Google Pixel 7 just got a first hands-on video — and there’s a surprise

Google Pixel 7 reveal at Google IO 2022
(Image credit: Google)

Update: The Google Pixel 7 Pro's design has been revealed in full — watch this early unboxing video

It’s no secret that Pixel 7 phones are on the way. Google took the unusual step of announcing them both during the company’s I/O developer conference back in May, complete with promotional pictures of what to expect including that now-familiar camera visor.

But promotional pictures can only get you so far, and now we have a limited hands-on video from Unbox Therapy to give us an idea of how the phones will look when they’re released this fall. 

It’s limited because the phones included are both prototypes and, like the early versions that showed up on Ebay earlier this year, have now been remotely reset meaning they don’t boot up Android.

Despite this limitation, there’s a surprising amount that can be gleaned. For a start, the bootloader screen that appears instead of Android tells us that the Pixel 7 has 8GB of Samsung-branded LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB of storage, while the Pro version has 12GB of Micron’s LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB storage. No chip is listed, but then we already know that the phones will be running an improved version of Google’s own Tensor processor.

In terms of looks, the camera array has been slightly modified with oval cutouts around the lenses on each visor — but we already knew that from Google’s press shots. 

The big surprise and what’s more interesting is the very slight sizing differences. As you can see from the still below, the Pixel 7 is very slightly more compact than the Pixel 6.

Comparison between Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 generations

(Image credit: Unbox Therapy)

Measured with callipers, the Pixel 6 is 74.92mm wide, while the 7 is 73.2mm. It’s lost weight, too, coming in at 195g — 10g lighter than its predecessor.

The Pixel 7 Pro, meanwhile is more similarly sized, and the weight is near identical with just a single gram between the two. In terms of width, it’s actually slightly wider, going from 75.89mm to 76.68mm.

Comparison between Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 generations

(Image credit: Unbox Therapy)

But while the size is ever so slightly increased, the handset will be getting thinner. Unbox Therapy measured 8.82mm on the Pixel 7 Pro, down from 9.02mm on the Pixel 6 Pro. The camera bump is unchanged, sticking out at 11.50mm on both handsets.

With the usual caveats that this may not be final hardware, it does seem that this is iterative change — at least in terms of design. But with the Pixel 7 slightly shrinking and the Pixel 7 Pro slightly growing, it does seem that the difference between them should be more pronounced when both are available to view in stores around the country later this year.

Next: The Pixel 7 range could come with this major Bluetooth audio upgrade

Alan Martin

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. Or, more likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth time.