Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro review: Still the best bargain in flagship phones

After the large transfer to its customized Tensor chip final yr, Google is constant its quest to make use of machine studying to unlock enhanced apps and options on the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Professional. Whereas the specs and design aren’t main departures from its predecessors, the addition of smarter software program, upgraded cameras for the Pixel 7 Professional, and aggressive pricing lead to two of the perfect flagship telephones for the cash.

{Hardware}

On the surface, the Pixel 7 and seven Professional have gotten a delicate makeover together with a contemporary vary of colours and a extra refined chassis. You continue to get Google’s signature digicam bar in again which spans the width of the system. The principle distinction is that now it wraps seamlessly across the sides of the cellphone, hopefully including a little bit of sturdiness within the course of.

Execs

• Flatter sides
• 120Hz show
• new 5x telephoto lens
• Extremely-wide cam additionally shoots macro photographs

Cons

• Shorter battery life than the usual Pixel 7
• can get a bit heat underneath load

Much like final yr, the Pixel 7 incorporates a matte, brushed aluminum end whereas the Pixel 7 Professional will get extra polished sides. However when you ask me, I type of want Google used the matte texture on each. Not solely does it cover fingerprints higher, it additionally makes the Pixel 7 a bit much less slippery. And that’s even with Google softening the Pixel 7 Professional’s edges to be about 20 p.c flatter than earlier than.

Notably, whereas the dimensions of the Professional’s show has stayed pat at 6.7-inches, the usual Pixel 7’s 6.3-inch display screen is barely smaller than the 6.4-inch panel on the Pixel 6. It isn’t an enormous change, however it’s simply sufficient to make all the things a bit simpler to do one-handed. Particularly if you do not have large meat claws like me.

As for the shows themselves, identical to final yr (noticing a sample?), the Pixel 7 will get a 2400 x 1080 90Hz OLED display screen whereas the Pixel 7 Professional incorporates a higher-res 3120 x 1440 panel with a barely quicker 120Hz refresh price. That stated, each screens look nice, pumping out wonderful brightness, deep blacks and energetic colours. Moreover, whereas Google has introduced face unlock again to the Pixel line, you continue to get an under-screen fingerprint reader. You’ll want that for extra delicate capabilities like on-line funds. And for normal sturdiness, the Pixel line has retained an IP68 score for mud and water resistance, which is sweet for dunks as much as 5 and a half ft deep for as much as half-hour.

Efficiency

Whereas the brand new Tensor G2 chip might have unlocked some enhanced machine studying capabilities, on a regular basis efficiency is just about the identical. In reality, the primary Cortex X1 cores are solely 50Mhz quicker than final yr’s silicon. That is to not say you possibly can’t play video games or edit movies on this factor, however when you’re the type of one who will get actually jazzed up about transistor counts or teraflops, you are higher off going for a cellphone with considered one of Apple’s A-series chips or perhaps a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.

I additionally seen that throughout the preliminary setup and a few extra intense workloads, the backs of each the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Professional obtained hotter than most telephones. Do not get me unsuitable, it is not toasty sufficient to trigger something greater than some sweaty palms. And whereas efficiency was usually easy and hiccup-free, I really feel like Google’s Tensor chips simply do not have fairly the identical stage of efficiency overhead as you would possibly get from silicon in different high-end handsets.

New software program and options

Nevertheless, what the Pixel 7 line lacks in uncooked horsepower, Google makes up for with a protracted listing of subtle software program. One of many greatest additions is expanded performance for the Direct My Name characteristic, which is designed that will help you higher navigate these terrible automated voice menus you run into when calling massive companies. However now, through the use of Duplex to pre-cache choices, you may be offered with a text-based menu as quickly as you join, as a substitute of getting to attend to listen to all the alternatives first.

Granted, Direct My Name’s new caching skills do not work on smaller mom-and-pop retailers. However stuff like this together with different options comparable to Maintain For Me, the actually wonderful Pixel Recorder app and the brand new Audio Message Transcription capability, mix to offer a extremely considerate software program expertise that may typically prevent a while and a headache or two.

Cameras

In fact, the opposite space the place Google actually flexes its ML-based powers is with its cameras. When it comes to {hardware}, the Pixel 7 nonetheless packs a 50MP principal digicam and a 12MP ultra-wide shooter, with the Pixel 7 Professional getting a barely longer telephoto cam with a 5x optical zoom (up from 4x on the Pixel 6 Professional). Each telephones additionally get the identical 10.8MP entrance cam, which even with no true autofocus system such as you get on the iPhone 14 line is greater than sufficient for snapping selfies.

Because of the Tensor G2, low-light photograph processing utilizing Night time Sight is as much as two instances quicker, and that is a distinction you possibly can actually really feel. On earlier Pixels, I’ve needed to wait six seconds or extra to shoot a pic when it is actually darkish. However when you possibly can minimize that point in half, it is loads simpler to carry the cellphone regular whereas the Pixel 7 does its factor. Face Unblur has additionally been improved, although the results are delicate.

Whereas it may be a bit hit-or-miss, the extra thrilling new digicam characteristic is Photograph Unblur, which may sharpen previous photographs, no matter once they had been taken or what digicam took the shot. It is the type of factor that may save previous photographs which may in any other case be thought of unsalvageable – and all it’s important to do is locate the setting contained in the Google Photographs app. Take for instance a shot of my spouse and I at a marriage again in 2018. Within the unique photograph, all the things is delicate. However after utilizing the Photograph Unblur instrument, abruptly my face has definition. Although as you possibly can see from the remaining blurriness on my spouse’s face, issues aren’t excellent. In one other much more spectacular instance (not seen right here), Photograph Unblur eliminated nearly all of the softness in my face, so you possibly can actually see how upset I used to be about blowing up a large pool floaty with out the assistance of a pump.

For video, the large new characteristic is Cinematic Blur mode, which makes an attempt so as to add a delicate bokeh to the background of your clips to create a extra film-like look. Generally, the outcomes are fairly good, although it is not utterly foolproof. Relying on the scene, you would possibly discover some spots the place that bokeh is utilized erratically or the place it pops out and in as issues transfer round, which could be a little distracting.

As for the Pixel 7 Professional, not solely does it get the flexibility to shoot macro photographs utilizing the cellphone’s ultra-wide cam, it additionally has an extended 5x telephoto lens and improved zoom processing. Taking macro photographs is as simple as transferring the cellphone near your topic, at which level the P7 Professional will mechanically swap to macro mode. There are not any buttons or settings to activate, and the outcomes aren’t dangerous both.

In the meantime for zoom photographs, the Pixel 7 Professional produced a sharper picture than the S22 Extremely at 5x, whereas additionally preserving it shut at 10x, regardless of Samsung’s cellphone costing an additional $300 and packing an extended 10x lens. Regardless of Google’s enhancements to Tremendous Res Zoom, there’s solely a lot algorithms can do, as a result of at 30x, it is fairly clear the S22 Extremely has a bonus in optics.

However, for normal images, the Pixel 7 and seven Professional are nonetheless in a category of their very own. In comparison with the S22 Extremely and the iPhone 14, the Pixel 7 line routinely captured pics with superior dynamic vary. This results in photographs with extra vibrant colours, much less blown-out highlights and simply usually sharper particulars. Identical goes for low gentle, the place Google’s Night time Sight persistently captured extra well-exposed pics with higher textures and richer hues.

Battery life

In relation to longevity, each telephones provide stable battery life. Nevertheless, the Pixel 7 delivers a pleasing shock, as a result of due to its smaller, lower-res display screen, it survived a contact longer than the Professional in each benchmarks and real-world utilization. On our customary video rundown check, the Pixel 7 lasted 17 hours and 54 minutes, which is not fairly pretty much as good because the 21:17 we obtained from the iPhone 14 Plus, however nonetheless respectable. In the meantime, the Pixel 7 Professional fared only a contact worse with a time of 16:42. However no matter which cellphone I used to be utilizing, even with average to heavy utilization, the Pixel 7 Professional all the time had at the very least 25 p.c left within the tank on the finish of the day, whereas the usual Pixel 7 typically had upwards of 30 p.c nonetheless in reserve.

Charging can be largely unchanged from final yr, with each telephones getting 30-watt wired charging, wi-fi charging and help for reverse energy sharing, in case you have to ship some extra juice to a distinct system in want. The one caveat is that whereas wi-fi charging can go as much as 20 watts for the Pixel 7 or 23 watts on the Professional, that is solely when utilizing the Pixel Stand 2. In case you decide for the standard Qi wi-fi charging, speeds prime out at a much less spectacular 12 watts.

Wrap-up

When stacking Google’s newest handsets up in opposition to the competitors, it is best to sort out every cellphone individually. For the Pixel 7, even with out a lot in the best way of recent {hardware}, you are getting a cellphone with a fantastic display screen, even higher battery life and among the finest software program packages round — now with new perks like an improved Direct My Name and enhanced photograph processing. However most significantly, with a beginning worth of simply $599, it is a means higher worth than the fundamental flagships from Apple and Samsung. The one downside is that when you want mmWave 5G, you may need to go together with one of many barely dearer $699 provider fashions bought by Verizon, AT&T and others.

In the meantime, with a worth of $899, the Pixel 7 Professional is like an much more well-equipped model of the S22+ for a similar cash. You get an enormous 6.7-inch OLED show with a 120Hz refresh price, an extended 5x zoom and superior digicam high quality. I additionally suppose the Pixel 7 Professional flat-out seems higher too. That leaves stuff like an ultra-wide cam that may additionally shoot macros as a pleasant cherry on prime. Additionally, when you do not care about stylus help, I might argue that the Pixel 7 Professional makes much more sense than the tremendous costly S22 Extremely. And I haven’t even touched on Google’s new and improved Actual Tone processing principally as a result of, though I’m biracial, each side of my household are missing within the melanin division, and I simply haven’t had time to actually put it via its paces. However no matter which one you like, with the Pixel 7 line and Tensor G2, Google is absolutely displaying how a software-first strategy to cellphone design can actually shine.