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Along with new phones and its first-ever watch, Google also teased a Pixel tablet with a speaker dock.
I've been reviewing hardware and software, devising testing methodology and handed out buying advice for what seems like forever; I'm currently absorbed by computers and gaming hardware, but previously spent many years concentrating on cameras. I've also volunteered with a cat rescue for over 15 years doing adoptions, designing marketing materials, managing volunteers and, of course, photographing cats.
We finally got our hands on Google's Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, as well as the Pixel Watch. The products were first announced at Google I/O, the search giant's annual developer conference in May. At an event Thursday in Brooklyn, Google revealed more and we actually got to try out all the new Pixels. You can preorder the Pixel 7, 7 Pro and Pixel Watch now and they start shipping next week.
The new phones focus primarily on camera updates and capabilities added by the revamped Tensor G2 processor. The processor handles advanced image processing, expanded security (in conjunction with Titan M2) and machine learning, as well as system cache. Google ran through all the ways in which the G2 speeds up and improves most of the features of the phones.
As usual, the new gear runs the upgraded versions of its mobile operating system, Android 13 . Android 13 already rolled out to the last generation of the phone, the Pixel 6 series, in August . Google promises five years of security updates with the phone.
A couple days prior to its Pixel launches, Google announced new smart home products , a Nest Wifi Pro mesh router with full support for Wi-Fi 6E , as well as a hardwired version of the Nest Doorbell .
You can also check out an archive of our live blog if you want the play-by-play of the launch event.
Notably, Google has added a 2x crop-mode zoom to its 50-megapixel main sensor which produces 12.5-megapixel images from the center of the sensor. Other general improvements the company says you'll see include faster Night Sight low-light shooting, better skin tones and an audible selfie-help mode for vision-impaired people dubbed Guided Frame. Still dual cameras, though.
Google's latest flagship phones are now available to preorder. The Pixel 7 starts at $599 and will be released on Oct. 13. Get up to $750 off with trade-in and $200 in Google Store credit.
Read our Pixel 7 first take.
Still-photo Unblur algorithms expand from just faces to sharpening old photos, and get a Cinematic Blur for video, a la Apple's Cinema Mode. Google implied that the newer Unblur capabilities are only available on the new phones because of the G2. The phone gets 4K 60-frames-per-second recording and better video autofocus and speech enhancement.
There's no dramatic redesign for 2022: Mostly just an extension of the aluminum surround for the camera bump that runs all the way to the edges and a light yellow option to replace last year's "kinda, sorta" colors. It's a hair smaller than the Pixel 6. It uses new zirconia-blasted aluminum.
The Pixel 7 starts at the same $599 (£599, AU$999) launch price as the Pixel 6.
The Google Pixel 7 Pro's camera bar shows the flagship smartphone's 0.5x ultrawide, 1x main and 5x telephoto cameras.
In addition to all the features available in the Pixel 7, the Pro's camera also gets a 12-megapixel, 10x crop-mode zoom out of its 48-megapixel telephoto camera (normally a 5x zoom). The camera computationally zooms using the main and telephoto cameras for the range between 2.5x and 5x. The Pro also adds a macro mode using its third camera. Google promises sharp, stabilized 30x zoom photos.
Preorder Google's top-of-the-range Pixel 7 Pro from $899. The device will be released Oct. 13. Get up to $750 off with trade-in and $200 in Google Store credit.
Read our Pixel 7 Pro first take.
Rather than yellow, the Pro will be available in a light, muted green. It starts at $899 (£849, AU$1,299).
The 7 Pro comes with 12GB RAM (versus the 7's 8GB) and comes with 128GB, 256GB or 512GB storage. Like the 7, it supports millimeter-wave 5G on AT&T and Verizon, but only the Pro will have T-Mobile support for that fastest flavor of 5G.
Google's first home-grown smartwatch draws on the company's acquisition of Fitbit, with many of the same health-tracking capabilities, with similar accuracy, in a sleek, premium design -- round with convex Gorilla Glass 5 and a stainless steel housing. The Watch highlighted what seems like a more intensive focus on design by Google. It starts at $350 (£339, AU$549).
The watch is water resistant up to 5 ATM, which means it should be able to withstand pressure equal to a depth of 50 meters. It also has an always-on display. Designs include matte black with an obsidian active band, polished silver with a charcoal active band, polished silver with a chalk active band or champagne gold with a hazel active band; there will be multiple band styles.
Go straight to the source for your Google Pixel Watch preorder. Prices start at $350 and devices will begin shipping on Oct. 13.
Read our Pixel Watch first take.
Google's Wear OS 3.5 brings a wider range of features, too, such as smart home controls, access to the Google Play Store from your wrist and optional LTE, emergency SOS, international emergency calling and mobile payments through Google Wallet. Post-launch it will be able to measure blood oxygen saturation and take an ECG from the wrist and support fall detection.
The company promises a full day's use on a single battery charge.
Google pitches the tablet as a complement to the rest of your Google ecosystem. The company highlighted split screen and stylus support, plus the incorporation of the Tensor G2 -- the tablet is intended to be an extension of your phone, working the same way for photos and more.
There's a new charging speaker dock to go with it, essentially turning it into a smart display.
It matches the rest of the line with a nano-ceramic matte finish.
The tablet's not coming until 2023, though, with no pricing announced.