Google Pixel 7 Pro Review: Rising to meet the occasion

Straight off the bat, the Pixel 7 Pro stands out from the crowd with its unique design. The phone comes in Obsidian, Snow, and Hazel colours and the Hazel model we reviewed was the easy standout from the lot. As attractive as the hazel colour and glossy finish may be, they are prone to smudging, while the polished aluminium camera bar did show the odds scuffs. The polished aluminium frame of the Pixel 7 Pro also has a glossy finish, although the power and volume buttons get matte treatment. On the flip side, the polished glass back and rounded edges makes the Pixel 7 Pro comfortable to grip.

Google has opted to protect its flagship smartphone with Gorilla Glass Victus on the rear panel and the display. Moreover, you also get an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. Additionally, there’s minimal branding here with just the Google logo on the back. I did notice that the Pixel 7 Pro was on the heavy side, weighing little over 200 grams and measuring 8.9mm thick. But it doesn’t take long to get used to the weight. There’s no doubt that the Pixel 7 Pro does have a few chinks in its amour, but the unique design coupled with the premium build easily outweigh those chinks.

Display

When it comes to the display on the Pixel 7 Pro, Google holds nothing back, outfitting its flagship phone with a 6.7-inch QHD+ (3120 x 1440-pixel resolution) LTPO OLED panel. The LTPO technology allow the screen to scale between 10Hz to 120Hz. The display gets plenty bright outdoors with a peak brightness of 1,500 nits, allowing you to comfortably view the screen under direct sunlight. Google has also nailed the degree of curvature on the Pixel 7 Pro to the point where it is still noticeable and aesthetically pleasing without being a hinderance. You are going to find this screen extremely good for playing games or watching content.

The Pixel 7 Pro also has an optical in-display fingerprint reader, which is accurate but not nearly as quick as the one on the Vivo X80 Pro. You also get image-based facial recognition, although it is not nearly as secure and convenient as Apple’s Face ID. I think the display on the Galaxy S22 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro might be a few steps ahead but there is no doubt that this is a screen worthy of a premium smartphone. Additionally, the audio for the Pixel 7 Pro comes courtesy of dual stereo speakers that offer balanced sound with minimal distortion at higher volumes.

Performance

Powering the Pixel 7 Pro is Google’s new Tensor G2 SoC paired with 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage. It is worth noting that the Pixel 7 Pro is only available in one configuration in India, so cloud storage is your only option if you want more storage. But what about the RAM; is 8GB enough for a flagship smartphone. In my opinion, it is more than sufficient. The Pixel 7 Pro managed an overall AnTuTu score of 801023 points. In Geekbench 5, the phone managed a single-core score of 1076 points and a multi-score score of 3201 points.

In the 3D Mark Wild Life test, the Pixel 7 Pro score 6413 points overall. These benchmark scores are comparable to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, which is a good jump in performance over the original Tensor chip. The Pixel 7 Pro also did an excellent job running all games I threw at it. Apex Legends Mobile, Call of Duty: Mobile and Diablo Immortal both ran without a hitch on high graphics at maximum frame rates. However, I did notice some stuttering in Diablo Immortal once I turned on ‘image sharpening’.

Add to that, the phone did get hot after 30 minutes of gaming, although this doesn't lead to any in-game performance dips. Moreover, the phone handles multi-tasking rather smoothly, while the camera performance feels quick and snappy. After coming from the Pixel 6a, the Tensor G2 chip here seems like a noteworthy upgrade, delivering performance comparable to the Galaxy S22 and OnePlus 10 Pro (Review). However, I did notice that the phone got unusually hot at times, particularly when using the camera app and gaming.

Cameras

In terms of optics, the Pixel 7 Pro has a similar camera setup as last year’s Pixel 6 Pro. However, since we haven’t reviewed the 6 Pro, this made for a very exciting camera test. The Pixel 7 Pro’s has a triple-camera setup on the back that includes a 50 MP primary sensor with an f/1.85 aperture, OIS, Laser Autofocus, a 12 MP ultrawide shooter with an f/2.2 aperture, and a 48 MP telephoto unit with an f/3.5 aperture, OIS, 5x optical zoom, and 30x Super Res Zoom. There’s also a new 10.8 MP selfie camera with an f/2.2 aperture.

The main camera captures excellent photos in daylight with vivid colours and no oversaturation despite the rich hues in the shot. Dynamic range was excellent, while the camera has able to capture a ton of detail to make pictures look stunning with zero effort apart from pointing and shooting. I couldn’t help but love the vibrant colours, accurate exposure, and crisp detail in shots using the primary camera. I did notice a dip in detail on shots taken indoors in poor lighting. While the main camera delivers some of the best results I’ve seen on an Android phone, the star of the show here is the new telephoto camera.

The Pixel 7 Pro’s telephoto shooter gets surprisingly good results at the full 5x optical zoom. In daylight, the telephoto camera delivers excellent results, while retaining the same colour vibrancy and high-level of detail from main camera. However, noise does creep in, and images lose a bit of detail in low light. Additionally, 10x zoom can delivered better results on the Galaxy S22 Ultra and 30x zoom offers rather abysmal shots regardless of the lighting.

The Pixel 7 Pro’s ultrawide camera has a wide 126-degree field of view and has a built-in Macro Mode. The ultrawide camera maintains colour consistency with the main camera and offers a good bit of detail but you will see distorted edges. Additionally, noise reduction on the ultrawide was also on point. The macro mode on the Pixel 7 Pro does a good job of retaining detail in subjects and is a welcomed addition to the 7 Pro.

Google’s Night Sight kicks in when taking shots in low light. The main camera does an excellent job balancing exposure and reducing noise. Again, the Pixel 7 Pro was the best at brightening up images, even more so than the iPhone 14 Pro (Review) and Galaxy S22 Ultra (Review). However, results were far from perfect as the Pixel 7 Pro could do a better job in preserving highlights.

As with night mode on most smartphones, Night Sight on the new Pixel doesn’t deal well with moving objects and will often leave you with a blurry mess. Additionally, the ultrawide camera isn’t as adept at brightening images and retaining detail in shots as the main camera. The telephoto camera does get respectable results at night, but it isn't on par with results with the Galaxy S22 Ultra, although images appeared sharper on the Pixel 7 Pro.

Google has updated the selfie camera on the Pixel 7 Pro with excellent results. However, as compared to results on the Galaxy S22 Ultra and the iPhone 14 Pro, the Pixel 7 Pro’s selfie camera fell short of the mark. There was a noticeable lack of detail in shots taken indoors and skin tones don’t look quite as natural as shots on the iPhone 14 Pro. The Pixel 7 Pro also took excellent portrait selfies with accurate edge detection and good subject separation. The selfie camera performance is well-above average here but is not at the level of the top-tier flagships from Samsung and Apple.

For video, the Pixel 7 Pro supports 4K video recording at up to 60fps across all three rear cameras. I found the OIS worked well to stabilise footage taken while walking. I also noticed excellent levels of detail and no noise while recording video in 4K resolution at 30 and 60 fps. Google has also introduced a new Cinematic Blur feature that adds a bokeh effect to your videos. The Pixel 7 Pro also locks on to the subject, while blurring the background despite moving the camera. You can record 4K video at 30fps with 10-bit HDR, which tends to overexpose footage, although it does add a touch of vibrancy. The front camera can also capture 4K and 1080p video at up 60fps, although noise is easily visible indoors.

The camera app is more or less the same as seen on the Pixel 6a (Review), everything is easily accessible, and you can access all the modes from the bottom of the app. You can also access Google Lens through the camera app, allowing you to search images, translate text, and more directly through the app. You can also capture images in the native 50 MP resolution, while RAW images can be taken by enabling it in the settings.

Google is still playing catch up to the iPhone in terms of video quality, but the central theme of the Pixel 7 Pro is ‘point, shoot, and forget about it’. In terms of photography, I prefer the Pixel 7 Pro over the Galaxy S22 Ultra, although Samsung has a myriad of features and is the more capable device for videography. However, at its price, the Pixel 7 Pro is unrivalled for its imaging prowess thanks to the improved hardware and fined tuned software.

Battery Life

The Pixel 7 Pro has an impressive battery capacity at 5,000 mAh but charging speed is on the lower side with 23W wired and 20W wireless support. The Pixel 7 Pro easily passes the all-day battery test, delivering an entire day of usage on a single charge. Our test included gaming, browsing the internet, and spending time on social media and messaging apps. We left with 10 to 15 percent of battery life to take into the next day. I estimate around six hours of screen-on time, which is good but hardly great.

I noticed that the Pixel 7 Pro consumed more battery life than the iPhone 14 Pro while gaming (Diablo Immortal). So while the battery life here is good enough to get you through an entire day, it simply isn’t at the level of other flagship smartphones like the Galaxy S22 Ultra and the OnePlus 10 Pro. Considering the Pixel 7 Pro does have a large battery, an LPTO panel, and other battery saving tweaks, including an Adaptive mode, to extend battery life, the level of juice you get on a single was a bit disappointing.

Moreover, the charging support on the Pixel 7 Pro is particularly low and there’s no charger included in the box. This is not the phone you’d want in a jam when you’ve got 20 percent of battery life and have to head out of the house. This is where phones with higher charging speeds shine. The Pixel 7 Pro offers decent battery life, although it is nowhere near flagship level, while charging speed is abysmal.

Software

Software is a major part of the Pixel experience, and Google’s flagship Pixel 7 Pro runs stock Android 13 out of the box.  Moving on to Android 13, which looks a lot like Android 12, albeit with a few improvements to refine the Material You aesthetic. Additionally, Android 13 also brings a ton of new exclusive software features. Android 13 also comes with native support for Spatial Audio as well as Bluetooth LE Audio. Google has also introduced clear call, a way to hear unclear audio from phone calls, while the Google Assistant can hold your spot when interacting with a customer service agent.

Android 13 will give your greater customisation options to control the look and feel of your phone. Pre-made colour variants will allow a system-wide colour scheme that will be accentuated with complementary and contrasting colours. There is also a new media control panel that can alter its look automatically to match the music you are listening to, along with the album artwork. You can also set individual language preferences for each app, irrespective of the system language.

This means that you can chat in Hindi on WhatsApp but let your phone language be in English. Google Photos also has the option to unblur images, which removes some blur and noise from photos. However, this one’s still a work in progress. The Pixel 7 Pro has a ton of AI-based features that is aimed at making the user interface more seamless and you can explore a lot of them in Pixel Tips. Google is also backing the Pixel 7 Pro with three years of major OS upgrades and five years of security updates.

Verdict

With a price tag of Rs 84,999, the Pixel 7 Pro doesn’t come cheap and is on the expensive side of the Android flagship list for 2022. But let’s look at what’s on offer here starting with the outside. Not only does the Pixel 7 Pro feature a unique design, but it also boasts an impressive build. Then there’s the screen, which is the best in its class and can compete with the top-end iPhone 14 Pro and Galaxy S22 Ultra. Moving on to the inside and the Tensor G2 chip, which is on par with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SocC in terms of performance and brings solid upgrades over the original Tensor chip.

And then there are the cameras, which are the absolute best at this price point. In my view, the Pixel 7 Pro offers the best ‘point and shoot’ experience of any smartphone on the market. The phone’s ‘zoom’ camera performance was second only to the Galaxy S22 Ultra. Lastly, there’s the software experience, which ties in well with the hardware. You’ll notice Google’s software influence throughout the handset, aiming to make the experience convenient at every turn. All things considered, the Pixel 7 Pro isn’t without its flaws, particularly in the battery and charging department where the Pixel 7 Pro is average on its best day. Moreover, the glossy back panel is a smudge-magnet, while the camera bar is prone scratches. The phone’s cooling also seemed inadequate at times.

However, I’d have to say that the ‘Pros’ on the Pixel 7 Pro outweigh its ‘Cons’ by a mile. If you are looking for an Android flagship in 2022, then the Pixel 7 Pro would be my default recommendation. Google has made an Android flagship that can compete with the best Samsung and Apple has to offer at much more reasonable price. There’s no doubt that the Vivo X80 Pro (Review) and the Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus (Review) can easily go head-to-head with the Pixel 7 Pro on the hardware front. But when it comes to software, Google goes the added mile, making the Pixel 7 Pro the best Android flagship in 2022 for the price.