When the Pixel 7 launched at $599, costing hundreds less than the comparable iPhones and Samsung Galaxy offerings, it made a strong case as to why it should be your daily driver. But since then new iPhone 14 has launched, and with new Galaxy S23 phones on the way the question is… is the Pixel 7 still a good purchase in 2023?
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 When the Pixel 7 launched at 599 costing,
00:12 hundreds less than the comparable iPhones
00:14 and Samsung Galaxy offerings,
00:16 it made a strong case as to why
00:17 it should be your daily driver.
00:20 But then the new iPhone 14 launched
00:22 and with the new Samsung Galaxy S23 phones
00:24 just around the corner,
00:26 the question is, is the Pixel 7 still a good purchase
00:29 in 2023?
00:31 I'm gonna be running through five different categories
00:33 to help you decide if the Pixel 7
00:34 is the right purchase for you this year.
00:37 So let's get into it.
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00:40 Love it or hate it,
00:44 the design of the Pixel 7 is at least distinctive.
00:47 Keeping that now iconic camera visor from the Pixel 6,
00:51 but refining it, replacing that plastic housing
00:53 with a new aluminum matte finish one.
00:56 Honestly, I love it.
00:57 Not only does it set the Pixel apart
00:59 from the sea of left-aligned camera module copycats,
01:02 but that camera module also acts as a handy grip
01:05 for grabbing it out of your pocket securely.
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01:09 Aluminum lines the frame of the phone as well,
01:13 giving the device a premium feel in the hand.
01:16 In spite of that,
01:17 the Pixel 7 is actually lighter than the Pixel 6,
01:21 though it still outweighs the iPhone 14.
01:23 One change that Google made that I wish it hadn't
01:26 is to get rid of the two-tone color look of the Pixel 6.
01:30 Instead, it's now just one solid boring color,
01:33 with your choices being obsidian, snow, and lemongrass.
01:37 Google has stuck with the rounded edges on the Pixel 7,
01:40 which will please some of you, but perhaps not everyone.
01:43 Let me know down in the comments below
01:44 are you keen flat edge or rounded?
01:46 Like its predecessor,
01:48 the Pixel 7 offers an adaptive 90 hertz refresh rate.
01:51 While not the 120 hertz refresh rate
01:53 that's found on the Pixel 7 Pro,
01:55 you can still enjoy some smoother scrolling,
01:58 especially when compared to phones
01:59 with a 60 hertz display like the iPhone 14.
02:02 The big change with the Pixel 7
02:04 is that Google promises a brighter display
02:07 that's capable of a peak brightness of 1,400 nits.
02:11 We measured only 926 nits
02:13 with our light meter in our testing,
02:15 with adaptive brightness turned on.
02:17 That's brighter than what we saw on the iPhone 14,
02:20 but not as much as we saw on the Galaxy S22.
02:24 All the same, the Google Pixel 7 screen
02:26 is bright enough to see outdoors, even in direct sunlight.
02:30 I did have to scale the display brightness up
02:33 to clearly see the phone's controls in the sun,
02:35 but for the most part, the Pixel 7 display remains visible
02:38 even under less than ideal circumstances.
02:41 If I have a complaint about the Pixel 7 display,
02:43 it's the bezel at the bottom of the screen,
02:45 which is noticeably thicker
02:47 than what you'd see on other flagship phones these days.
02:50 It shouldn't be a deal breaker for most,
02:52 but it's a noticeable downside
02:54 when compared with the similarly priced competition
02:57 and makes the phone feel a little dated in 2023.
03:00 When it comes to cameras, it's hard to beat Google.
03:09 And while the Pixel 7 Pro
03:10 is undoubtedly the king of Android phone cameras,
03:13 the Pixel 7 holds it up
03:15 with an impressive 50 megapixel F1.85 main sensor,
03:19 12 megapixel F2.2 ultra wide lens,
03:22 and 10.8 megapixel F2.2 selfie snapper.
03:26 That front camera packs in two more megapixels
03:29 than the previous Pixel generation phone
03:31 and has a wider field of view at 98.2 degrees.
03:35 The wider field of view should allow you
03:37 to squeeze more of your friends comfortably
03:39 into front camera shots.
03:41 The Pixel 7 can shoot up to 4K at 60 FPS
03:44 and has active stabilization mode,
03:46 allowing you to smooth out your more adventurous shots.
03:50 This can only be activated when shooting in HD
03:52 and not in 4K,
03:54 but that is comparable to the competition
03:56 in this price range.
03:58 Putting specs and megapixels aside,
04:00 the bottom line is the Pixel 7
04:02 takes great photos and video
04:04 with very little effort from the user.
04:06 Just point, shoot, and be impressed with the results.
04:10 A lot of that is down to Google's AI smarts.
04:13 One of the best examples of this is Google's Realtone,
04:17 which uses the camera's tuning models and algorithms
04:19 to more accurately highlight diverse skin tones
04:22 with Realtone software.
04:24 Overall, the cameras on the Google Pixel 7
04:26 are great and definitely hold up in 2023.
04:30 And while the more expensive Google Pixel 7 Pro
04:32 obviously outdoes its baby brother
04:35 with an extra 48 megapixel telephoto lens
04:37 and dedicated macro photo mode,
04:40 the Pixel 7 is more than capable of taking top quality
04:43 home videos, selfies, and photos of whatever you like.
04:47 When you hit that shutter button,
04:48 you'll really be disappointed with the results,
04:51 especially when compared to other phones
04:53 at this price point.
04:54 Some of those photo features that I just talked about
04:57 are only made possible by Google's Tensor G2 chipset.
05:00 It's Google's second attempt at stepping away
05:02 from Qualcomm's Snapdragon chipsets
05:05 in favor of their own proprietary tech.
05:07 It allows for some great unique features like photo unblur,
05:11 took a shaky shot that was out of focus,
05:13 or have an old photo that was taken
05:15 on a less than state-of-the-art piece of gear.
05:17 Don't stress about it.
05:18 With a tap of a button,
05:20 your shots can be crisp and up-res
05:22 to look like they were shot in better conditions.
05:25 It isn't perfect and definitely works better
05:27 when there's one subject to focus on in the frame.
05:30 But I'll applaud any feature that gets me one step closer
05:33 to actually using the phrase, "We'll fix it in post."
05:36 The Tensor chip doesn't stop
05:38 with smartening up photo features.
05:40 There are everyday capabilities that it enables too.
05:43 Perhaps you'll remember the direct My Call feature
05:46 that Google introduced with the Pixel 6,
05:48 in which the Google Assistant could display
05:50 a list of call directory options,
05:52 sparing you from having to remember what number to press.
05:55 With the Pixel 7, those numbers appear right away.
05:58 The new chipset can also transcribe audio messages
06:01 that your friends text to you.
06:02 Pretty handy if like me, you absolutely hate voice memos.
06:06 A software update in December 2022
06:09 brought the ability to label different speakers
06:11 in auto-generated transcripts from the recorder app,
06:14 and clear calling has improved audio quality
06:17 on phone calls as well.
06:18 The Tensor chipset still isn't the most powerful silicone
06:21 on the block, but it will get the job done
06:23 for the vast majority of users.
06:25 (upbeat music)
06:28 When the Pixel 6 launched, one of my biggest complaints
06:37 was that the fingerprint scanner was slow.
06:39 And you'll be glad to hear that that's been improved
06:41 this time around on the Pixel 7.
06:42 Not only is the underscreen fingerprint scanner
06:44 more responsive, but Google has also added face unlock.
06:47 The feature is so speedy that I often end up
06:50 unlocking the Pixel with my face,
06:51 long before I can even lay my finger in the proper place
06:54 to unlock it the old fashioned way.
06:57 Overall, the Pixel 7 holds its own
06:58 in the performance department,
07:00 keeping up with the other Android devices
07:02 in its price category, and constantly improving
07:05 thanks to Google support and development of Android OS.
07:08 So far then, it's looking pretty good for the Pixel 7,
07:11 but now onto an area where Google
07:13 has typically struggled, battery life.
07:16 Google opted for a smaller 4,355 milliamp hour battery
07:20 in the Pixel 7 than the 4,614 milliamp hour battery
07:25 that powers the Pixel 6.
07:27 So then the Tensor G2 chipset was going to have to do
07:30 a lot of heavy lifting to get that battery life number up
07:33 through various efficiencies.
07:35 Typically, I end most days with around 15% left
07:39 with usage including streaming, gaming, and TikTok scrolling.
07:42 30 minutes of Apex Legends with ultra HD graphics settings
07:45 snapped up 10% charge.
07:47 So you can't be playing for hours on end without a charge,
07:50 but you won't be dead after just a couple of hours either.
07:53 If you still have battery concerns
07:55 when you're out and about,
07:56 the extreme battery saver mode promises
07:58 up to 72 hours of battery life.
08:01 So then the weakest aspect of the Pixel 7's battery
08:04 isn't longevity, but recharging.
08:07 It has the same 21 watt top speed of its predecessor.
08:11 If you're using Google's official 30 watt USB-C charger,
08:15 the company claims the Pixel will reach
08:17 about 50% charge in 30 minutes.
08:19 In our testing though, with a generic 27 watt PD charger,
08:22 the Pixel 7 reached about 47% in 30 minutes
08:26 and 80% in an hour and 100%
08:28 in just over one hour and 40 minutes.
08:30 So Google has improved its phone's battery life,
08:33 but not exactly knocked it out of the park.
08:35 There are better options from OnePlus and Samsung
08:38 if reliable battery is important to you this year.
08:41 So then the Pixel 7 is a great purchase in 2023.
08:45 If quality cameras are the most important thing to you,
08:48 then this budget-friendly handset is a real competitor.
08:51 And the Pixel phones give you one of the cleanest,
08:53 safest, and most well-supported software experiences
08:55 available.
08:56 And that's without even considering
08:58 that this phone is older now.
09:00 And you can often find it even cheaper
09:03 than its launch price of 599.
09:05 Even with its less than perfect battery performance,
09:08 the Pixel 7 is a solid purchase in 2023.
09:11 And I can't wait to see what Google has in store for us
09:14 with the Pixel 8 this fall.
09:16 Did you buy a Pixel 7 at launch?
09:18 If so, let me know how you're getting on with it
09:20 down in the comments below.
09:21 And while you're down there,
09:22 subscribe to Tom's Guide here on YouTube,
09:24 and I'll see you on the next one.
09:25 (upbeat music)