• Google Pixel 7 Pro for versus on gradient
    Google Pixel 7 Pro

    The Pixel 7 Pro is more expensive than the Pixel 7, but it brings with it an extra camera, larger battery, more RAM and a lovely curved display. If you have the budget, the Pro model is the one you want. It's a brilliant device with plenty to love.

  • Google Pixel 7 square
    Google Pixel 7

    The Pixel 7 is an excellent device, and while you get some extra features on the Pro model, the Pixel 7 delivers a great experience, with a solid camera offering, battery life and plenty of power.

Google revealed the Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 7 in October 2022, and these devices were joined by the mid-range Pixel 7a after it was announced during Google I/O on 10 May 2023. The Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 7 devices succeed the excellent Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 6, bringing several updates in hardware, a refined design and some exciting new features.

If you're wondering what the differences are between the Pixel 7 Pro and the Pixel 7 we can help you choose the best Pixel phone.

Price, availability and specs

The Google Pixel 7 starts at $599 in the US - the same as the Pixel 6, while the Pixel 7 Pro starts typically at $899 in the US - again the same as the Pixel 6 Pro. The Pixel 7a, for reference, costs $499 in the US, putting it just under the Pixel 7, though nearly half the price of the Pixel 7 Pro.

The Pixel 7 Pro is quite a bit more expensive than the standard Pixel 7, though there are a number of reasons for that, which we will take you through below. You can see a brief rundown of the Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 7 specs below, just so you can digest what each phone offers.

  • Google Pixel 7 Pro

    SoC
    Google Tensor G2
    Display
    6.7in, LTPO, 3120 x 1440 pixels, 120Hz, up to 1500nits
    Battery
    4500mAh, Fast charging, Wireless charging
    Operating System
    Android 13
    Dimensions
    162.9 x 76.6 x 8.9mm, 212g
    Colors
    Snow, Obsidian, Hazel
    IP Rating
    IP68
    RAM and Storage
    12GB / 128, 256, 512GB
  • Google Pixel 7
    SoC
    Google Tensor G2
    Display
    6.3-inch, Full HD+, 90Hz, up to 1400nits
    Battery
    4,355 mAh
    Operating System
    Android 13
    Dimensions
    155.6 x 73.2 x 8.7mm
    Colors
    Snow / Obsidian / Lemongrass
    IP Rating
    IP68
    RAM and Storage
    8GB, 128/256GB

Design

Pixel 7 Pro review photo 1
Pocket-lint

The Google Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 7 share a similar design, both offering a camera housing on the rear that spans the width of the devices, just like the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. The design has been refined since the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, but on the whole, it's familiar.

There's a premium finish on both the Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 7, with both offering an IP68 water and dust resistance. The Pixel 7 Pro has a polished aluminium frame, while the Pixel 7 has a matte frame, though both offer Corning Gorilla Glass Victus cover glass and edgeless Corning Gorilla Glass Victus rears.

The Pixel 7 Pro is the larger and heavier of the Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 7 devices. The Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 7 both come in Snow (white) and Obsidian (black) colour options, with the third colour variant differing. The Pixel 7 comes in Lemongrass and the 7 Pro in Hazel. Unlike the Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 6, the rear isn't two-toned for the Pixel 7 or 7 Pro.

On the front, both the Pixel 7 Pro and the Pixel 7 have a punch hole camera at the top of their displays in the centre, though the Pixel 7 Pro has a slightly curved display, while the Pixel 7 offers a flat display. Both the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro have under-display fingerprint sensors and all come with Face Unlock.

Display

The Google Pixel 7 Pro comes with a 6.7-inch LTPO OLED display with a refresh rate up to 120Hz. It offers a Quad HD+ resolution (3120 x 1440), which delivers a pixel density of 512ppi, which is the same as the Pixel 6 Pro.

The Pixel 7 has a 6.3-inch display, which is also an OLED panel, though not LTPO. It has a Full HD+ resolution (2400 x 1080) for a pixel density of 416ppi and there's a 90Hz refresh rate.

This means the Pixel 7 Pro has a sharper display than the Pixel 7, and offers smoother scrolling too, in theory, though you may not notice unless you had it side-by-side with the Pixel 7.

As mentioned, the Pixel 7 Pro has a slightly curved display, while the Pixel 7 has a flat display but HDR support is present on all Pixel 7 models.

Hardware and specs

Pixel 7 Pro review photo 9
Pocket-lint

Both the Google Pixel 7 Pro and the Pixel 7 run on the next generation of the Google Tensor chip, which is called Google Tensor G2. The chip offers more power for photos, video, security and speech recognition. The Titan M2 security chip is also on board the Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 7 and all three devices offer 5 years of security updates.

The Pixel 7 Pro comes with 12GB of RAM, while the Pixel 7 has 8GB of RAM. Storage options are 128GB and 256GB for the Pixel 7, while the Pixel 7 Pro adds a 512GB variant. Neither the Pixel 7 or 7 Pro offer microSD support for storage expansion.

In terms of battery capacities, the Pixel 7 Pro offers a 5000mAh call again, like the Pixel 6 Pro, while the Pixel 7 has a 4355mAh battery under its hood. Both have fast charging on board, offering up to 50 per cent charge in 30 minutes, and they both have wireless charging and Battery Share, which is also known as reverse wireless charging.

Camera

Pixel 7 Pro rear view showing cameras
Pocket-lint

Aside from physical size and a couple of design details, the biggest difference between the Pixel 7 Pro and the Pixel 7 is in their camera offerings. The Pixel 7 Pro has a triple rear camera, while the Pixel 7 has a dual camera.

The Pixel 7 Pro's triple rear camera consists of a 48-megapixel telephoto lens (f/3.5, 0.7µm) with 5x optical zoom capabilities, a 50-megapixel main sensor (f/1.85, 1.2µm) with an 82-degree field of view and a 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor (f/2.2, 1.25µm) with a 125.8-degree field of view.

The Pixel 7's camera has the same main sensor and ultra wide sensor as the Pixel 7 Pro, but it doesn't offer the telephoto lens.

The Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 7 devices have features including Motion Mode, Real Tone, Photo Unblur and Magic Eraser, as well as the company's excellent Night Sight. The Pixel 7 Pro also offers Macro Focus and 30x high resolution zoom, while the Pixel 7 doesn't have the Macro Focus feature and its high resolution zoom tops out at 8x.

Both the Pixel 7 Pro and the Pixel 7 have a 10.8-megapixel front camera (f/2.2, 1.22µm) with 4K video recording.

Conclusion

The Google Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 7 have a similar design, with a couple of differences, including the rear camera, physical size and colour variation. The Pixel 7 Pro also offers a slightly curved display compared to the Pixel 7, as well as a sharper resolution, higher refresh rate, more RAM, more storage and a larger battery.

Google Pixel 7 Pro
Google Pixel 7 Pro

The Google Pixel 7 Pro is an excellent device, building on the foundation of the Pixel 6 Pro, but offering a more refined design, superb camera performance and clean software.

It is the camera offerings where the biggest difference between these devices is the most apparent between the Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 7. The Pixel 7 Pro offers a telephoto sensor and some extra camera features, like Macro focus and a higher resolution zoom compared to the Pixel 7.

The Pixel 7 Pro is the more expensive of these devices though, so the decision as to which is right for you will very much depend on what features are important to you and what you're willing to pay for them. The Pixel 7 is a very capable device, but the Pixel 7 Pro brings those luxury extras, and it's the one to buy between these two models if you can justify the cost.

Google Pixel 7
Google Pixel 7

The Google Pixel 7 misses off a couple of things compared to the 7 Pro, and with the 7a offering many of the same specs, you might be better opt for the Pixel 7a. That said, the Pixel 7 is a great device for its price.