Is it nonetheless value it in 2023?

When the Pixel 7 Professional launched in October of 2022, it appeared like Google had pulled a magic trick and eventually received issues proper with a telephone. Nice options and a practical value had been topped by rave Pixel 7 Professional critiques, a lot in order that it gained each our Editor’s Alternative and Reader’s Alternative awards for smartphone of the yr.

However have issues modified six months later? Does the Pixel 7 Professional nonetheless maintain a spot as one of many finest Android telephones you should buy in 2023? I’ve been utilizing the Pixel 7 Professional as my major telephone since its launch and I’m able to dig in and share its finest and least spectacular features in spite of everything this time.

In 2021, the Pixel 6 Professional rang the beginning of a brand new period inside Google’s smartphone enterprise with a give attention to an in-house processor, a singular new design, a refined Android expertise with Materials You, and a burgeoning ecosystem of equipment. However the Pixel 6 Professional was riddled with points and all eyes had been on its successor. Would the Pixel 7 Professional repair these issues or would it not perpetuate them?

Briefly, the Pixel 7 Professional refined every part we noticed with the 6 Professional. The show’s curves are much less drastic and simpler to make use of when swiping from the sting, the metallic body continues into the digicam bump for a extra elegant look, and the telephone feels extra balanced within the hand. After holding and utilizing the 7 Professional for a number of months, going again to the 6 Professional seems like a correct downgrade.

The Pixel 7 Professional additionally received a sooner Tensor G2 processor, a brighter show, a non-problematic in-display fingerprint scanner that continues to be dependable, a greater zoom lens, and — so far as we are able to inform — not one of the Pixel 6 Professional’s connectivity points. It’s every part the Pixel 6 Professional aimed to be, however higher.

All these enhancements have been met with higher high quality management total too. Six months later, it’s clear that the Pixel line-up’s notorious defects, failures, and bugs haven’t hit the Pixel 7 sequence as a lot as its predecessors, a lot in order that we’ve forgotten that these had been a factor with earlier fashions. We nonetheless report a problem with the telephone right here or there on Android Authority, however not more than different flagships and positively not as a lot as we did for the Pixel 6 and others earlier than it.

Google’s pictures experience is why the newest Pixels are thought-about a number of the finest digicam telephones and why they’re all the time included in each comparability check we do. It’s additionally why the Pixel 7 Professional is a part of the dialog even after we’re doing a digicam shootout of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Extremely, a telephone that’s considerably costlier and that packs astronomically higher digicam {hardware} on paper.

Irrespective of the topic or the lighting scenario, odds are I’ll get an excellent snap from the Pixel 7 Professional. 3000+ pictures later, it’s protected to say that I actually respect that reliability. Landscapes or metropolis scenes, meals or nature, night time or day, static or transferring objects, picture or video; I’m assured that my telephone will deal with all of it. I’ve sung the praises of Pixels’ pictures for years now, and I believe it shines probably the most with the themes we {photograph} probably the most — folks and pets.

The Pixel 7 Professional takes that to new ranges with its zoom efficiency which stays serviceable as much as 20x, neat macro mode, and nice night time efficiency. It has additionally grow to be my final live performance digicam for each stills and movies, utilizing that zoom to get to the crux of the motion even once I’m seated distant and have a blocked view.

Regardless of rising smartphone costs throughout the board, Google saved the Pixel 7 sequence’ value in keeping with its predecessor. This was laudable on the finish of 2022, nevertheless it’s much more spectacular now in 2023. At $899, Google’s flagship is $100 cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus and the Apple iPhone 14 Professional, but it’s typically in contrast in opposition to the way more costly Galaxy S23 Extremely and iPhone 14 Professional Max. Not simply by us, however by each tech publication on the market.

We might spend hours nitpicking each {hardware} ingredient and explaining the way it’s a step behind this telephone or that telephone, however the Pixel 7 Professional is basically higher than the sum of its elements in day by day use. It’s a superb smartphone at a palatable value and, in that regard, it exists in a league of its personal.

Quarterly function drops additionally maintain the expertise recent, even when I’ll be trustworthy and say the previous couple of drops haven’t introduced something ground-breaking. And the listing of Pixel-exclusive options will get longer yearly, granting higher worth to the telephone. We’ll, nonetheless, dock a degree for Google’s four-year replace dedication. It ought to at the least match Samsung’s 5.

On paper, the Pixel 7 Professional has practically the identical dimensions and weight because the Pixel 6 Professional, nevertheless it feels completely different within the hand as I discussed earlier. It’s simpler to grip, has a extra balanced weight distribution, and is extra nice to make use of. It’s additionally extra palm pleasant than a lot of the different massive flagships in the marketplace, just like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Extremely and iPhone 14 Professional Max. Nonetheless, I can’t assist however really feel like I’m proud of a minor enchancment in ergonomics when it’s clear that the primary design isn’t preferrred.

It is a very subjective drawback for certain, however I’ve two points with the telephone. For one, I discover the glass again too slippery. There’s no method I might ever carry it and even place it on a easy floor and not using a case on; that’s simply calling for catastrophe. And two, the Pixel 7 Professional additionally stays too massive to carry and use comfortably with one hand, particularly when you’ve got average-sized palms as I do. I’d adore it if Google copied Apple’s technique right here and launched a smaller Professional Pixel quickly; the earliest rumors counsel we would get that in 2024 with the Pixel 8.

Current Pixels’ battery life isn’t breaking any data. They’re typically serviceable for a day of mid to heavy use, however can’t outlast different telephones with seven, eight, and even 9 hours of screen-on-time. What makes this problematic is the sluggish, so very sluggish 21-23W trickle charging on the Pixel 7 sequence.

It takes practically two hours to totally cost a depleted Pixel 7 Professional. In case your telephone is low on juice and also you’re about to go out for just a few hours, you’ll be able to’t plug it in 10 minutes earlier than leaving and assume that shall be anyplace close to sufficient to get you out of bother. This isn’t a lot of a problem if you happen to all the time have a wall charger close by or carry a conveyable energy financial institution all over the place you go, however when you’ve got just a few hectic days with extra restricted entry to energy, you’ll positively discover this.

A sluggish charging velocity is nearly unforgivable nowadays when different Android telephones are providing at the least 45W or 65W of energy. We don’t assume Google ought to attain excessive numbers like 240W, however providing 25W as a base charging velocity with a toggle to allow 45-65W on-demand charging can be preferrred. That method we might keep on with the battery-friendly energy more often than not, however pump it up after we’re in a rush.

The Pixel sequence was by no means constructed round uncooked efficiency. As a substitute, Google’s method has all the time been software-centric, eschewing peak CPU and GPU speeds for higher picture processing, toughened safety, and extra on-device machine studying (ML) expertise. That is clear as day if you have a look at Tensor G2’s benchmark outcomes and the way outclassed it’s in comparison with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.

However that’s the rub. Google is ready to pull off on-device reside translations, wonderful picture post-processing, and a bunch of different ML-powered Pixel-only options with a hampered chipset. Think about what it might do with a extra trendy processor structure and extra energy. So even when we don’t essentially discover any hiccups in day-to-day use on the Pixel 7 Professional, we nonetheless assume a greater chip would let it do extra issues sooner, have higher vitality effectivity and thus longer battery life, and maintain it cool as an alternative of heating up at each signal of effort.

Google hit its stride with the Pixel 7 sequence in 2022. For the primary time in years, it seems like the unique imaginative and prescient behind this line-up is taking correct form. The Pixel 7 Professional affords a cohesive software-hardware design, a transparent service-centric and AI/ML-powered expertise, a unbelievable pictures efficiency, and all of that with fewer of the problems of the Pixels of yore.

It’s additionally cementing its central place in Google’s {hardware} ecosystem technique. Pair it with Pixel Buds Professional, the Pixel Watch, and the upcoming Pixel Pill, and also you’ll have a coherent setup that’s brushing as much as Samsung’s and Apple’s wonderful ecosystems.

Six months later, the telephone’s $899 value remains to be justifiable in comparison with the worth it brings, however much more so when it’s discounted to $799 or much less as it’s steadily. Those that like Google’s method to software program, companies, and pictures, however don’t want the zoom lens will discover the smaller Pixel 7 ($599 at Amazon) a greater purchase, although, whereas anybody on the lookout for extra uncooked energy and a extra diverse software program suite ought to have a look at the Samsung Galaxy S23 ($799.99 at Amazon), Galaxy S23 Plus ($849.99 at Amazon), or the OnePlus 11 ($699 at Amazon).

The most important query mark, although, is whether or not you need to look forward to the Google Pixel 8 Professional or get the Pixel 7 Professional now. There’s no apparent reply to that; all of it is dependent upon your circumstances. On one hand, if you happen to want a telephone quickly, can discover a discounted 7 Professional, and worth a strong expertise, then by all means, go for it. However if you happen to’re not in any rush and want to see what the successor will actually carry, then six months isn’t that lengthy of a wait. Simply remember that we don’t understand how a lot it’ll price or what the pre-order bonuses shall be (if any).