That Google Pixel 7 came as a surprise Google I/O this week when Google offered a preview of its next flagship. Thanks to a peek at the upcoming device’s stage, we know there’ll be a Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro with a slightly upgraded camera bar, and that a next-gen Tensor chipset will be powering both phones when they arrive in the fall.
Here’s what we don’t know about the Pixel 7 – everything else.
You can’t blame Google for skimping on Pixel 7 details. We’re probably five months after its arrival and there’s a completely different phone out there – this Pixel 6a — to be launched in the meantime. Google probably just wanted to build anticipation for its flagship and get people used to the slightly different look. Oval camera lenses replace the more conventional round lenses of the Pixel6and the camera bar will be aluminum on the new phone.
Obviously there’s a lot more to the Pixel 7, and we expect to hear most of it by the fall launch date of the new device. But until those details come to light, here are the biggest questions we’re hoping to get answers to by the time the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro arrive.
How does Google plan to improve the Pixel’s battery life?
If you polled Pixel 6 users on their biggest complaint with the phone, I’m willing to bet that battery life would top the list. Neither the Pixel 6 nor that Pixel 6 Pro excelled in our battery test, where we let phones surf the web over cellular until they ran out of power. The Pixel 6 ran out of juice at 8 hours and 13 minutes, while the Pixel 6 Pro and its larger battery offered even less longevity at 7 hours and 49 minutes. The average smartphone gets pretty close to 10 hours before giving up the ghost.
So Google has a lot to do if it wants the Pixel 7 to last longer. Part of that could be down to the battery size and bumping up the 4,614 and 5,000mAh batteries in the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, respectively. Or maybe the new Tensor chipset in the Pixel 7 is more adept at power management.
Whatever the solution, it’s been a long time since Google landed a listing with us best cell phone battery life list, and something needs to change if the Pixel 7 is going to break that streak.
Will the fingerprint sensor differ from that of the Pixel 6?
There’s at least one other common complaint about the Pixel 6 phones, and it’s about the under-display fingerprint sensor used by the two devices. When testing the Pixel 6 last fall, I found that the sensor was fairly laggy and inconsistent, only working reliably when I held my finger on the screen for what felt like much longer than other phones required. My colleague Jordan Palmer also found the Pixel 6 Pro’s sensor to be picky about where you place your finger.
On the one hand, Google seems to have acknowledged that the Pixel 6’s sensor isn’t performing at its best, as the company has confirmed that the newly announced Pixel 6a uses a different sensor than its more expensive sibling. However, we won’t be able to determine if that means more consistent performance until the Pixel 6a ships in July.
On the other hand, Google also attributed the performance of the Pixel 6 to the fingerprint “advanced security algorithms.” In other words, this is a feature, not a bug. Still, some Pixel software updates seemed to improve the performance of the fingerprint sensor, so maybe Google can iron things out further with the Pixel 7.
How will the Pixel 7’s cameras improve?
Google’s Pixel flagships have earned a reputation for superior camera performance, although it’s usually the phone’s AI-powered software that deserves the credit. Nevertheless, Google has also strengthened the camera hardware for the Pixel 6 series. After years of using a 12MP wide-angle lens as the main camera on its phones, Google switched to a 50MP sensor.
Only Google can tell if the Pixel 7 will see any camera upgrades, let alone if they’ll be that dramatic. We’d pay attention to the Pixel 7 Pro’s telephoto lens. While the current Pro model offers 4x optical zoom, it’s safe to say from Google Galaxy S22 Phones offer the better telephoto features, with a Super Resolution Zoom on the S22 Plus and S22 Plus giving a relatively clear image at 30x magnification. It’ll be interesting to see how the Pixel 7 Pro tries to live up to that, if at all.
What new features will a next-gen Tensor chip bring to the Pixel 7?
We know that a new Tensor chipset is heading towards the Pixel 7 phones. That will likely mean performance improvements over the current chip, although to be honest performance here is only part of the story. The silicon houses a dedicated Tensor processing unit that powers many of the machine-learning based features that help the Pixel stand out from other Android phones.
We don’t yet know what new capabilities will be possible with an updated Tensor chipset. But we’re pretty sure Google won’t be resting on its laurels here. Magic eraser – one of my favorite Pixel 6 tools – is coming to the Pixel 6a, but instead of just activating the same version as before, Google has tweaked it. Now, not only can you remove unwanted people and objects with a tap, but you can also change the color and tone of objects so they’re less distracting in your shot. An updated Magic Eraser makes us think Google isn’t done finding things for the Tensor chip to do.
Can we expect the Pixel 7 to have expanded Android support?
Buy a Pixel 6 model and you’re guaranteed to get Android version updates until October 2024 – essentially three years in which you can expect to get Google’s new version of the operating system. That sounds pretty generous until you consider that Samsung changed its update policy with the arrival of the Galaxy S22 this year.
Now Samsung flagships from the last two years can count on four years of Android updates along with this year’s Galaxy A mid-range models. That’s getting tantalizingly close to iPhone territory in terms of support.
If I were Google, I’d be a little embarrassed that another phone manufacturer promises more updates for my software than I do for my phones. The launch of the Pixel 7 gives Google a chance to do something about it.
Will Google keep the price of the Pixel 7 low?
With the Pixel 6 series, Google has found a way to undercut the competition. The Pro model is $100 less than that iPhone 13 pro and Galaxy S22 Pluswhile the Pixel 6 costs $100 less than the cheapest iPhone 13 model.
Google might have to work hard to maintain these Pixel 7 prices. Component prices are rising, just like everything else, and that’s weighing on phone makers’ balance sheets. Persistent rumors claim The iPhone 14 Pro models are $100 more than their predecessors.
Assuming this claim isn’t false, Google will have to work hard to ensure that the same economic pressures other phone makers face don’t impact pricing. Any price increase on the Pixel 7 would negate one of the phone’s greatest assets.
Pixel 7 outlook
With the Pixel 7 arriving later in the year, it’ll be a while before we can definitively answer any of these questions. But the fact that we have so many questions about what to expect with the Pixel 7 suggests that Google has done a good job of generating interest in the upcoming phone.
