without requiring you to purchase a separate VPN.

The new phones’ batteries are said to last for up to 72 hours when Extreme Battery Saver is on and more than 24 hours when used regularly. We’ve always found Google’s phones to have excellent battery life, so we’re interested to see how the new models perform in typical use.

The lesson

The Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro appear to be refined versions of two of the greatest Android smartphones available. The new camera features, which include a significantly increased zoom, some good accessibility upgrades, and a few tricks lifted from the iPhone, might make these among of the greatest camera phones available. The looks build upon last year’s beautiful redesign.

The pricing are also very attractive: the $599 Pixel 7 and $899 Pixel 7 Pro significantly undercut their respective iPhone counterparts, making them an excellent choice for anyone looking for a high-end smartphone at an affordable price.

Anyone with a Pixel 5 or older will certainly benefit from a significant boost on every front, from design to photography capabilities. Those with last year’s Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro can probably hold out for the time being. Stay tuned for our comprehensive evaluations of the new Pixel phones as we put them to the test to see how they compare to the competition.