Google Pixel 7 Pro: The iPhone's new competition?

Google's $899 Pixel 7 Pro only has a few changes from last year's Pixel 6 Pro, but that's because a complete change isn't something the company needed to do this time. The Pixel 6 Pro was an amazing upgrade from the Pixel 5, with more powered performance and great cameras.

Instead of replacing everything like what Google did with the 6 Pro, the company instead made small refinements this year and tweaking here and there to make the 7 Pro even better. With improved cameras, some new tricks and an even more attractive design. And it's got the second generation Tensor G2 chip, Google's homemade processor.

And it does all this while being way under Apple and Samsung on price, especially compared to the $999 iPhone 14 Pro and the $1,199 Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.

The design is similar to last year's 6 Pro but refined. Google has kept the strip along the back of the phone that holds the multiple cameras. It's now a recycled aluminum strip that blends seamlessly with the metal surround of the phone, which I think gives it a more luxurious look. 

The back is still glass and the front still curves nicely at the edges. The display measures 6.7-inches and has a 3,120 x 1,440-pixel resolution, which is exactly the same as the 6 Pro. It's sharp, bright enough to easily see outside and it's got bold colours. It's a big phone, which is great if you love big-screen gaming or watching a lot of videos on the move.

The camera bar houses three lenses. The cameras on the Pixel 6 Pro were great. The Pixel 7 Pro's 50-megapixel main camera takes stunning photos, with beautiful dynamic range and vivid colors. It has a 48-megapixel telephoto lens that's only on the Pro, and a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera.

The optical telephoto zoom has been given a boost from 4x zoom to 5x. That might not seem like a huge difference but it gives that extra reach in its zoom to help you crop in scenes. The ultrawide lens loads more into the scene, but maintains the accurate colors and great exposure balance.

Google has continued to make a variety of AI improvements to the camera software too, with updates to its Real Tone algorithm for better capture of darker skin tones. There's a new Guided Frame feature that uses audio to help blind and visually impaired people take selfies. A cool new trick is the Photo Unblur tool which, tries to sharpen blurry or out of focus images.

The Pixel 7 Pro's camera system is superb overall that'll suit both keen mobile photographers and casual snappers equally well. Those zoom shots in particular are a favorite of mine and it's that zoom that's one of the bigger upgrades of the 7 Pro over the base Pixel 7, along with the macro mode. For me, that's enough reason to spend the extra, but you'll have to work out for yourself how much of a priority zoom is in your photography.

The phone runs on the second generation of Tensor G2, Google's homemade processor. It was a bold move for Google to create its own chip from scratch, rather than use one from the likes of Qualcomm, but in practice it makes little difference to your experience using the phone on a day-to-day basis. The Pixel 7 Pro functions like any other Android phone and it's got more than enough power to run beautifully.

The Pixel 7 Pro arrives with the latest Android 13 software. High-resolution videos stream without issue, switching between open apps is fluid and demanding games can be played at max settings without any noticeable issues. Basically, this phone packs a lot of power.

The chip is built with AI and machine learning, with Google saying its better at AI tasks such as speech recognition, face unlock, object detection in imagery and background noise reduction when you're taking calls.

The battery life could be better. After one hour streaming a YouTube video on Wi-Fi with the screen at max brightness, the 7 Pro's battery dropped from full to 95%. Is battery life bad? No, not at all. It's fine. It's just not as good as it could be.

In conclusion, It offers plenty of improvements to result in a great phone. It's worth mentioning that many of the Tensor-specific features like Photo Unblur, improvements to Real Tone and Night Sight are shared with that cheaper phone. But the hardware the 7 Pro does make it just as deserving of carrying that "flagship" title alongside the best from Apple and Samsung. Stay tuned for our next blog where we’ll compare the Pixel Pro 7 to the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

SPECS COMPARISON

	Pixel 7 Pro	Pixel 7	iPhone 14 Pro Max	Galaxy S22 Ultra
Display size, resolution, refresh rate	6.7-inch LTPO, 3,120x1,440 pixels, 120Hz	6.3-inch OLED, 2,400x1,080 pixels, 90Hz	6.7-inch Super Retina XDR, OLED display, 2,796x1,290 pixels	6.8-inch AMOLED, 3,088x1,440 pixels
Pixel density	512 ppi	416 ppi	460 ppi	501 ppi
Dimensions (millimeters)	162.9 x 76.6 x 8.9 mm	155.6 x 73.2 x 8.7 mm	160.7 x 77.6 x 7.85mm	77.9 x 163.3 x 8.9 mm
Weight (ounces, grams)	7.5 oz; 212g	6.9 oz; 197g	8.47 oz.; 240g	8.08 oz; 229 g
Mobile Software	Android 13	Android 13	iOS 16	Android 12
Camera	50-megapixel (main), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 48-megapixel (telephoto)	50-megapixel (main), 12-megapixel (ultrawide)	48-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 12-megapixel (telephoto)	108-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide) 10-megapixel (telephoto) 10-megapixel (telephoto)
Front-facing camera	10.8-megapixel	10.8-megapixel	12-megapixel	40-megapixel
Video capture	4K	4K	4K	4K
Processor	Google Tensor G2	Google Tensor G2	Apple A16 Bionic	Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
Storage/RAM	12GB + 128GB, 12GB + 256GB, 12GB + 512GB	8GB + 128GB, 8GB + 256GB,	128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB	8GB + 128GB; 12GB + 256GB; 12GB + 512GB; 12GB + 1TB
Expandable storage	None	None	None	None
Battery	5,000 mAh	4,355 mAh	Undisclosed	5,000 mAh
Connector	USB-C	USB-C	Lightning	USB-C
HeadPhone Jack	None	None	None	None
Price (USB)	$899	$599	$1,099 (128GB), $1,199 (256GB), $1,399 (512GB), $1,599 (1TB)	$1,200
Fingerprint sensor	Under display	Under display	No (Face ID)	In-display