Google Pixel 7 Pro phone of the year

Calling the Google Pixel 7 Pro the phone of the year might be an understatement. You see, this year, plenty of smartphones launched, so there were plenty of flagship phones to choose from, and so there were a lot of great options. But, there’s always a fine line which separates “great” from “best”, and the best — well, there can only be one, which for me is the Pixel 7 Pro. And I am sure, many around the world who have used the latest Pixel flagship, critics and consumers alike, feel the same way as I do. But enough of my boasting, and let me tell you about my real-world experience as to why I think the Pixel 7 Pro is that damn good.

Don’t fix that ain’t broke

I remember seeing the Pixel 7 Pro months before its official launch during one of Google’s summer keynote. And honestly speaking, I wasn’t really sure if I liked its design. You see, the Pixel 6 series was surely a design revolution in my opinion, especially at a time when smartphone designs had gone stale. But fast forward to October, and when I first laid my hands on the Pixel 7 Pro, I won’t lie — the phone left me stunned.

See, of course, design is something that is subjective. So, what might look the best to me, might not look the best to you, but one thing’s for sure, the Pixel 7 Pro does feature one of the unique phone designs this year. Now, for me, I think the metal housing around the camera visor looks much better. I think it adds a definition to the look, something that I now feel was missing on the Pixel 6 Pro. Also, I have the white colour variant with me, which simply looks radiant, and does a good job of hiding scratches and fingerprints. Also, the shiny aluminum rail only adds to the phone’s character. Lastly, I would also add that, granted the Pixel 7 Pro is a big phone, and the Pixel 7 is a bit more manageable, but personally, I think, in terms of handling big phones, this is one of the most ergonomic ones that I have come across in a long while.

Marriage of great hardware and software

The iPhone has always received praise for its great hardware + software, simply because Apple makes the hardware and software in-house, rather than, sourcing different things from different places. And similarly, with the Pixel 7 Pro, Google wants to show what an iPhone of the Android world could look like. And no, by doing this comparison, I am not setting up the iPhone as a benchmark, so don’t get me wrong there. But you see, the Google Pixel 7 Pro offers top-of-the-line hardware, like a great display, a big battery, solid cameras, and, of course, the Tensor G2 chip at the helm, which I know is not as powerful as the latest Snapdragon chip in raw power, but, it gets the job done. However, it is the software magic of this phone that takes the user experience to a whole different level.

In my opinion, the Pixel 7 Pro is a perfect example in today’s world to show what AI and ML capabilities can do on a phone. Simple things like unblurring (if that’s a word?) old photos, or simply erasing unwanted things in a photo, transcribing the audio in real-time on the device, and so much more… For all this, you don’t really need the fastest chipset. Instead, the Pixel 7 Pro is a testament to the fact that a marriage between good hardware and software can do wonders. And, I would also add — if you want to experience the best of Android in today’s day and age, don’t look any further than this one.

Ready, steady, SHOOT!

I’ve tested a bevvy of camera smartphones in 2022, and in fact, after using the Galaxy S22 Ultra for the first half of the year, I honestly thought that this phone would only be toppled in terms of camera performance by its successor. But guess what, I was wrong!

After having lived with the Pixel 7 Pro for a little over 3 months, I can confirm that, without a shadow of a doubt, this is the best smartphone camera that I have ever used. And yes, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is also great, but the top spot, by a long shot, goes to the Pixel 7 Pro. I mean, be it taking photos from the primary camera, the ultra-wide camera, or even the telephoto camera, this phone gets it all, and it delivers through and through in a variety of lighting conditions. However, most importantly, for me, it has been the video recording capabilities that have seen a vast improvement this year. So much so, that I can easily put the Pixel 7 phones in the league of the iPhones when it comes to video recording.

A reliable user experience

What good is a smartphone if it doesn’t offer a reliable user experience? Well, that’s what my user experience with the Pixel 7 Pro has been all about — reliability. But, you know, the beginning wasn’t all that smooth. During my initial days of using this phone, I encountered a few bugs here and there, but I am glad to report that Google has been stern and active in pushing out updates — in the process, squashing the bugs.

Simple issues such as app crashes, fingerprint sensor problems, display issues and many other things, which were genuine problems with the Pixel 6 line, have all been ironed out with the latest Pixel 7 series. In fact, security patches and feature drops have been coming on time, and the user experience after each one of them (touchwood) has been great. You know, at this point, my only complaint with the Pixel 7 Pro is that 5G has not yet arrived on this phone. And I know, Google is late to the party. The company had earlier promised to deliver the 5G support update with the December feature drop, and now it is all disappointing… But, the good news is that Google has finally given a statement saying 5G would be arriving for Pixel 7 phones in the first quarter of 2023. So, I guess, that’s great? I mean, alright, I accept Google should have been the first among the other Android phone makers to roll out the update.