Google’s October 6 event has come and gone, leaving us with a handful of new Pixel gadgets to look forward to — chief among them being the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro.
The Pixel 7 series has been a fairly known quantity for a while now. Google first unveiled the phones at its I/O conference in May, and since then it’s continued to tease the two handsets at a steady pace. But now, we know everything about what they’re bringing to the table. And, more importantly, we’ve had a chance to go hands-on with the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro and use them for ourselves. While we have to reserve any impressions/judgments about the phones until later, we can show you what they look like in person. So, let’s get to it.
Google Pixel 7
First off, we have the baseline Pixel 7. The big difference between it and the Pixel 6 is that it has a slightly smaller 6.3-inch display (compared to 6.4 inches) and narrower bezels. It’s also shorter, thinner, and lighter, making it a more manageable device all around. As someone who missed the small, petite nature of the Pixel 5 when Google switched to the much larger Pixel 6, I’m excited to see the company going back to a smaller form factor.
That 6.3-inch display is an AMOLED one with a 90Hz refresh rate and 2400 x 1800 resolution. There are also two cameras on the back, including a 50MP main camera and 12MP ultrawide. Under the hood is Google’s new Tensor G2 chip, combined with a 4355mAh battery for “all-day” endurance.
In person, the Pixel 7 looks just like it does online. You get a matte aluminum frame combined with glossy Gorilla Glass all over the back. The camera bar also features an aluminum makeover this time, compared to the all-glass design it had on the Pixel 6.
Color-wise, you get a choice of Snow and Obsidian (white and black, respectively). Lemongrass is the Pixel 7’s flagship color (my personal favorite) and it paints the phone in a gorgeous light green/yellow finish. It really is quite stunning.
You get all of that for the same $599 asking price of the Pixel 6, meaning Google again has a competitive contender in the flagship smartphone space.
Google Pixel 7 Pro
What about the Pixel 7 Pro? Design-wise, it’s very similar to the Pixel 7. It also has an aluminum frame and an aluminum-clad camera bar, though it ditches the matte finish for a glossy one. And thanks to the additional 48MP telephoto camera, its camera bar gets an additional cutout for the third sensor.
Similar to last year, the biggest physical difference between the Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 7 is the size. The Pixel 7 Pro bumps up the screen to a 6.7-inch AMOLED canvas and a smoother 120Hz refresh rate. You also get a sharper resolution that goes up to 3120 x 1440. Otherwise, both phones have slim bezels, a single cutout at the top of the display for an 11MP selfie camera, and an in-screen fingerprint sensor near the bottom.
The Pixel 7 Pro also gets the same Snow and Obsidian color options, though the Lemongrass color is swapped out for Hazel. What is Hazel, you ask? It paints the back of the Pixel 7 Pro is a beautiful dark green, while the aluminum frame gets a gold finish. As much as I like the Lemongrass Pixel 7, the Hazel Pixel 7 Pro might take the cake for me.
More thoughts to come
And that’s all we can share about the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro right now! We’re eager to dig more into performance and battery efficiency from the Tensor G2, the new camera features, and some of the new tricks with Google Photos and phone calling. But that’s all stuff that has to wait for later.
The Pixel 7 and 7 Pro are both available for pre-order now, and you can get them for $599 and $899, respectively.
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