It’s been just over 2 months since I picked up the Google Pixel 7 Pro to replace the older Pixel 3 XL and I have to say, it’s been a great experience. The phone has a sleek, modern design and feels great in the hand, thanks to its slightly curved edges. The 6.7 inch display is absolutely stunning and silky smooth, thanks to the 120hz OLED panel and the colours are vibrant with incredible blacks too. The built in fingerprint scanner is located under the display which makes securely unlocking the phone extremely quick and easy. It’s very accurate too, with it only failed to unlock on one occasion when I had just washed my hands, so my fingers were still slightly wet. If you have wet hands though, there’s also an option for Face Unlock too, while it’s not as secure as the FaceID on iPhone, it is amazingly fast, but just keep in mind that it only works in well lit environments. No matter how you choose to unlock, once you’re in using this phone and navigating the user interface is a real pleasure.
One of the standout features of the Pixel 7 Pro is its camera. The triple-lens system takes stunning photos (examples below), even in low light conditions. The phone’s Night Sight mode allows you to capture detailed photos in the dark, without a flash. And with the ability to shoot in 4K at 60 frames per second, you can capture some amazing video footage as well.
Performance-wise, the Pixel 7 Pro has been rock solid, effortlessly dealing with anything and everything I’ve thrown at it (although the Twitter app doesn’t feel as smooth as everything else for some reason. I think this is down to the app itself though, rather than the phone). Google have carried on using their own in-house chips this year and the new G2 processor is pared with 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM, which means it can handle even the most demanding tasks without breaking a sweat. Honestly, I’ve only felt the phone get warm on a hand full of occasions – It’s really impressive!
One of the things I love about the Pixel 7 Pro is its long battery life. The phone’s 5,000mAh battery easily lasts me a full day, even with heavy use. And when it’s time to recharge, the phone supports fast charging, so you can get back to full power in around 90 minutes.
My Pixel 7 Pro has 256GB of storage, which is plenty for myself and most people. But if you’re a power user who needs a lot of storage space, you might be better opting for the 512GB version.
Another perk of the Pixel lineup in general that also applies to the Pixel 7 Pro is that they’re always running the latest version of Android. This means it will get regular updates and security patches for many years to come. This is a big plus for me, as it ensures that my phone stays secure and up-to-date with the latest features further down the line.
One of the key features of the Google Pixel 7 Pro is the little helpful and useful touches that Google sprinkles across almost everything. Of course, being a Google Pixel, the phone also comes with the Google Assistant built-in, which makes it easy to access a whole world of knowledge, set reminders, and control smart home devices like lights and the Nest thermostat (although it still can’t turn on the hot water despite me requesting this for a number of years!) all via voice, simply by holding the power button or saying ‘Hey, Google’. Just like everything else on the Pixel 7 Pro the assistant is blazing fast, but I do miss the ’Squeeze for Assistant’ feature from my old Pixel 3 XL – this just felt more natural to me.
There’s also a feature that you probably didn’t realise you ever needed until you have it. ‘Now Playing’ automatically recognises what song is playing around you and displays the name right on your Lock Screen. That’s it, it’s not something that has to be activated each time, it just does it! Simple, but incredibly useful when you want to know the name of the song that’s playing in the supermarket, coffee shop, train station or anywhere else.
The Pixel 7 Pro experience has been excellent and it brings a smile to my face almost every single time I interact with the device. It’s hard to put my finger on why exactly, but just using the phone and navigating the UI is a real please and it’s as if Google has sprinkled little elements of joy at almost every click, tap and swipe!
Overall, though, the Pixel 7 Pro has been a great phone for me. It’s fast, has a beautiful display, and takes amazing photos. I would definitely recommend it to anyone in the market for a new Android phone, I have thought for a long time now that the Pixel range is the Android equivalent of an iPhone in the sense that Google design the hardware and software together in order to provide the best possible user experience. I’ve been extremely happy with my decision to buy the Google Pixel 7 Pro. It’s a very well-designed phone with great performance, fantastic cameras, long-lasting battery and all the uniquely Google UI touches that make it a joy to use day in, day out.
