Google Pixel 7 and 7 Pro review: The best pure Android phones, Bar none?
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Page 1 of 2 - Introduction, Differences, Features, Imaging
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Introduction, Differences, Features, Imaging
Note: This review was first published on 13 October 2022.
TLDR: Great enough to convert non-Pixel users, with room for improvement.
Refreshing a Pixel
At Google’s hardware keynote in early October 2022, Google made clear that the Pixel lineup focuses on delivering a mobile experience that’s assisted with machine learning and AI. Then, they unveiled two new phones that looked virtually similar to its predecessors: the Google Pixel 7, and a larger Google Pixel 7 Pro.
The new Pixels promise improved photo quality with all-around improved cameras and additional Macro shooting support on the Pro version. They also pack a new generation of Google’s proprietary chipset, Google Tensor G2, although Google didn’t really say much of its performance beyond its extra TPU gains.
Most of all, they doubled down on a host of inclusivity and AI-assisted features, like a refined Material You theme, additional and upgraded photography features (Night Sight, Photo Unblur, Guided Frame), and all sorts of transcription perks in Google Messages and the Recorder app.
All these enhancements come underneath the same Camera Bar design, but with an aluminium refresh. The phones are fundamentally positioned the same way too – both Pixel 7 and 7 Pro share the same chipset, AMOLED panel quality, IP68 rating. This was the same flavour as the preceding 6 and 6 Pro, right down to the same starting prices of S$999 and S$1,299, respectively (128GB).
With no changes to how the Pixel 7 series look, work, or feel, would it be enough for them to be the best pure Android phones today? Let’s find out.
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Differences between the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro
This year’s Pixel 7 and 7 Pro follow the same overarching themes that separate both regular and Pro Pixel variants. What’s shared is the Camera Bar aesthetic and chipset choices, along with software-based features in very broad strokes.
Most users would already know that choosing the regular Pixel 7 over the 7 Pro also meant picking its compact form factor for a smaller battery (Pixel 7’s 4,355mAh versus Pixel 7 Pro’s 5,000mAh), and losing out on a bigger AMOLED screen with a higher refresh rate (Pixel 7’s 6.3-inch at peak 90Hz, versus Pixel 7 Pro’s 6.7-inch with 10-120Hz variable refresh).
There’s also an additional 48MP telephoto camera on the Pixel 7 Pro, which we’ll discuss later (Imaging Performance section).
If you’re in a bind, we think that the main difference isn’t necessarily between different camera configurations or sizes (since most would know whether smaller phones or one less telephoto shooter wouldn't be a deal breaker). It’s actually the overall handling of both phones. Google Pixel 7 uses a flat display, while the Google Pixel 7 Pro’s panel has curved sides.
In our daily use, we found ourselves using Android’s old default three-button home UI controls on the Pixel 7 Pro, while we operated on the newer gesture-styled navigation on the smaller Pixel 7.
That’s largely due to the Pro’s curved screen and 76.6mm-wide body being more difficult for bezel-to-centre swipes for flitting between apps without accidental input from the palm. Also, the 212g heft on the Pro meant we rested our hand on the lower half most of the time.
Pixel 7’s 197g body feels negligibly lighter, but the smaller 73.2mm sides and flatter, narrower display meant we could use gesture navigation more fluidly. It also helps that both models are rated IP68 against dust and water, so you’re not losing out on too many features if you happen to prefer Pixel 7’s ease of use and compact form factor.
Visually speaking, the Pro’s curved sides give the mobile a generic Chinese-made handset appearance, although it does make the bezels feel more invisible than its flatter peer. Interestingly enough, Pixel 7’s flat display doesn’t look or feel cheap, which really speaks to the build quality of both handsets.
If you’re coming from the Pixel 6 series, the most notable difference is the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro’s aluminium Camera Bar (it was formerly topped off with glass). It runs across the back of both devices, with the half-polish version on the Pixel 7 looking like a watch’s metal clasp strap and the high-polish version on Pixel 7 Pro looking similar to most Chinese smartphones.
Android 13, but it’s You again
Android 13 continues with the Material You design language in its latest version of its stock operating system. Its themes, icons, and apps (the last of which is toggled off by default) are now more congruent than ever, but you’re not going to notice the changes even with both old and new Pixels side by side.
For example, there are Themed Icons (a beta feature) if you want a unified Android 13 look and feel. It’s located under Settings > Wallpaper & Style > Themed Icons, which changes all your default Google apps into your theme’s colours. Unfortunately, it only works on some third-party apps (like Spotify, VLC player etc.), while the rest would likely need a developer update for compatibility.
You can also long-press the Home Screen to throw up “Wallpaper & Style” as well. There are now 16 colour schemes (up from the old four), which makes the Material You theme feel smarter and more personal than before.
Most of the other new perks are quality-of-life upgrades, albeit for very specific users. You can now set languages on a per-app basis, but that’s only useful if you understand more than one language (which is common for most SEA users). You can also automate wallpaper dimming and dark themes when bedtime rolls around, but that’s only if you struggle with a blast of screen brightness when you stir awake to check the time. There’s also voice message-to-text transcription in the default Google Messages app, but that would need people to contact you via Messages since Google’s speech-to-text voice message isn’t available to third-party apps. Improvements were made, but it’s not in your face like how Material You is.
Most users who are used to the Pixel 6 series’ stock Android 12 will not see a massive change in user experience. This is extra true when you consider how the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro’s physical design is highly similar to Pixel 6 series. But for users who have been stuck with reskinned Android most of their lives, Android 13 will feel like a life-changing experience.
Face unlocking was faster than the in-display fingerprint scanner on both Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, and the Pixel 7 series’ fingerprint sensor now feels mildly faster than their predecessors. Both were accurate too, since the phones refused to unlock with a mask on and with non-registered fingers. NFC payments with the reinvented Google Wallet and Google Pay app were also lightning-quick, so we’re very happy with these little perks that’s easily missed by most phone makers.
Of course, the Pixel 7 series isn’t without some minor hitches. We’ve run several tests and found no issues with its typing, Wi-Fi, sound, display, charging, responsiveness, and other common key apps. But, both phones have highly aggressive adaptive brightness, up until we tamed it with regular use throughout the day.
An example of a “late” feature would be the Recorder app being able to identify different speakers, and label them accordingly in the audio transcript. At the time of publishing, the Recorder app has the old audio transcript format where speakers are recorded in chunks. Its accuracy could also do with a little more machine learning for local accents and slang, but it’s otherwise functional for now (for reference, we used this audio clip).
Our short time with both devices also meant that we couldn’t discover all the little quirks in a go, but we’re confident that any minor bugs would be fixed reasonably, just like how Google addressed the older Pixel 6 series bugs on a monthly basis.
Imaging Performance
Here’s a quick look at what the dual-rear cameras on Pixel 7 and triple-rear shooters on Pixel 7 Pro looks like.
| Google Pixel 7 | Google Pixel 7 Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Main | 50MP, 1/.31-inch sensor size, f/1.85 aperture, 1.2μm pixel size, Octa PD, Quad Bayer | 50MP, 1/.31-inch sensor size, f/1.85 aperture, 1.2μm pixel size, Octa PD, Quad Bayer |
| Ultra-wide | 12MP, f/2.2 aperture, 1.25μm pixel size, 114° FOV | 12MP, f/2.2 aperture, 1.25μm pixel size, 125.8° FOV, AutoFocus |
| Telephoto | NIL | 48MP, f/3.5 aperture, 0.7μm pixel size, 5x optical zoom, 30x Super Res Zoom |
| Features | Laser detect Autofocus OIS EIS Magic Eraser Motion Mode Photo Unblur Real Tone Face Unblur Night Sight Top Shot Portrait Mode Portrait Light Super Res Zoom (8x) |
Laser detect Autofocus OIS EIS Magic Eraser Motion Mode Photo Unblur Real Tone Face Unblur Night Sight Top Shot Portrait Mode Portrait Light Super Res Zoom (30x) |
In a nutshell, the main camera and ultra-wide cameras are shared across both models, with the Pro getting extra AutoFocus and wider field-of-view on its ultra-wide.
The real difference lies in the Pixel 7 Pro’s additional 48MP telephoto shooter, which grants 5x optical zoom and heightened hybrid zoom clarity (between 2x to 5x) by combining images from the main camera and telephoto camera.
It also has Super Res Zoom, which adds subject tracking, thumbnail preview, and zoom stabilisation at 15x zoom or higher. Pixel 7 Pro's AutoFocus on its ultra-wide lens assists its Macro shooting capabilities.
What piqued our interest more were the software-based perks in both Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. Photo Unblur builds upon Google’s existing Face Unblur technology, helping to sharpen previously blurry images from eons ago. If Pixel 7 doesn’t suggest Photo Unblur as a recommended edit, you can go into the default Photos app, tap “Edit”, swipe to “Tools”, and start unblurring your images. Be careful not to oversharpen them, or you’ll end up with digital artefacts around your subject.
Another new addition we liked was Guided Frame. According to Google, Guided Frame helps visually-impaired users take in-focus and properly-centred selfies, but we think that it’s also helpful for users who struggle with a sense of photo composition and angling.
Guided Frame is only available if you have Talkback accessibility toggled on (inside Settings).
To simulate visual impairment, we tried using Guided Frame with shades and eyes closed, while blindly following the voice instructions issued by the Pixel device. The result was excellent because it literally lets you take clear, well-framed selfies with your eyes closed. You can also see how the Portrait mode has aggressive processing if you look at the artefact smudge on the sunglasses.
Google also said that Night Sight is faster on the Pixel 7 series now, but we honestly found no difference in its photo-taking speed. We do like its nighttime competency, though.
Also improved was Real Tone, where people of diverse ethnicities and skin colours are better represented in their portraitures. Google said it added another 10,000 portraits containing people of colour to improve its already accurate representation of skin colours. Real Tone is baked into Pixel phones, so there's no way you can toggle it off (not that you'd want to, either).
Here is an example showing the differences between a non-Real Tone selfie on Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max versus the Google Pixel 7 Pro's Real Tone tuning. The iPhone 14 Pro Max had to ramp up its overall exposure to capture the chocolatey goodness of HWZ's in-house 'model' (also known as my boss). It's a good photo from the iPhone. However, the Google Pixel 7 Pro uses machine learning, so it not only captures the nuances of the model's skin, but Pixel 7 Pro does so without blowing up its exposure. So yes, Real Tone really works (and better than the iPhone 14 that claims to be more inclusive) as can be witnessed in our test shot and it's not a mere marketing point.
Beyond these nifty features, the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro duo have excellent imaging prowess, with excellent colour rendition, a pleasant dynamic range, excellent detail retention, and low noise feedback. Here are some samples from both models for reference.
Pixel 7 photo samples
Pixel 7 Pro photo samples
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