Review: Does Google’s Pixel Pro 7 have the best mobile phone camera on the market?

Can this $1299 mobile phone get you shooting like a professional?

Google's newest mobile, the Pixel 7 Pro, has the phone-camera market on notice.

There’s not much to dislike about the new Google Pixel Pro 7. The camera is incredible, the device is fast, it’s powerful and a few months from now it may even come with its own VPN to allow safe browsing on public Wi-Fi.

The new device, released on October 13, has received some healthy praise so far. And the view from The Australian echoes largely similar.

But before we give its maker a big head, we should humble it by saying the speakers, especially at peak volume, are nothing to brag about.

While the Pixel Pro 7 and its 6.7 inch display is a lot more comfortable to watch videos on than the iPhone Pro 14, the speakers on Apple’s new device are miles ahead — at least to our ears.

The Pixel Pro 7 is a pretty impressive device, boasting 12GB of RAM, the Google Tensor G2 processor and the Titan M2 security chip. The company promises five years of security updates which would be ace if the device goes the distance. Android 13 also comes pre-loaded.

Google's newest mobile, the Pixel 7 Pro.

The camera on the device has been talk of the town and for good reason — it might just be the best on the market.

The Pixel 7 Pro comes with a triple rear camera system which comprises a 50 megapixel wide lens, a 48 megapixel telephoto lens and a 12 megapixel ultrawide lens.

The “night sight” function worked rather well, using between a three to six-second exposure to brighten up what few mobile phone cameras before it could.

Machine learning plays a big part in the new camera features, and the “unblur” mode which allows the user to sharpen a subject’s face even in older photos is testament to that.

A built-in macro function allows for sharp up-close photography from as near as 3.5cm away.

When it comes to filming, users can record in 4K60 and with a couple of clicks it can be done Hollywood-like modes with cinematic blur through to action mode.

The 5000 mAh3 battery can last up to 72 hours on “extreme battery saver” mode and up to 24 hours with regular use.

In line with things being green, the device’s aluminum shell is also made from 100 per cent recycled material.

One perk, and unlike Apple’s iPhone range, the Pixel doesn’t harass you about setting up Face ID – something the privacy conscious among us loathe to do. A simple keypad unlock code is enough.

The Pixel 7 Pro’s speech and intelligence features are worthy of applause. For a reporter, the recorder app with auto transcription is a godsend as is its ability to work without an internet connection.

The prompt reminding users to “record respectfully around others” is a nice gesture too.

Much like images, recordings can be given a location to make searching for them easier. Audio search, a similar function to transcription app Otter.ai, helps you find certain recordings at a breeze.

So how accurate is it?

Again, it was a lot like Otter.ai in the sense that it wasn’t perfect, but it will make life easier.

The app didn’t always recognise names and punctuation was a bit hit and miss but ultimately there were fewer spelling mistakes than Otter.ai and the ability to copy a transcript to Google Docs might be enough to justify cancelling that Otter.ai subscription and fronting the fees of a Google One subscription which has a few extra benefits.

A similar transcription function can be used with audio messages in the message app which Google claims to work in English, Japanese, German, and French.

The verdict? At $1299, the Pixel Pro 7 delivers some very big and handy tools at a lower entry point than the likes of counterparts from Apple.

Originally published as Review: Does Google’s Pixel Pro 7 have the best mobile phone camera on the market?