Should You Buy A Google Pixel 7 in 2023?

Should you consider buying the Pixel 7 in 2023?

I purchased a Pixel 7 when it first released and while I needed to cut back on content last year due to health reasons, I still wanted to tell you about this phone - especially now that we know what’s to come from Google in 2023.

I am a Pro model user of phones - I like top of the line specs, the best cameras, biggest battery, all the things. Put ‘em in a pretty package, and I’ll probably wanna buy it. As a content creator - that all kinda makes sense. It’s a tool I use for my work every single day, but many folks really don’t see a need to get a Pro phone - so why spend the extra money?

When it first released it was about $600 but I’ve recently seen it go on sale for $150 off. If you can snag one at $450 that’s a pretty good deal in an of itself. But why? Value.

It’s pretty - it’s a good size, it doesn’t weight a lot. I’ve used it every day as a second phone for several months. I don’t use it as my primary because of my use case, but tried to test it as a normal consumer would.

It comes with all the goods you get in Android - the always on display, great notification and lock screen controls to show or not show whatever you want. You can do all those fun tricks in the photos app to your pictures - like face unblur, magic eraser, and motion blur. And you can really go to town on your home screen by adding widgets, customizing where icons sit, and choosing which conversations will pop up like little bubbles on your screen. I went to Japan in December and used Google Translate and Lens CONSTANTLY while I was over there. So all those Android features that I love in my 7 Pro are just as useful in the regular 7.

What makes it different though?

The screen was hard for me to go back to - I say that because I’ve become so accustomed to a faster refresh rate and larger, higher resolution screen - it’s noticeable to go back down to 90 hz. It’s also easier for me to edit video footage or photos on my large 7 Pro screen than it is on my smaller FHD+ screen on the 7 - but that’s a very particular use case.

The cameras are still lovely. I got some great 4k footage of the Sailor Moon Museum in Tokyo and I thought it really showed off it’s stabilization and great accurate color and saturation. There were a few times where the phone had an issue focusing on the correct subject. It didn’t over heat and I was able to record a good 20 minutes at a time in this environment. Yes these are vertical videos because they were intentionally recorded that way for social media - follow SailorSnubs for weeb stuff.

Some real world examples of photography in and around Denver show off it’s colors - which tend to be really balanced in terms of exposure. Photos are sharp and really beautiful. I’m extremely happy with the bokeh and it’s ability to give you really natural looking blur behind your subjects. But sometimes it just can’t catch Sookie in focus if she’s moving - maybe due to a bit of shutter lag.

The ultrawide is so good at dealing with bright outside photos, and the colors tended to be a bit cooler, but clear, in focus, and sharp.

My selfies look great too - and I actually keep going back to the 7 Pro and 7 for selfies over my older iphone or even my newer S23 Ultra.

Internally - calling my hubs from Japan on this phone was fine - we had clear calls with no drops. I also had consistent 5G speeds around Tokyo so was able to upload photos to social media with no issues throughout my trip. Same here in Denver - no major concerns in terms of network speeds or quality.

I’m glad last years models brought back Face unlock. I tend to use the fingerprint sensor more because unlike the 6 models, the 7 models have a faster, more precise sensor.

I did notice when trying to edit 4k videos with Adobe Rush - it would freeze pretty consistently, and I think that has to do with the processing. Normal users probably won’t notice those problems, but that was also something I brought up in my 7 Pro review, too. It’s consistent in terms of multi tasking and switching between apps - it’s just about as quick as my 7 Pro.

Of course, battery is a big concern after having thils thing for several months. I love that the regular model has fast wireless charging up to 12W, and fast wired charging too - which’ll get to 50% in 30 minutes with Google’s charger. And it does indeed charge quickly and efficiently but I do wonder why we’re still saying “fast charge” for 21W wired when you can get twice that… or a lot more… in other Android phones that have a more international market. I would argue that this model lasts longer than my 7 Pro. In a normal day, my screen on time is around 4-6 hours (generally because I leave YouTube video podcasts on while I work, I’m not necessarily looking at my phone constantly). I’m still seeing a good percentage of the battery left over at the end of the day even if my screen on time is high. If you don’t use it a lot you could see getting two days out of it.

If you can snag this one when it’s on sale - it’s a great deal whenever it drops below $500. But can you for the Pixel 7a, which should be announced in just a few days? While rumors and leaks suggest the 7a will have some caveats, we’re likely to see only around a $100 difference in price between the two models. So… wait? Or just get a Pixel 7?

Subscribe because I have a video coming out shortly comparing these two models side by side and I’ll share which one I would choose.

In the meantime, here’s a recent Android review I did, or check out this video that youtube thinks you’ll enjoy. Bye yall!