New Google Pixel 7 has incredible camera and stylish design

One brand is known for its excellent cameras and their latest offering is no exception, according to Elly Awesome.

REVIEW

Has it already been a year? A new Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro have just launched and for those wondering if it’s worth the upgrade, here are my thoughts after using the Google Pixel 7 for a week.

Unboxing

The Google Pixel 7 arrived in three colours - Lemongrass, Snow and Obsidian. I got my hands on the yellow/green lemongrass colour for something different.

In the box, like many flagship smartphones these days, there was no charger. You’re presented with the phone, a USB-C charging cable, the signature USB-A to USB-C adaptor that Google so often provides, and some documentation.

Design

This year’s design, at first glance, is relatively unchanged from last year’s Pixel 6. However, the Pixel 7 has a slightly smaller screen coming in at 6.3 inches compared to the Pixel 6 at 6.4 inches. This is still bigger than the recently launched Pixel 6a’s 6.1 inch display, which I think makes it the perfect happy medium.

@ellyawesometech Google Pixel 7 unboxing the lemongrass colour! $999 Australian dollars - is it worth the hype? 🍋🍃 #pixel7#tech#techtok#unboxing♬ original sound - Elly Awesome Tech TechTok Aus

The camera module has been restyled, surrounded by a 100 per cent recycled matte aluminium closure, giving it a more premium feel.

Otherwise, Google claims the Pixel 7’s display is 25 per cent brighter than the Pixel 6, with up to 1400 nits peak brightness, which keeps it looking bright and easily readable in sunlight. Previously, there was a built-in under-display fingerprint reader and now there’s the addition of face unlock, which works well.

Google has upgraded the front camera with 4K video capabilities. Picture: Elly Awesome

Cameras

I’ve praised the cameras of Google Pixel smartphones for years now. Their image stabilisation is excellent which keeps your videos smooth and makes your images sharp.

And the colours always look natural while being vibrant. And I’m happy to say the Pixel 7 is no exception.

This year, Google has upgraded the front camera with 4K video capabilities, and added a Cinematic Blur mode for the back cameras.

The Cinematic Blur is a fun feature that offers a faux blurry background effect behind your subject, which we’ve seen added to other flagship smartphones recently. It’s nifty but just as many other ‘cinematic modes’ it’s still a bit rough around the edges, literally.

There are still clever tools built-in, such as Magic Eraser, that allow you to remove people or objects from the background of your photos. And now there’s a Photo Unblur feature which can drastically improve fuzzy shots. I love this about the Pixel and with the Google G2 Tensor chip, photos are a lot quicker to process than before.

The Pixel 7 is a stylish, well-designed flagship phone. Picture: Elly Awesome

Battery Life

The refresh rate of the Pixel 7 goes up to 90Hz and scrolling through this phone or doing intensive tasks like gaming feels and looks great. Google says the phone has ‘all day battery life’ which is true, but unfortunately it doesn’t go a lot beyond that, especially if you’re a heavy mobile user. There’s an extreme battery saver mode if you’re in a pinch, which can push your phone up to 72 hours of battery life, but the feature is more to get that last phone call in before you’re left stranded.

Overall, the Pixel 7 is a stylish, well-designed flagship phone that comes in at $999. If you’re looking to upgrade from a couple of generations back, or even another Android smartphone brand, the phone’s at a great price point considering all of its premium features and its build quality.

Elly Awesome is an Aussie tech and lifestyle vlogger | @ellyawesometech | YouTube