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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.
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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)
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