Google Pixel 7-5G Android Phone – Unlocked Smartphone with Wide Angle Lens and 24-Hour Battery – 128GB – Snow

I’ve had this Google Pixel 7 phone now for about 8 months, after having used Samsung phones for years. The #1 best thing if you switch from Samsung is the absence of all that bloatware, those apps you never use and can’t uninstall either. This phone saves so much memory by just not having those apps, and it makes it easier to sort through the apps you do have and find the one you need quickly and efficiently. Huge relief, and that’s probably the #1 reason I wouldn’t go back to Samsung. Photography is my hobby and for the first time this year, I did not use my SLR camera at all. I feel bad but the camera on this phone was versatile enough for my purposes! Picture quality is excellent. The magic eraser feature in editing is quite a game changer. The fact that the phone saves photos directly to your Google drive is also nice though sharing pics to social media from there isn’t that straightforward. I do it all the time but I haven’t figured out how to post multiple pics without them appearing in backward order. The biggest negative for the Google Pixel 7 phone is that I need to charge it just about every day. Keep in mind that I don’t use it for gaming or listening to music or watching videos. I literally just use it to text, call, google stuff, occasionally for social media, and maps if I’m driving which isn’t every day. Even so, I have to charge it approximately every 30 hours. This is the one thing they need to change on this phone. I have a 2022 model and it looks like I’ll be getting updates until 2026 which gives them enough time to work on that! The other thing is that fingerprint recognition rarely works. When it does seem to work, I think it’s actually the facial recognition thing that comes on at the same time that’s opening the phone. Facial recognition works great fortunately. Oh, and just for kicks: the feature I like best that the phone comes with is “Now Playing” that identifies what song is currently playing. I put it on my home screen so that I don’t have to switch on my phone to activate it. Just a light touch and it tells me what the mystery song I’m hearing in a cafe or on the radio is. My 20-yr-old nephew who is an iPhone user was actually envious of this feature! It’s not an app — it’s just a feature that appears in Settings>Sound. To summarize: do I like this phone and would I recommend it? A resounding yes. Should battery life be improved? Also a resounding yes.

Before into the Pixel 7, I have been using an iPhone12 mini for 2 years. And a Samsung Note 9 before that. Why I chose the iPhone12 mini? Because I wanted a real compact phone. And Why I bought the Pixel 7 now? Well, 1. I want better battery life. 2. I want bigger screen for games and for navigation. 3. IOS just bored me.

So, I got the Pixel 7 lemongrass 256g for 599$ and have been using it for a week now. And here are my opinions.

In short words, if you have been using Android and want an upgrade now, I really recommend Pixel 7, mainly because it gives you good software experience and decent camera at a very fair price.

Exterior & comfort:
The color lemon grass is special and I like it. The visor camera bump looks unique and kinda cool in my opinion. The rounded edge makes the phone comfortable to hold. HOWEVER, there are some cons. 1. The bump and the glass back make it awkward to place on any flat surface. 2. The bump is a huge dust collector. 3. Although the edge of the flat screen has a bit of curve, the transition to the metal frame is not good, which means the touch of the edge areas feels a bit cheap, definitely not comparable to Note 9. Overall, I think the look is unique but comes with some sacrifices, and the build quality is fairly good for the price.

Operating System:
This is the first time I use the so called “pure” Android. Compared to Samsung’s OneUI, the OS on Pixel 7 feels more like Apple’s iOS actually. It doesn’t have as many customization functions as OneUI and is simpler to use. Kinda like iOS, but in a different style, well, the kinda nerdy Google style. If you like it you like it. Some special Google AI features are cool, but should not be the only reason for anyone to buy this phone in my opinion. I haven’t experienced many bugs. Actually, only one when switching between bluetooth audio devices that really bothers me a bit. Overall, I like the system, and I think it is good for anyone but people who have only used iPhone before.

Camera:
Pixel has always been famous for its camera capabilities. I must say it is true on Pixel 7. It takes very decent photos no matter the light conditions, and the shoot experience is simple and natural. Is it as good or better as flagship phones like iPhone 14 pro? I don’t know, maybe not. But as someone who uses a dedicated camera for street photography, I think the camera on Pixel 7 is more than capable to take nice looking daily photos and capture those little moments into good memories. When it comes to video, it is also good, especially considering the price, but iPhone is better. And I mean iPhone 12 mini. So overall, the camera is very good.

Battery life:
Not much to say here since I don’t bother to do any “tests” and have no numbers. But based on my feeling, it is good, but not as good as I expected considering the battery capacity. It will last you a full day (8 hours) or more if you use it lightly. But it is no way a two-day or 1.5 day battery life.

Gaming:
Gaming is trash. At least for pubg mobile. It is probably due to software issue (not optimized for Tensor chip) rather than lack of raw performance. But if you play a lot of 3D mobile games, avoid this one.

Conclusion:
Decent phone for the price. Actually, even for the normal price ($100 more than what I spent), it is still more than decent. If you don’t want to spend that much on a phone (which is a terribly stupid trend in my opinion), this is the phone for you. Don’t look at iPhone SE, that thing is a joke.