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Ignoring all its weird bugs, Google's Pixel 6Â is an overwhelming success. The affordable flagship is widely celebrated by both customers and critics, who often feel that it's the greatest Android phone to date. But later this year, Google will supplant the Pixel 6 with its next great success, the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro.
UPDATE: 9/22/22
Updated to include the latest information.
Early leaks and rumors suggest that the Pixel 7 is an iterative upgrade, with small-yet-significant improvements to the camera, processor, and more. Here's everything we know about the phone today.
Broad Details: Release Date and Pricing
To our surprise, Google has already revealed a ton of Pixel 7 details. The smartphone will debut during a Made By Google event on October 6th (alongside the Pixel Watch and possibly the Pixel Tablet). Pre-orders will open in the hours after this event, according to a Google teaser video.
Orders for the Pixel 7 will probably ship within two weeks of Google's launch event. At least, that's the industry standard for a flagship smartphone launch.
A recent leak suggests that the Pixel 7 will cost $600, while the upgraded Pixel 7 Pro sits at $900. These are the same highly-competitive prices that Google used for its Pixel 6 lineup in 2021.
Design: Google Doubles Down on the 'Robocop' Vibe
As we learned during Google's I/O 2022 conference, the Pixel 7 reuses the Robocop design of the Pixel 6. This design is defined by a large camera "visor," a big display, a two-tone color scheme, and an under-screen fingerprint sensor. Notably, Google says that this phone uses 100% recycled aluminum in its camera visor.
Early images show that the Pixel 7 uses two cameras. However, the Pixel 7 Pro packs three lenses. Each model may also use a curved display, though we can't confirm this from teaser images.
We also don't know the Pixel 7's dimensions. Leaks suggest that the standard Pixel 7 could get a 6.3-inch display, downgraded from the to 6.4-inch screen in the Pixel 6. It seems like a weird change, but it could be a sign that Google is using a curved display in the upcoming Pixel phone.
Other design changes could include an under-display selfie camera, though of course, we haven't had a good look at its screen.
Spec Talk: A New Generation of Tensor
The Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro use a next-gen Tensor G2 processor. According to Google, this chipset offers improved personalization features, security, and speech recognition. It likely focuses on machine learning and AI, as that was the point in Google's original Tensor chipset.
The benchmarks for this chipset still haven't leaked---that said, the original Tensor was comparable to a Snapdragon 888 processor, so the second-gen Tensor is probably similar to this year's flagship Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1.
Additionally, it seems that the Pixel 7 will use a Samsung Exynos Modem 5300 (via 9to5Google) for networking, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. Details on this new modem are non-existent, though it probably delivers the same mmWave 5G, Wi-Fi 6e, and Bluetooth 5.2 capabilities we saw in the Pixel 6 (with slightly more power-efficiency, of course).
And this should come as no surprise, but the Pixel 7 will probably launch with Android 13. That's assuming that the Android update launches on time this year, of course.
Other Pixel 7 specs, like RAM or base storage, are still unknown.
The Cameras: Bigger Than Big
As I mentioned earlier, Google is reusing the "visor" camera design in the Pixel 7. But this new flagship might go a little camera crazy. Early images show that the Pixel 7 has two large cameras, while the Pixel 7 Pro has three massive lenses.
Detailed camera specs are still a mystery. Google tends to reuse its cameras, so there's a decent chance the Pixel 7 will have the same 50MP main camera as the Pixel 6. Judging from the images, I'm willing to assume that the Pixel 7 Pro uses upgraded telephoto and ultra-wide sensors.
Additionally, a patent discovered by LetsGoDigital suggests that the Pixel 7 will use an under-display selfie camera. We hope that this information is incorrect. Every under-display camera we've tried, including the one in Samsung's Galaxy Fold 3, is an awful mess.
Again, the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro launch October 6th the Pixel Watch. The devices will probably start at $600 and $900, respectively.
We will update this article as new information comes to light. Be sure to join our free newsletter to stay up to date with all Pixel 7 developments!