Google launches £599 Pixel 7 smartphone and £349 Pixel Watch

Google has finally lifted the lid on its new Pixel 7 smartphone and its first ever smartwatch.

Unveiled at its Made By Google event in New York on Thursday, Pixel 7 is Google’s ‘most powerful phone yet’, packed with the tech giant’s new Tensor G2 processor. 

The £599 phone has a 6.3-inch display, two rear cameras, smaller bezels and a slimmer profile than last year’s Pixel 6, making the phone Google’s ‘sleekest yet’. 

Google has also revealed the £849 Pixel 7 Pro, which has a bigger display (6.7 inch) and an extra rear camera with an upgraded telephoto lens for a better zoom. 

Meanwhile, Google’s first ever smartwatch, Pixel Watch, has domed glass face, a recycled stainless steel body and integrated Fitbit software tools. 

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Pixel 7 

Both of the new phones in the Pixel 7 series run Android 13 and have an aluminum body made out of 100 per cent recycled content, according to Google.

They’re fitted with the Tensor G2 processor powers the Pixel 7’s AI and machine learning capabilities on the camera, including a new tool called Photo Unblur. 

Photo Unblur uses machine learning to remove blur and ‘visual noise’ from photos, whether they’re new or old, with a few taps. 

Meanwhile, Magic Eraser, which arrived with Pixel 6 last year, removes unwanted subjects in photos, like a random stranger in the background.  

From today customers can pre-order Pixel 7 starting at £599 and Pixel 7 Pro from £849. The phones will be available for general sale on October 13. 

Pixel 7 is available in Snow, Obsidian and Lemongrass, while Pixel 7 Pro comes in Snow, Obsidian and a new Hazel colour.

Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, said the new Pixel devices ‘offer further evidence that smartphone innovation has stalled’. 

‘All major phone makers are focusing on making already good products even better, but there’s little in the way of disruption,’ he said.

‘Customers are no longer highly motivated to upgrade their devices for better performance or enhanced features and are holding on to their devices for longer as new models offer few reasons to change. 

‘Pixel phones appeal to technology enthusiasts who want the latest version of Android and like having something different from the mainstream choice of Apple or Samsung.

‘However, given the iterative nature of the Pixel 7 devices it’s hard to believe that there will be as much excitement as there has been in the past.’   

Pixel Watch

Meanwhile, Pixel Watch – Google’s first ever smartwatch – is described by the firm as ‘a natural extension of the Pixel family’. 

Its most notable feature is the domed glass covering the circular display ‘inspired by a water droplet’, which ‘blends seamlessly’ into its recycled stainless steel body. 

It is scratch-resistant, so the protrusion of the glass dome doesn’t mean users have to be extra cautious about the threat of scratches and scrapes. 

The device features a unique attachment mechanism for the watch strap, which makes it ‘easy to swap between a wide variety of bands’.  

The entire watch face shifts round so the strap can click in place, inspired by how a camera lens attaches to a camera body. 

Pixel Watch also has Google Assistant and comes with 19 customizable watch faces. It also comes with the health and fitness tracking tools of Fitbit – now owned by Google – built-in. 

Kane McKenna, analyst at CCS Insight, said Pixel Watch ‘poses zero threat to the Apple Watch’, the market leader

‘Apple has succeeded by driving a high Watch adoption rate among iPhone users, whereas the rest of the market has lagged behind,’ McKenna said.

‘We believe the Pixel Watch’s main role is to raise awareness of smartwatches for Android smartphone owners and encourage more of these people to consider buying a wearable.’