Google Pixel 7 up close: the software’s the thing

techcrunch.com:

As with the Pixel Watch, we’ll be bringing more in-depth thoughts with a full review in the near future. Now, however, seems like as good a time as any to offer up some initial thoughts (and pictures) of the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro.

First is the price. I suspect it’s not the first thing Google wants to discuss in regard to its new smartphones, but it’s important. The 7 and 7 Pro start at $599 and $899, respectively. It’s not budget – or event mid-tier – necessarily, but cost is an important differentiator from the Apple and Samsung flagships of the world.

Image Credits: Brian Heater

We know that phone buying has slowed for a variety of reasons, including price. With flagships routinely topping out well above $1,000, it’s a lot tougher to regularly upgrade – especially with all of the economic uncertainty of the last few years. I will add, for the record, that you can spec the Pro out to $1,099, if you opt for 512GB of storage. That’s important to note, but it’s still a relative deal compared to other big names in the space.

The design has been tweaked a bit since last year, but it’s still easily recognizable as the same line, thanks in large part to the signature camera bar (which itself is refined over last year’s model). Really, I think that’s a pretty fair microcosm of the device itself. The Pixel 7 isn’t a huge jump over the Pixel 6 – nor did we expect it to be, really. Last year was the big leap for Google. They did a complete overhaul of it hardware division and the Pixel 6 was the result. But you’d don’t get a breakthrough that size every year – that kind of the deal with annual hardware updates.

Image Credits: Brian Heater

Thankfully, Google long ago abandoned the idea that it could make a premium quality camera