Google Pixel 7 Pro

Staying big, playing big

The Pixel 7 Pro remains the largest phone Google currently offers in its mobile product lineup. It sticks with a vibrant 6.7-inch AMOLED display, including a fast and adaptive 120Hz refresh rate, 25% brighter output, and an improved fingerprint sensor to simplify getting past the lock screen.

With all glass on the front and back, protected by Gorilla Glass Victus+, the Pixel 7 Pro has an elegant look to it that you can always protect with a proper case. IP68 water resistance adds an extra layer of protection, plus the ability to use the phone in the pool or lake for brief periods. Tough glass and a water-resistant body bode well for keeping everything intact, and a case is almost like an insurance policy.

The rear camera array now has a slick metallic panel covering it, exposing the three lenses and LED flash. Improved connectivity along the edges aim to improve reception and performance when you need to stay in touch.

What the Pixel 7 Pro has that the Pixel 7 doesn’t

The Pixel 7 Pro is very similar to its smaller sibling, save for some particular differences that set them apart. The most obvious is size, where the Pixel 7 has a smaller 6.3-inch AMOLED and 90Hz refresh rate. The Gorilla Glass Victus on the Pixel 7 isn’t the “plus” version that is built tougher than the non-plus version.

The 7 Pro comes with a 48-megapixel telephoto lens that is not in the Pixel 7. Its ultra-wide camera is a 12-megapixel with a wider 125-degree field of view compared to the Pixel 7, which has a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera with a narrower 106-degree field of view.

You will get 12GB of RAM with the Pixel 7 Pro, and 8GB for the Pixel 7. Being a larger phone, the Pro has the larger battery, which is the same as the previous Pixel 6 Pro. In contrast, the Pixel 7 has a slightly smaller battery than its own predecessor.

They also slightly differ in colour options. They both come in Obsidian and Snow, but the Pixel 7 Pro also comes in Hazel, while the Pixel 7 has a Lemongrass variant.

Google’s Tensor G2

Google’s own processor is back for an encore with the Tensor G2, a chipset powering the efficiencies and computation that makes Pixel phones so unique. It’s a system-on-a-chip (SoC) that speeds things up to make the Pixel 7 Pro feel like a modern phone in the right ways. It’s what enables the artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning you see at work with so many of the features.

Hold for Me is one of them, where Google Assistant steps in to stay on hold during a live call, alerting you when someone is available for you to speak with. Call Screen warns you about potential scam or spam calls. Direct My Call runs you through automated menus to get to the department you need to talk to. Plus, this phone will translate languages, recognize different speakers during a live audio recording and improve Voice Typing when messaging others.

The Tensor G2 works well with Android 13, the latest version of Google’s operating system. New to the Pixel 7 Pro is Face Unlock via the new 10.8-megapixel front camera, giving you another way to get past the lock screen if you don’t want to use the fingerprint sensor.

A reliable camera

The Pixel 7 Pro has one of the best mobile phone cameras available. It starts with the 50-megapixel main image sensor, helped by the 12-megapixel ultra-wide and 48-megapixel telephoto lenses. All of them offer the ability to capture superb images in a variety of conditions. Day or night, indoors or outdoors, this is a camera array you can count on.

With the telephoto lens, you get a little closer than before with a 5x optical zoom. Use Super Res Zoom to expand that to 30x to capture something from further away. All three lenses allow you to use the available sliders to adjust the highlights, shadows and white balance to help compose better photos. Motion mode returns with Action Pan and Long Exposure for cool effects without the need for a tripod.

Video gets a new feature called Cinematic Blur, which produces a bokeh effect no matter what you choose to focus on. It shoots at 24fps for a Hollywood-style effect with all the clips you shoot with it.