Google’s Pixel 7 series arrived to much fanfare. With promises of improvements in the form of Tensor G2 and more software features than ever, the company has very likely released its best flagship smartphone yet. While we haven’t had a lot of time with the Google Pixel 7 Pro just yet (and so, our full review will be coming at a later date), we’ve prioritized using the camera to get a feel for how things may (or may not) have improved.
From our findings, it’s so far, so good. The camera is every bit as good as the Google Pixel 6 Pro that preceded it, and in some ways even better. The company has also massively improved on video performance, which nips in the bud one of the worst aspects of the phone’s camera experience last year. In other words, all of that is to say that Google has yet again delivered a top-tier camera flagship, and has even bested itself when compared to last year’s model.
- The Pixel 7 Pro is Google's top-of-the-line flagship of the year, featuring the second-gen Tensor SoC, a 120Hz LTPO display, an additional telephoto sensor, and a bigger battery.
About this review: Google Ireland gave me the Google Pixel 7 Pro on the 10th of October, 2022, for IrishTech. While the company gave us a review unit, it did not have any input into the contents of this review.
Google Pixel 7 Pro: Camera hardware and overall impressions
The Google Pixel 7 Pro has a few camera hardware changes in comparison to the Google Pixel 6 Pro. It retains the same 50MP Samsung GN1 main sensor, but from there, it’s basically all different. The ultra-wide has been swapped over to a Samsung GM1 (instead of an IMX586), and it’s also 21% wider and can be used for macro photography. As for the telephoto, it’s increased from 4x to 5x, and Super Res Zoom has increased from 20x zoom to 30x zoom.
There are other improvements too, mostly in the Image Signalling Processor (ISP) and in Tensor G2’s AI models for photography processing. Most of these changes are behind closed doors though and the company wasn’t too verbose in explaining what has actually been improved or changed.
My overall impressions are, coming from the Google Pixel 6, that there isn’t much change. In fact, while I’ve found that Night Sight performs better (both in quality and in speed), I feel that autofocus can actually be worse than the Pixel 6 Pro. I suspect this is just a software oversight that can be ironed out, but for now, it’s been pretty frustrating taking photos and having them come out blurry. I’ve noticed this to be the case nearly only at night, so I really hope that there’s a software fix for this. It makes it quite difficult to just take my phone out and take a photo.
Sometimes, it just seems to struggle with autofocus in the dark.
As for the other cameras, these are overall pretty good changes. It’s nice to have an actual macro mode that isn’t terrible, and the increase in telephoto from 4x to 5x is a welcome change. There are improvements (again thanks to AI) in zoom levels between 1x and 5x that make use of that telephoto too, so overall, it’s a pretty clever camera system.
There are some Night Sight changes too. Most notably, you can choose between it being off, a three-second Night Sight shot, or a six-second Night Sight shot.
Google Pixel 7 Pro: Camera app
The Google Pixel series has always been known for one standout feature — Google Camera. It’s where a lot of the magic happens on Google smartphones, and it’s got a few cool features that put it above the rest. It’s pretty simple and easy to use, and there’s not a whole lot that it can’t do. Just keep in mind that there is no Manual or Pro mode on Google Camera — Google’s entire software philosophy is on making photography a seamless experience that you as an average consumer don’t have to worry about. So if you are someone who likes to take complete control over how you shoot a photo, a Google Pixel isn’t the best choice. You do get RAW support, so it’s not completely hopeless on this end either.
Google Pixel 7 Pro: Main camera
The main camera is generally the bread and butter of every smartphone, and that’s the case here, too. It’s unchanged hardware-wise — it’s the same Samsung 50MP GN1 sensor as was on the Google Pixel 6 Pro, though a lot of what Google has always done in cameras is more software-based. As an example, it’s the same hardware, but the company has managed to increase the speed of Night Sight shots.
If you want to take a look at the uncompressed photos from the main sensor, they’re in the below Flickr album.
Please note that any photos shown here are compressed, and so, for any pixel-peeping, you’ll want to look at the Flickr album above for the best-quality shots. Overall detail and lighting can still be examined even in compressed conditions, which is what we’re going to be looking at here.
I took the Google Pixel 7 Pro out around Dublin and took a number of shots around the city, both during the day and at night time. As expected from a Pixel, I was greatly impressed by the photos that I took. The photo on the left was taken in a relatively quiet part of the city, though with a nice sky view in the evening time. On the right is a busier part taken just minutes later, and the sunlight casts over the glass building ahead. It doesn’t overexpose anywhere in the sky and is pretty true to life, which is an important aspect to get right.
Of close-up subjects and of city skylines, it's able to pull off a great shot pretty much every single time
As for nighttime shots, the Google Pixel 7 Pro yet again does a stellar job at balancing light with darkness. There are no over-exposed areas, and nor is there too much noise in the shot. Obviously, things like moving people and cars are blurred, but by all accounts, the photos that it gets out are really, really good. I don’t have a lot of complaints here — it’s just excellent.
On top of being an all-around better performer, the stabilization is superb
As for video, again, the main camera of the Google Pixel 7 Pro does wonders. This is much, much better than the Google Pixel 6 Pro. On top of being an all-around better performer, the stabilization is superb as well. Recording at 4K 60 FPS is no problem for this camera’s stabilization, and I’ve dealt with plenty of flagship smartphones that have struggled in those conditions.
Google Pixel 7 Pro: 5x Telephoto and Super Res Zoom
The 5x telephoto on the Google Pixel 7 Pro is pretty interesting and does a good job for a zoom lens. It definitely suffers a little bit quality-wise when taking photos at 5x zoom, but it looks good enough for most scenarios that you’d be using such a zoom in. For anything in between, you’ll probably just zoom normally anyway.
In normal daylight, it works fine, even if it looks somewhat smoothened out. It struggles to capture detail on things that are far away, such as the above. While it’s good for seeing further, I wouldn’t rely on it getting you a good photo every time. I cropped the photo from the main sensor to further compare, and while it’s not as detailed, it captures color better.
It’s a decent telephoto camera in daylight, but I feel like users will more likely gravitate towards a 2x or maybe even 3x zoom. The 4x telephoto on the Google Pixel 6 Pro was zoomed in enough to have utility over the other sensors, while not too zoomed in that it totally lost quality. With a 5x telephoto, it’s a lot more situational, and the quality drop-off is quite extreme in some photos.
From what I observed, in low light, the telephoto camera entirely falls apart. Photos are often grainy or even blurry at times, and I’ve noticed that the camera can suffer quite a lot from light diffraction too, hence why the lights above look like stars. It’s not as a result of a dirty lens either — it was cleaned before taking any of these photos. It just does that, which is unfortunate. I don’t really care, but I’m sure some people will. I’m just disappointed that the photo quality is this poor in low light.
As for Super Res Zoom, the results at 30x are surprisingly decent in normal lighting. It’s easy to use and I got some pretty good results out of it, considering how far it was.
Google Pixel 7 Pro: Ultra wide angle
The ultra-wide sensor on the Google Pixel 7 Pro is decent in normal lighting, as one would expect. However, again, it really struggles at night. I also noticed that it doesn’t really trigger Night Sight at all.
The above images are fine, but it really does suffer from a lot of noise in dark environments. In contrast, the main sensor handles similar situations perfectly. The Samsung GM1 camera sensor is definitely worse than the GN1 main sensor, though it might also be in use for color consistency across both sensors. Either way, I’m not quite sure I’d call it a downgrade, but it is disappointing.
Some samples versus the Google Pixel 6 Pro
While this isn’t a full-on camera comparison, I took some shots to compare to the Google Pixel 6 Pro. While it seems that they are more or less indistinguishable in normal lighting, the Google Pixel 7 Pro does do a better job in darker lighting.
In the above photo, there is a pretty big difference in the consistency of the shot. The Google Pixel 7 Pro does a better job, and the Google Pixel 6 Pro even has a ghosting issue just below the tree, where someone is half-shown over the photo.
In contrast, in daylight, the Google Pixel 6 Pro more or less produces the same image. I find that the dynamic range of the Google Pixel 7 Pro is slightly better in the above photo (particularly in the clouds above the buildings on the right), but aside from that, they’re indistinguishable. These differences are so minute that they can also be simply down to processing, and in actuality, may not even be related to any improvements at all.
For example, in the above set, I’d have trouble crowning a winner. In fact, in some aspects of the photo (for example, the lamp on the left), the Google Pixel 6 Pro doesn’t overexpose it as much. However, these differences are so small that they could also be the product of the same photo taken twice on the same phone. In other words, it’s really not a big deal.
The Google Pixel 7 Pro is another fantastic camera addition to the Pixel portfolio
The Google Pixel series is known for its cameras, and yet again the Google Pixel 7 Pro does a fantastic job
Even for the system surrounding the camera such as processing time, I’ve found that the Google Pixel 7 Pro processes photos really quickly. I can take a ton of photos all at once and have them all processed and ready for viewing in just a few seconds, a major improvement over previous Pixels. Night Sight is quicker too, so it’s improvements across the board for this particular device and Tensor G2.
- The Pixel 7 Pro is Google's top-of-the-line flagship of the year, featuring the second-gen Tensor SoC, a 120Hz LTPO display, an additional telephoto sensor, and a bigger battery.
We’ll be sure to bring you our full review of the device soon, but if you’re on the fence most particularly about the camera, there’s a lot to love here that has been improved over last year’s model. Low light is particularly impressive, just don’t expect to get ultra-wide shots in the dark. Be sure to check out some of the best deals for the Google Pixel 7 Pro if you’re looking to pick one up, and also some of the best cases and best chargers that you can pick up alongside your purchase!
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