Google’s Pixel smartphones have always been known for their excellent camera capabilities, despite not always having the most competitive hardware. But with some of the recent crop of flagship Android phones sporting add-on imaging chipsets, manufacturers have been able to deliver a similar level of imaging quality that easily rival the Pixel’s AI photography smarts. Google’s return to the premium smartphone segment in India after four long years may have enthusiasts and Android purists very excited, but can it still attract the vast majority of users who have moved on to competing brands? Read on to find out.

Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro pricing in India

Pricing is always a touchy subject in the premium smartphone space, but Google seems to have done justice to the new Pixels by pricing them well-below the ‘Pro’ and ‘Ultra’ offerings from Apple and Samsung. The Google Pixel 7 is available for Rs. 59,999 for the 8GB RAM and 128GB storage variant, while the bigger Pixel 7 Pro is priced at Rs. 84,999 for the 12GB RAM and 128GB storage variant. Both phones have been launched in just their respective base variants in India.

The storage may seem a bit limited (especially for the Pixel 7 Pro) with no option to expand it, but this also allows Google to push users into buying one of its cloud storage plans. Sadly, there’s no free unlimited cloud backup available anymore either. The Pixel 7 is available in Obsidian, Lemongrass, and Snow finishes, while the Pixel 7 Pro is available in Obsidian, Snow, and Hazel. I received the Pixel 7 in Obsidian and the Pixel 7 Pro in the Hazel finish for review.

Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro design

I like how Google has made an effort to give both of its 7 series smartphones a different feel, despite having the same overhauled design which is based on the previous Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. The Google Pixel 7 is smaller than the Pixel 7 Pro, but not as small as Samsung’s Galaxy S22, which still one of the few proper compact (or mini) Android flagships.

Google’s Pixel 7 (right) and Pixel 7 Pro (left) have Gorilla Glass Victus on the front and rear panels

 

The Pixel 7’s frame has a brushed metal look which looks similar to the Pixel 6a (Review), but feels smoother and appears more refined with a camera module looking a lot cleaner thanks to the single piece aluminium band that stretches across the width of the phone. The Pixel 7 Pro gets a similar treatment but has a polished aluminium frame instead.

As expected, the matte finish of the Google Pixel 7 makes the phone quite slippery, so I always ended up placing my index finger under the thick camera bump, which seems to be Google’s signature design feature since the Pixel 6 series. The polished frame of the Pixel 7 Pro makes it a lot easier to grip. Both smartphones have polished glass rear panels made from Gorilla Glass Victus and the same goes for the displays on the front, both of which did an excellent job of resisting fingerprints and scratches.

The Google Pixel 7 Pro’s rear camera module gets scratched easily

 

Both smartphones also have a nice heft to them which added to the premium in-hand feel, which I felt was missing on the Pixel 6a. The Pixel 7 weighs 197g and the Pixel 7 Pro weighs 212g, both of which aren’t abnormally heavy compared to other devices in their respective segments. Both devices also feature an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.

During the review period, I noticed that polished camera module on the Pixel 7 Pro got scuffed very easily. The matte-finished camera module of the Pixel 7 however did not pick up any scratches at all. The curved edge display of the Pixel 7 Pro certainly makes it look and feel more premium compared to the flat display of the Pixel 7. I also found the edges of the Pixel 7’s frame a bit sharp when swiping in from the sides. The bezels on Pixel 7 are also not as thin as I expected it to be, which takes a bit away from the device’s premium charm, especially since the Pixel 6a looks quite similar.

Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro specifications and software

The Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro do share a few common components despite being priced far apart. There’s the new Google Tensor G2 processor, a 50-megapixel primary camera and 10.8-megapixel selfie camera, and stereo speakers. Communication standards between the two phones also remain identical, with both offering Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, USB Type-C (3.2), and support for the usual satellite navigation systems.

The Google Pixel 7 gets a 4,355mAh battery with 20W wired charging, while the Pixel 7 Pro gets a bigger 5,000mAh battery with 23W charging. Both smartphones support wireless charging at 20W and 23W respectively and also support reverse wireless charging (Battery Share) for charging accessories. Surprisingly, the Pixel 7 is missing the Ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna that’s available on the Pixel 7 Pro.

The Google Pixel 7 (right) looks quite similar to the Pixel 6a (left) which was launched earlier this year in India

 

Both the Google Pixel 7 and the Pixel 7 Pro run the latest version of Android 13, which has been customised to deliver the unique Pixel software experience. The phones are loaded with software smarts such as the incredibly accurate voice recorder app that can also do real-time transcription of audio to text. These smarts also make their way into other apps like the Google Assistant-powered keyboard which can also enter text in text fields accurately using just voice commands. The phones are also capable of transcribing audio messages in the Messages app, which is handy.

As for the interface, there’s now more varied colour palettes to choose from upon selecting a wallpaper. However, themed icons continue to remain in a beta state and only a few third-party apps currently support the design feature.

Google’s software performance on the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro is fluid thanks to no added bloatware

 

Google continues to add software and Tensor-powered features in its Pixel smartphones year on year, and this year is no different. The new Tensor G2 allows for features such as Cinematic Blur which applies the bokeh effect to video recordings, and Photo Unblur which does a decent job at sharpening old and recently shot blurred photos from any source.

The Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are guaranteed to get Android updates for the next three years, and security updates for the next five years. 

Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro Performance

Software performance was fluid across both the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, though I noticed some random instances of stuttering initially. I also encountered my fair share of interface-related bugs which were more common when I first began using the devices, but these disappeared after subsequent software updates. Both phones heat up a bit when you’re simply browsing through the interface outdoors during the day or when downloading large files or games, but I had no problems otherwise.

Performance in benchmarks turned out as expected, but Google’s Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro fall behind the current generation of Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1-powered devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 or the Galaxy Z Fold 4. The Pixel 7 Pro with 12GB of RAM managed scores of 1,039 and 3,116 in Geekbench’s single and multi-core tests respectively. In terms of graphics, the Pixel 7 Pro achieved scores of 60fps, 120fps, and 37fps in GFXBench’s Manhattan 3.1, T-Rex and Car Chase tests respectively. The Pixel 7 with 8GB RAM and its lower resolution display also came quite close in terms of benchmark scores.

Gaming performance was quite good on both phones. I tried out Call of Duty: Mobile which defaulted to ‘High’ graphics and frame rate settings, but managed to run smoothly at the ‘Very High’ settings too. The Pixel 7 and 7 Pro tend to heat up slightly while playing games but this didn’t affect performance too much.

The Pixel 7 Pro (left) has a 120Hz QHD+ AMOLED display while the Pixel 7 (right) has a 90Hz full-HD+ AMOLED panel

 

The 6.3-inch full-HD+ display on the Pixel 7 is of the AMOLED variety and produces a sharp-enough image thanks to its 416ppi pixel density. It’s sufficiently bright outdoors and the 90Hz refresh rate felt sufficient, both while playing games and during regular usage. The 6.7-inch QHD+ curved-edge AMOLED display on the Pixel 7 Pro is quite large, but does not feel as unwieldy as the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s display, which is broader.

The Google Pixel 7’s display, unlike the Pixel 7 Pro, does not feature LTPO technology which according to Google lets its refresh rate vary between 10Hz-120Hz. However, enabling the ‘Show refresh rate’ option in Developer Settings revealed that it only went from 60-120Hz as far as I could tell, which was a bit strange. Colour reproduction on both the displays are vivid at the default setting but changing this to ‘Natural’ made it more true-to-life. The touch sampling rate on both smartphones was spot-on so there was no problem when swiping through apps or even playing intensive 3D games.

Battery life on the Google Pixel 7 was pretty good and it easily lasted for one and half days with casual use, along with some gaming and camera usage. Unfortunately, things were not as good on the Pixel 7 Pro as the battery usually would not last beyond a full-day of use. Our HD video loop test reflected similar results with the Pixel 7 lasting 14 hours and 34 minutes, while the Pixel 7 Pro managed 12 hours and 30 minutes.

This could be down to its QHD+ display on the Pixel 7 Pro, which according to an earlier report, is said to consume more power compared to other phones with a similar panel. Regardless, the with day-to-day usage, its battery life is still quite poor compared to devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra which has an equally large and high-resolution display.

Charging the Google Pixel 7 and 7 Pro was a relatively slow experience too. Since both smartphones don’t come with a charging adapter in the box, I relied on my 61W USB PD adapter to get the job done. The Google Pixel 7 managed to charge from zero to 100 percent in 1 hour and 47 minutes, while the Pixel 7 Pro achieved the same in 1 hour and 55 minutes. Indeed, this is relatively slow even when compared to Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra’s 45W fast charging. Compare this to the Vivo X80 Pro which charges its 4,700mAh battery fully in just 36 minutes (using the charger that comes in the box) and suddenly, Google’s charging speeds for its new Pixels feels dated.

Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro Cameras

The Google Pixel 7 has two rear cameras. There’s a 50-megapixel primary and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera. The Google Pixel 7 Pro has three which includes the 50-megapixel primary as the Pixel 7, a slightly different 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with a 126-degree field of view (instead of 114 degrees), and a 48-megapixel telephoto with 5X optical zoom and up to 30X SuperRes Zoom. Both smartphones share the same selfie camera which is a 10.8-megapixel shooter, which does not have autofocus.

The new Motion photos features includes the Long exposure and Action pan modes for adding a creative blur effect to photos

 

The camera app’s interface of the Google Pixel 7 and 7 Pro is typically “Pixel”, with quick settings tucked under the settings icon located in the top-left corner. Not much has changed here compared to the Pixel 6a which I reviewed earlier this year. There is a new Cinematic video mode (available on both phones) which does a decent job at shooting subjects with blurred backgrounds, but is only capable of doing so at 1080p with a rather unstable frame rate.

Google finally added macro capability on the Pixel 7 Pro (not available on the Pixel 7) and it works really well. Macro photos were sharp and had good details. This mode doesn’t let you get as close to your subject as you can with an iPhone 13 Pro, but it’s still close enough. More importantly, Google also lets you shoot macro photos with Auto Night Sight (slightly longer exposures are supposed to bring in more light), but it did not make much of a difference to the result in my experience.

Also new is Motion Photos which includes Long exposure and Action pan. Motion photos delivers an effect that is similar to selecting Long Exposure to a Live Photo on an iPhone. The results are pretty good in all types of lighting conditions and makes for interesting long exposure photos without needing a tripod. Action Blur adds a motion blur to the…