Google Pixel 7 Pro review

Why I am doing this? This is because Google's processor is still on the X1 Cortex while the Snapdragon. Eight chan, one processor (supposed to be: Snapdragon 8 Gen 1) is on the X2 Cortex, which came out months ago and the new one is going to come out in a few weeks.

So, my main problem with the Google Dancer G2 (supposed to be: Tensor) is that it's not the latest. It needs to have the cutting-edge tech for a smartphone of this category to last longer and beef (supposed to be: be) smooth in the coming years as well. But what Google has done is that they've optimised it more for AL (supposed to be: AI) and ML purposes.

And one of them primarily being this transcript feature, which, you know, transcribes, the entire audio Hindo. Tax (supposed to be: into text) very quickly. As fast as I'm saying it, right? That is pretty neat and it’s, as I can see right now, working as well as it should. Maybe a few words here and there are mixed up but that's fine right now.

(This full section is transcribed in the Recorder app and pasted with minor changes to text)

Alright, that’s enough grammatical errors for one review. Coming back to the review itself. One of the best things about this Pixel smartphone is its design. It doesn't have squared-off edges like the Apple iPhone and all the other Androids that try to copy Apple. Apart from Vivo, Google and Samsung. Although, even Samsung is starting to make the edges square now. Starting with the Samsung Galaxy Fold4 which is unwieldy at best. 

The Google Pixel 7 Pro is curved from the back. It sits in your hand comfortably and doesn't dig into your skin. The display is also slightly curved around the edges making the side bezels look a tad smaller.

The aluminium sides bleed into the camera module and the whole aluminium sides are made from 100% recycled materials. Although the aluminium started collecting scratches very quickly. There’s wireless Qi-charging here as well but the rear glass panel is a fingerprint magnet. All things considered, the Pixel 7 series looks a bit more sophisticated now. You won’t find the dual-tone finish at the back and Google has also not used bright colours on the lock button.

Now, the main reason why everyone would choose a Google Pixel smartphone over anything else is the camera. This is, without a doubt, one of the most fantastic photo camera systems on any smartphone. No surprises there.

Those aforementioned advancements in AI and ML can be seen doing the heavy lifting after you've taken a shot. It does a brilliant job at polishing up the shot with AI smarts but it’s a tad slow at executing the magic. It takes a second or two before presenting to you the final shot. That two-second waiting period is where the Tensor throws in the ML and the AI, to sprinkle Pixel magic on the shot but in the tech world any waiting time is taboo. In comparison, you won’t have to wait on the Apple iPhone 14 series for such things.

So you can see a clear difference between the Apple iPhone and the Google Pixel camera in terms of speed in the camera’s AI performance. As for the camera quality, the Pixel is the newest Android champion. Let’s break it down.

You get a 50MP wide camera, a 12MP ultra-wide and a 48MP telephoto camera. All three of these cameras are exceptionally good at taking photos thanks to Google's AI and machine learning that kicks in. The Pixel resizes the high megapixel count through pixel binning and presents you with a 12MP resolution file. Androids are doing it since time immemorial and Apple just hopped on too. 

The colour science between the lenses is as consistent as you’d find on an iPhone. So, you will not see the ultra-wide pushing out different colours than the wide or the telephoto. All three lenses have consistent colour accuracy across the board. Even skin tones are the most accurate you’ll find on any smartphone. The lakh-and-a-half rupee Apples and Samsungs of the world don’t come even close.

Pixel does tend to over-sharpen and have a contrasty image quality but it’s not like the neon colours we see on other Android devices. The photos are also on the cooler side of things compared to the iPhone which has a warmer tone.

You also get a telescopic lens that lets you take up to 5x optical zoom and up to 30x with Super Res Zoom. Now Super Res Zoom is basically Google's AI and ML dropping in to polish up the photos taken of anything that is beyond 10x zoom. It’s nothing exceptional but having the tools to go up to 30x is quite nice. Think of spy movies where the rare photo of that one evil-doer is documented by the good guys. The image quality is sort of like that if not better. Stick to 5x and 10x zoom and you’ll be rewarded with a sharp and beautiful shot

Moving over to portrait shots, the Pixel has a better blur effect than the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max in all cases. The iPhone surprisingly has that sticker effect where it does a sharp cut out of the subject rather than a smooth blur. The Pixel 7 Pro on the other hand has a smoother transition between the subject and the background in the blur. 

The colour accuracy on the Pixel is better but it uses AI and ML to fix a lot of tonal issues with the lighting itself. The Apple iPhone doesn't do that. If there's a warm light on your subject, the Pixel will remove that warm light from your subject’s face to match their skin tone correctly but Apple will not. So it's slightly tricky to get the Pixel to take creative shots if you're looking for it.

But if you want complete tonal accuracy, the Pixel has more dynamic range, better contrast, better portrait depth, more sharpness and more detail in the photos over the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max. And that’s without even considering the massive price difference between the two smartphones. The iPhone isn’t too far behind. In some cases, Apple has more natural colours on objects and doesn’t saturate the tones as Pixel. The Pixel is more adept at taking photos of easily recognizable objects — trees, plants, faces, people, cars, sky and so on. Throw in a dilapidated building and you’ll find that the grey concrete is overly saturated. Of course, at this point, we’re nitpicking but the Google Pixel camera tends to make us very excited and as someone who takes a lot of photos, it’s so hard to distance yourself from the Google Pixel 7 Pro.

Next up, indoor lighting camera test! You thought this was over? Should we mention that the Pixel camera excites us again? The Google Pixel 7 Pro is better because of the whole price-to-performance ratio gobbledegook. The Apple iPhone 14 is incredibly good too and I genuinely couldn't tell the difference between the two sometimes. It's a matter of preference if there are any discrepancies in their lighting or tonal accuracy.

Now the Pixel 7 Pro is very closely priced to the base Apple iPhone 14 and not the Pro. And when you compare the low light shots between the 14 and the Pixel 7 Pro, there is a world of a difference in just a simple point-and-shoot. The Google Pixel 7 Pro is just leagues ahead of the iPhone 14 in still photography. It has better contrast, better exposure management and better depth mapping. The iPhone 14 just looks shoddy in tricky light situations.

Here’s where the Pixel lead ends. In terms of video performance, Apple is still the best device for video. Google has also come up with its own version of a Cinematic Blur but the execution is better on the iPhone. Mind you, the Google Pixel 7 Pro is not a terrible camera for video but the iPhone is the gold standard and this is where the iPhone really tries to match the price that you put down. The processor is better on the iPhone and the iPhone just is an all-rounder in my opinion.

Taking macro shots on the Google Pixel 7 Pro can be tricky. There’s no dedicated toggle for the macro mode in the viewfinder which makes it really fiddly to use. You need to get as close as one to two inches before the smartphone decides to kick in the macro mode. After which there’s a tiny logo that pops up in the viewfinder informing you that you’re in macro mode. This is a very tedious way to use a feature. I would much rather have a mode which I can toggle before approaching my subject. The macro mode isn’t groundbreaking but again, the Pixel manages to nail the colour accuracy here as well.

Caught a blurry photo? The Pixel 7 series smartphones can use AI and ML to fix that photo. It works really well and you can serve any blurry photo from the past and not just ones that are shot on the Pixel. The only catch is you need to use the Pixel 7 series smartphones to avail this feature.

There’s also a really nice accessibility feature called Guided Frame. Google says it uses the power of AI and machine learning to guide the user through vocal prompts. It helps users to frame photos correctly when taking selfies.

Now everything up until now is simply powered by Google’s AI and machine learning chops. Be it transcribing or simply doubling down on all the photos in your library. The Pixel 7 Pro has the brain power to manage all of its features with good urgency. Coming back to the nerdy bits, the aforementioned Cortex X1 core in the processor may be a generation old but there are two of them here. So we’re not left wanting more processing grunt for the Pixel smartphones. Google will optimize it along with the 12GB RAM to make the Pixel 7 Pro buttery smooth for years to come. However, for now, you will have to live with 128GB storage only because the other storage variants are not available here in India.

That is one of my major gripes with the Pixel 7 Pro. It has all the features and making of a powerful Android flagship but the 128GB storage choice feels like an attempt to get you to pony up for a cloud storage subscription. Apple tried the same tricks with their 64GB storage products and 128GB feels like a similar attempt in this day and age. 

However, the performance of the Google Pixel 7 Pro is fantastic. It’s not Apple-level speeds but amongst its Android peers, it’s one of the best in terms of performance. Games and apps run with urgency and Google’s also polished the nasties that plagued the previous Pixel devices. The only thing I wished they improved was the in-display fingerprint sensor. It’s as fast as last’s model and that was a second or two slower than most Android smartphones in this price range. 

The AI-based voice recognition from the Recorder app is also good at shushing noise around you while talking on the phone. These little things add up to the whole Pixel experience that is powered by AI and ML.

The Pixel 7 Pro also has a great display. The LTPO AMOLED display has a 120Hz refresh rate and supports HDR10+. Watch out though, this display can get very bright! It’s rated for 1000 nits standard and 1500 nits peak brightness. We tested it against the harsh and frankly, face-melting October heat of Delhi and the display managed to show every little detail on the screen without breaking a sweat. The colours are well-balanced and HDR content looks similar to something you’d find on premium Samsung and Apple devices.

Personally, I am not a big fan of the Material You software simply because of some oddly-shaped widgets but Google has ironed out a few things with Android 13 and now the software is more stable, consistent and without bugs. 

All of that after Google managed to throw in a powerful processor that is stable, tune the whole thing to dance and sing with AI and ML tasks, sprinkle some class-leading cameras and slap a powerful display. Not to mention a great battery life with fast charging support and voila! You have a concoction to brew the best smartphone of this year. The Google Pixel 7 Pro is the best android smartphone you can buy this year. Period!