Everything we know about Google’s 2022 flagships, the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro

When Google released the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro back in October 2021, they captured our hearts. We’ve already seen a preview of the future Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, which will launch later in 2022. The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are among the greatest Android smartphones you can purchase, but they are not without issues. The business increased speed for a variety of AI-related capabilities by switching to its Tensor custom chipset, albeit it appears that this came at the expense of several problems and postponed upgrades. However, a new year has just begun, and Google is already teasing its Pixel 7 series after using the flagships of 2021.

The Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, together with the updated Pixel 6a, Pixel Watch, Pixel Buds Pro, and plenty more, were unveiled at the major Google I/O 2022 keynote in mid-May. Though we have seen images of the two new Google handsets, this was merely a teaser for the future flagship Android phones, thus not all the information is currently known. Here is what we currently know about the future handsets; expect to learn more over the course of the following few months.

Google Pixel 7 series: Price and Availability

The Pixel 6a is on pace for a July release date, thus it appears that the tradition of Pixel flagships debuting in October will continue for another year. Google has stated that we should anticipate the Pixel 7’s release date in the autumn, so we may anticipate it somewhere in or around the month of October.

It’s only assumed as to how much the phones will cost. Despite the current high rate of inflation, Google seems quite intent on undercutting the competition with its device pricing as seen by the $599 starting price for the Pixel 6 and the $899 starting price for the Pixel 6 Pro. The Pixel 7 series might launch at or little higher than its predecessors, at about $629 or $649 and $929 or $949, respectively. The Pixel 6a’s confirmed pricing of the same as the Pixel 5a’s may indicate that Google will maintain the same prices for these new smartphones as they did for the previous generation.

There are modifications from the Pixel 6 lineup and different colours between the two variants. Both phones will be offered in Obsidian and Snow, which are essentially the colours black and white. The Pixel 7 Pro offers a third colour choice of Hazel in addition to a special Lemongrass hue for the Pixel 7. If each hue will have any market restrictions, it is something we do not yet know.

Google Pixel 7 series: Specifications

Google Pixel 7 Pro: Table

Hardware

The Pixel 6 series received a thorough redesign from Google last year, swinging hard with its design. It appears that the business has finally settled on a new look for its in-house smartphones, including features like the contentious under-display fingerprint sensor and the large camera bar on the back of the phone. Although there are some significant changes on each phone, the first images of the Pixel 7 suggest that the design will be much the same in 2022.

The camera strip that resembles a visor is still present. Although, cameras are being replaced with a pill-and-dot cutout. The Pixel camera bar’s glass back, which was formerly made of glass for the Pixel 6 series, has been replaced with metal. As there is less glass surrounding the shooter itself, we are hopeful that this camera upgrade will result in fewer photographs from this next pair of phones that have lens flare problems.

The Pixel 7 has two cameras in a pill cutout, but the Pixel 7 Pro adds a third dot cutout to the mix. This is where the two phones diverge. Although Google has yet to provide any details on the camera technology used, we anticipate that this will be a telephoto camera. The camera technology will likely be the same as the Pixel 6 line, according to prior leaks. If so, both phones should include a 50MP f/1.85 GN1 main sensor and a 12.5MP f/2.2 ultra-wide sensor, with a 48MP f/3.5 telephoto sensor on the Pro model.

Software

A significant Android upgrade has frequently been released to customers right before Google’s annual Pixel launch, but it’s not certain if that will be the case this year. While Android 13 beta testing is still in its early stages, the development schedule points to a release date this year that is earlier than typical. It wouldn’t be the first summertime upgrade Google has sent. The release of Android 8.0 Oreo happened only a few days after its announcement, which was precisely timed to a solar eclipse in August 2018.

Prospective consumers don’t really care whether Android 13 debuts alongside the Pixel 7. When these phones hit shop shelves, they will in all likelihood be running the most recent and greatest OS version. We don’t anticipate many cosmetic changes with this year’s release because Android 12 came along a big revamp with Material You.

The undisclosed “g5300b” Samsung modem is reported to be linked with this GS201 processor, internally referred to as “Cloudripper.” According to early reports, Samsung is producing it on its 4nm node, and mass production will begin in June. Although it’s unknown what makes up the remaining cores in Google’s design, the bricked Pixel 7 Pro prototype shows it’s employing Cortex-A55 cores once more for low-power operations. Performance improvements and enhanced camera processing are to be expected as usual.

Warranty Plan