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The Pixel 7 Pro is Google's latest flagship smartphone, and it represents the next step in the company's smartphone strategy. The previous model, the Pixel 6 Pro, marked a major change of direction for the Pixel lineup and Google's smartphone strategy as a whole. While the new direction wasn't without its challenges, it was a necessary step for Google to establish itself as a leading player in the smartphone market. The Pixel 7 Pro builds upon the foundation laid by the Pixel 6 Pro and offers even more improvements and enhancements. But how much of an upgrade is it over its predecessor? Is it worth making the switch from your Pixel 6 Pro?

Google Pixel 7 Pro vs Google Pixel 6 Pro: Pricing and availability

While the Pixel 6 Pro was only released in 12 markets, the Pixel 7 Pro is currently available for purchase in 17 countries, including India, Sweden, The Netherlands, and Norway. In the U.S., the phone starts at $899 for the base 12GB/128GB model and goes up to $999 and $1,099 for 256GB and 512GB variants, respectively. It's available in three gorgeous colors: Obsidian, Snow, and Hazel.

The Pixel 6 Pro also launched at the same price, but you can now find it for under $650 at Amazon and Best Buy. It comes in Cloudy White, Sorta Sunny, and Stormy Black colors. You can also save a lot by taking advantage of the best Pixel 6 Pro deals.

Google Pixel 7 Pro vs Pixel 6 Pro: Specs

Specifications

Google Pixel 7 Pro

Pixel 6 Pro

Build

  • 100% recycled aluminum frame
  • Corning Gorilla Glass Victus
  • IP68
  • Aluminum mid-frame
  • Gorilla Glass Victus front and back
  • IP68 rating

Dimensions & Weight

  • 6.4 x 3 x 0.3 inches (162.9 x 76.6 x 8.9mm)
  • 7.47 ounces (212g)
  • 163.9 x 75.9 x 8.9 mm
  • 210g

Display

  • 6.7-inch QHD+ LTPO OLED
  • 3120 x 1440 resolution
  • 120Hz refresh rate
  • Variable refresh rate support (10-120Hz)
  • 1500 nits peak brightness (25% higher brightness than the Pixel 6 Pro)
  • HDR10+ support
  • 6.7-inch QHD LTPO OLED
  • 3120 x 1440 resolution
  • 120Hz refresh rate
  • 1000 nits peak brightness
  • HDR10+ certified
  • Variable refresh rate between 10Hz to 120Hz

SoC

Google Tensor G2

Google Tensor

RAM & Storage

  • 12GB LPDDR5 RAM
  • 128/256GB/512GB UFS 3.1 storage
  • 12GB LPDDR5 RAM
  • 128/256GB/512GB UFS 3.1 storage

Battery & Charging

  • 5,000mAh battery
  • Wired fast charging (up to 50% in about 30 minutes with Google's 30W USB-C brick)
  • Fast wireless charging support (up to 23W)
  • Up to 72 hours of battery life with Extreme Battery Saver
  • 5,004 mAh battery
  • 30W fast wired charging
  • Wireless charging (up to 23W)
  • Charger not included

Security

  • In-display fingerprint scanner
  • Face Unlock
  • Titan M2 chip
  • In-display fingerprint sensor
  • Titan M1 security chip

Rear Camera(s)

  • Primary: 50MP f/1.85, OIS
  • Ultra-wide: 12MP f/2.2, 125.8-degree FoV, autofocus
  • Telephoto: 48MP f/3.5, 5x optical zoom, Super Res Zoom up to 30x, OIS
  • Primary: 50MP main, f/1.9, 1/1.31″, OIS, binned
  • Secondary: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.2
  • Tertiary: 48MP periscope, 4x optical zoom

Front Camera(s)

  • 10.8MP f/2.2 upgraded ultra-wide selfie camera, 92.8-degree FoV, fixed focus
  • 11MP f/2.2, fixed focus

Port(s)

USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2

USB Type-C 3.1

Audio

Stereo speakers

Stereo speakers

Connectivity

  • 5G (mmWave support on select models)
  • 4G LTE
  • Bluetooth
  • Wi-Fi 6E
  • NFC
  • 5G (mmWave/sub6)
  • 4G LTE
  • Wi-Fi 6E
  • Bluetooth 5.2
  • NFC

Software

  • Android 13
  • Android 12

Other Features

  • Google One VPN
  • Software features:
    • Photo Unblur
    • Faster Night Sight
    • Real Tone improvements
    • Cinematic Blur
    • Audio message transcription
    • Clear calling
  • Four major Android OS updates promised
  • Five years of security patches
  • Software features:
    • Magic Eraser
    • Face Unblur
    • Motion Mode
    • Real Tone
    • Live Translate
  • Four major Android OS updates promised
  • Five years of security patches

Design and display: Sleek, sophisticated

The Pixel 7 Pro and Phone 6 Pro are both designed with a combination of glass and metal materials, giving them a sleek and modern appearance. However, there are some key differences. For example, the Phone 6 Pro has a black camera bar that stretches across the width of the phone, while the Phone 7 Pro has a glossy, metal camera bar that seamlessly blends into the frame, giving it a more premium look compared to the Pixel 6 Pro. This aluminum strip also adds to its durability and resistance to scratches and other types of damage (although the bar itself can pick up scratches, so don't forget to pick up a case). Overall, while both phones have similar materials and a modern design, the details of the camera bar and the use of aluminum give the Pixel 7 Pro a more high-end and sophisticated look.

Black Google 6 Pro on a round table

Both phones feature Gorilla Glass Victus Glass on the front and back and boast IP68 dust and water resistance. Over on the front, the Pixel 7 Pro flaunts a large 6.7-inch AMOLED LTPO display with 1440 x 3120 (QHD+) resolution. The Pixel 7 Pro also uses a newer Samsung panel that provides higher brightness levels, making it more readable in direct sunlight. Specifically, the Pixel 7 Pro panel offers 800 nits of maximum brightness and 1,500 nits of peak brightness, compared to the 6 Pro's 800 nits max and 1,000 nits peak.

Camera: Not reinventing the wheel

The Pixel 7 Pro camera module

The Pixel 6 Pro brought the biggest camera upgrade in the history of the Pixel lineup, ditching the timeworn 12MP primary shooter for a brand-new 50MP primary camera. It also added a 48MP telephoto lens and a 12MP ultra-wide shooter. The Pixel 7 Pro doesn't try to reinvent the wheel. It keeps the primary camera but brings an upgraded ultrawide and telephoto camera. The new 48MP telephoto lens offers 5x optical zoom and up to 30x digital zoom, while the 12MP ultra-wide is now a Samsung GM1 sensor and doubles as a macro lens.

While hardware upgrades were sparse, the Pixel 7 Pro featured several new camera modes and editing tools, including Guided Frame, Photo Unblur, Macro Focus, Cinematic Blur, and improved Real Tone. Photo Unblur is a neat feature that sharpens your old blurry photos using AI. Meanwhile, Cinematic Blur lets you shoot videos with a bokeh effect. Both of these features are exclusive to the Pixel 7 series, though we can expect the company to backport them to the Pixel 6 series at some point.

Overall, the Pixel 7 Pro offers a more refined camera experience than the Pixel 6 Pro, but the improvements aren't groundbreaking.

The Pixel 7 Pro's cameras also benefit from Tensor G2's upgraded ISP, which provides faster image processing. The Pixel 7 Pro has impressive video capabilities, including the ability to shoot 4K 60 FPS footage from all of its lenses. It also supports 10-bit HDR recording, which allows for a greater range of color and detail in your videos. In addition, the phone features a new Active Stabilization mode, which provides super strong stabilization during moments of high action and movement, similar to the Action Mode on the iPhone 14 series.

Overall, the Pixel 7 Pro offers a more refined camera experience than the Pixel 6 Pro, but the improvements aren't groundbreaking. As far as still photography is concerned, you'll be hard-pressed to find any major difference between these phones.

Pixel 7 Pro photo samples

Pixel 6 Pro camera samples

Hardware: Similar chip, same memory and storage

The Pixel 7 Pro is powered by Tensor G2, the second iteration of Google's in-house chipset. The new chip keeps the Cortex-X1 and Cortex-A55 cores but upgrades the middle cores from Cortex-A76 to Cortex-A78. The GPU has also been upgraded from the Mali-G78 to Mali-G710, which boasts up to 20% performance and power improvement. While Tensor G2 is more powerful than its predecessor, it still lags behind the likes of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, Apple A16 Bionic, and MediaTek's Dimensity 9000 Plus in terms of raw CPU and GPU power.

Google Tensor G2 graphic on lime background.

Tensor G2 also comes equipped with an upgraded Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), which is 60% faster at handling machine learning, camera, and speech tasks. Specifically, it improves the speed of device translation models in Google Translate by 45% and offers 6x improved accuracy in Google Meet's machine learning-powered background features.

Poor cellular reception was one of the biggest complaints people had with the Pixel 6 Pro. Thankfully, that's been addressed with the new Samsung Exynos 5300 5G modem, which performs better than the last year's Exynos 5123 modem. There's no change to memory and storage. Like its predecessor, the Pixel 7 Pro packs 12GB of RAM and comes in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage options.

Battery life, software, and more: Much improved

The Pixel 7 Pro runs Android 13 out of the box, while the Pixel 6 Pro ships with Android 12 but is upgradeable to Android 13. Barring a few Pixel 7 Pro exclusive features, both phones offer a similar software experience. Both phones are promised three years of Android OS updates and five years of security updates.

The Pixel 7 Pro has the same 5,000mAh battery as the Pixel 6 Pro, but it provides better battery life.

The real differences here are with battery. The Pixel 7 Pro has the same 5,000mAh battery as the Pixel 6 Pro, but it provides better battery life due to a more efficient processor, improved thermal management, and other software optimizations. While its battery performance is still somewhat inconsistent, it is a significant improvement over the Pixel 6 Pro's poor battery life. There's no improvement to the charging speed, though, with both phones offering 30W wired charging, 23W wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging.

The Pixel 7 Pro features an under-display fingerprint scanner and camera-powered Face Unlock for biometric authentication. The new fingerprint scanner is a major improvement over the Pixel 6 Pro's, offering faster and more accurate performance. It's still not as quick as the OnePlus 10 Pro or Samsung Galaxy S22, but it's miles better than thy unreliable scanner of the Pixel 6 Pro.

Pixel 7 Pro vs Pixel 6 Pro: Should you upgrade?

Google Pixel 7 Pro front facing camera

The Pixel 7 Pro may not be a huge departure from the Phone 6 Pro, but it builds upon an already great smartphone with an even better camera system and software experience. The design is more refined, the display is brighter, and most of the hardware issues we had with the previous model have been addressed. Overall, the Phone 7 Pro is a worthy contender for the title of best Android smartphone, with a great balance of performance, features, and value for money.

However, while these changes are welcome, they're not big enough to justify a jump from the Pixel 6 Pro. Unless you're a smartphone enthusiast who likes to stay on the cutting edge of technology, there's not much value or performance to be gained by upgrading from the Pixel 6 Pro to the Pixel 7 Pro. Additionally, the Pixel 6 Pro is expected to receive software updates for several more years, ensuring it will continue to perform well and provide a good user experience. Unless you really need the latest and greatest phone, it's probably better to stick with the Pixel 6 Pro and save your money for other things.

If you're set on getting the newest model, don't miss out on the best Pixel 7 Pro deals and offers to save big on your purchase.