Review | Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro review: Google’s smartest phones yet beat the competition with AI and stellar cameras. Can they dent Apple, Samsung dominance?

The new Pixels are the first phones to come with Android 13 OS, and they improve on the Pixel 6’s impressive display and camera. The battery life is good, too

Google sets itself apart with AI-powered features like unblurring photos and audio transcription, in a statement of intent to increase its tiny market share

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The Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro smartphones use AI to set themselves apart the from the competition, but will they finally see Google competing with the likes of Apple and Samsung? Photo: Reuters

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Published: 4:15am, 22 Oct 2022Updated: 5:56am, 22 Oct 2022

Google’s Pixel smartphones have never been what one might call “bestsellers”.

Since the premiere of the first Pixel in 2016, the company has sold a total of just under 28 million devices. Samsung sells about that many every five weeks.

Google may be the leader in smartphone operating systems, but when it comes to smartphones themselves, their contribution is a tiny fraction of what is being sold in the business.

And yet the popularity of its phones – or lack thereof – belies their quality, with the latest Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro having the potential to win over many more fans.

The Google Pixel 7. Once a minor player in the smartphone business, Google wants to penetrate the highly competitive market. Photo: AFP

Design and hardware

On the outside, not much has changed in the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro compared with the previous models. You can recognise a Google Pixel from a distance by the camera bar that runs across the entire width of the back.