GOOGLE PIXEL 7 PRO

A smartphone for photographers that undercuts and out-performs its rivals

- Basil Kronfli

The Google Pixel 7 Pro is the very best camera phone out now at its price. Why? Because for £849 / $899, Google loads the phone up with a mighty camera mix, complete with a powerful periscope zoom and an autofocusing ultra-wide, not to mention the same 50MP main camera you get on the Pixel 7. Google’s photography software is also incredibly clever, both in the camera app and when you come to edit your photos, and video shot with this phone looks stupendous, too.

Of course, there’s more to a smartphone than just its camera, and the Pixel 7 Pro also needs to be a well-built, good-looking phone with a great screen and long-lasting battery. After all, it has to compete with the likes of the iPhone 14, Honor Magic 4 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S22, which all cost around the same.

The 7 Pro also has competition from its predecessor, the Pixel 6 Pro, which is a very similar phone in many respects: it has the same main camera, and similar power, design and battery life; and the 6 Pro’s price has dropped since the 7 Pro launched.

But with an updated periscope camera, an ultra-wide camera with autofocus and macro capture, as well as Google’s latest camera software, is the 7 Pro the obvious choice for Android users who want the best camera phone under £1,000 / $1,000?

Design and screen

We tested the Pixel 7 Pro in its grey- green Hazel finish and, in a two-week period, we were asked about it three times by strangers whose eye it caught. It’s a large, elegant phone with a curved front and back that taper into the polished metal frame, and the overall effect is striking.