We don’t know exactly when the Google Pixel 7 and Google Pixel 7 Pro are going to get a full launch – September or October seem like good bets – but in the meantime a hands on video showing off prototypes of both phones has emerged.
The revealing video is from Unbox Therapy (opens in new tab) (via 9to5Google (opens in new tab)) and gives us a good long look at both the standard and premium versions of Google’s upcoming flagship. However, there’s no working software on these devices, which appear to be developer handsets.
While it’s important to remember that these aren’t retail versions of the phones, the specs could well carry over: we’ve got 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage on the Pixel 7, and that goes up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage on the Pixel 7 Pro.
Sizes and weights
Both phones get compared to their predecessors, the Google Pixel 6 and the Google Pixel 6 Pro, though there are really only minor tweaks when it comes to the design, with a few small differences in terms of dimensions and the curvature of the screens.
The Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro look to be slightly shorter than their predecessors, though there’s not very much in it. Meanwhile the Pixel 7 is slightly lighter than the Pixel 6, though the Pixel 7 Pro and the Pixel 6 Pro come in at just about the same weight.
Apart from showing us the design, Google hasn’t told us too much about these upcoming phones, except that they’ll be running an upgraded version of its Tensor chipset. All should be revealed in the next couple of months.
Analysis: the slow launch
It was way back in May at the Google IO 2022 developer conference that the Pixel 7 became official – and if it goes on sale in October as has been widely rumored. that will be a whole five months between the first reveal and an actual proper launch.
That’s certainly a drawn-out schedule, and it’s difficult to know exactly what Google’s thinking is. It’s not a strategy that’s been followed by the likes of Apple or Samsung, though OnePlus does like to launch its phones by pushing out little bits of information in the days running up to the big reveal.
Google IO is traditionally used to showcase the features heading to Android – Android 13 this year – and that makes sense because there are developer previews and public betas to work through before the final version of the software goes on sale. That’s not the case when it comes to the Pixel 7.
It might actually put people off buying other Google phones, including the Google Pixel 6a, if they know that another handset is on the way. It’s going to be interesting to see if Google tries this again next year, when we’re expecting to see the Pixel 8.