The Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are here, and they both represent a modest upgrade over the last year's models. The new phones feature a slightly updated design, an improved chipset, and some other bells and whistles. Just like the last year's phones, the new Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro aren't just bigger and smaller versions of each other. There are some noteworthy differences between the two, so we decided to put together a comprehensive Pixel 7 vs Pixel 7 Pro comparison to highlight everything you get by picking one over the other.

Google Pixel 7 vs Pixel 7 Pro: Summary of differences

Before we dive deep into this comparison, here's a quick look at all the differences at a glance to give you an idea of what to expect:

• The Pixel 7 Pro sports a 6.7-inch LTPO QHD+ display (3120 x 1440 pixels) with 120Hz refresh rate support, versus the Pixel 7's 6.3-inch FHD+ panel (2400 x 1080) with a 90Hz refresh rate.
• The display is flat on the Pixel 7 while it has slight curves on the side edges on the Pixel 7 Pro.
• The Pixel 7 Pro also has a slightly bigger footprint overall as it is both taller and wider than the regular Pixel 7.
• You also get more RAM with the Pixel 7 Pro at 12GB. The Pixel 7 tops out at 8GB of RAM.
• The high-end Pixel 7 Pro also has a bigger battery at 5,000mAh versus a 4,355mAh unit inside the Pixel 7.
• The regular Pixel 7 only has a dual camera setup whereas the Pixel 7 Pro has three cameras at the back which includes a 48MP telephoto lens for 5x optical zoom.

Now that we have a pretty good idea of what to expect in terms of the differences between these two phones, it's time to dive deep into the comparison and find out if it's worth ponying up the extra $300 cash for the Pro model.

Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro: Pricing and Availability

Google's new Pixel 7 series phones are available to purchase from the Google Store as well as a bunch of retail channels in the US. As for the pricing, the Pixel 7 starts at $599 and the Pixel 7 Pro starts at $899 in the US. These prices are quite competitive, but you can bring them further down by looking at some best deals online. Almost all the retailers and carriers are still offering the same pre-order benefits on these new Pixel phones, so you can save a lot of money on your purchase right now even if you missed the launch offers. ​​​​

Google Pixel 7

The vanilla Google Pixel 7 is very similar to the high-end Pro model but it's $300 cheaper and offers more value for money.

View at Best Buy

Google Pixel 7 Pro

The high-end Pixel 7 Pro has a better display higher resolution and refresh rate, a bigger battery, and an additional telephoto lens at the back.

View at Best Buy

Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro: Specifications

Here's a quick look at the specifications of each phone to find out what they bring to the table:

Design and display

Both the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro look very similar to the Pixel 6 series phones. You only see a modest update of last year's design, hanging onto the horizontal camera bar at the back. What we like the most about this year's design is how the camera bar is made out of aluminum and how it flows into the device’s side rails. You get the same design on both phones this year, but the camera bar and the side rails have a glossy finish on the Pixel 7 Pro while it's matte on the regular Pixel 7.

The glass panels used on the back of each phone are the same, so you get the same look and finish overall. As for durability, you get Gorilla Glass Victus on both phones and they both carry an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. Both phones are available to purchase in three fun colorways, with the Lemongrass and Hazel being the two hero colors or the main differentiator. The metal frame encompassing the camera visor comes in different colors based on the color variant you pick.

The Pixel 7 lockscreen showing music information at bottom, while also trying to scan my face at the top.

Looking at the dimensions of each phone in the specs sheet, it's safe to say that the Pixel 7 Pro has a bigger footprint overall. Not only is it a hair thicker and heavier than the regular Pixel 7, but it's taller and wider. The Pixel 7 Pro might be a little too big and unwieldy if you have small hands that aren't used to handling bigger phones.

Both phones also feature different displays. The Pixel 7 sports a flat 6.4-inch Full HD+ OLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate. The Pixel 7 Pro, on the other hand, comes with a relatively bigger 6.7-inch pOLED screen with QHD+ resolution and up to 120Hz refresh rate support. The glass on the front of the Pixel 7 Pro is also curved on the sides, which you may or may not like depending on the phone you're coming from. The Pixel 7 Pro's display also has a slightly higher brightness level at 1,500 nits whereas the Pixel 7 tops out at 1,400 nits.

Internal hardware and cameras

The Google Pixel 7 series is powered by the company's new Google Tensor G2 chip. The new chip, just like the older one, isn't here to compete with the best of what other manufacturers have to offer. Google is instead focusing on improving machine learning and other AI enhancements. The new chip is co-developed by Samsung and is manufactured using the 4nm fabrication process. It's very similar to the last-gen Tensor chip in terms of the core architecture. The new Tensor G2 packs two Arm Cortex-X1 CPU cores, two Cortex-A76 CPU cores, and four Cortex-A55 CPU cores.

While you may not get the best results in benchmarking applications, you can expect the new phones to handle day-to-day tasks without any issues. Since both Pixel 7 and the Pixel 7 Pro are powered by the same chip, you're not going to notice any difference in performance whatsoever. Sure, you get more RAM with the Pixel 7 Pro at 12GB but the Pixel 7 with 8GB of RAM is going to be no slouch in terms of performance either. Having more RAM is obviously better if you want to futureproof your device, but 8GB RAM is still more than enough in 2022.

Both phones also top out at 256GB UFS 3.1 storage with the base models serving 128GB. There's no option to expand the storage on either of these phones, meaning you'll have to be wary of the configuration you pick. Lastly, Google is also integrating the Titan M2 chip with the Tensor G2, so no differences here either.

One of the main differences between the two phones is in the battery department. The Pixel 7 Pro is physically bigger in size, so it allowed Google to pack a bigger battery inside. It comes with a 5,000mAh battery while the Pixel 7 comes with a smaller 4,355mAh unit. This may seem like a drastic difference on paper but we expect the battery drain to be similar on both phones due to the bigger display with higher resolution and refresh rate on the Pixel 7 Pro. Both phones support 30W fast charging, but you'll have to buy a charger separately as Google is no longer including one in the box. You can also wirelessly charge both the new Pixel phones, but it'll be significantly slower unless you're using Google's Pixel Stand charger.

Moving over to the optics, the Pixel 7 Pro has a triple camera setup at the back while the standard Pixel 7 only has two cameras. The camera systems are very similar to what we saw on the Pixel 6 series, meaning the Pixel 7 Pro is sticking with the standard 50MP wide, 12MP ultrawide, and 48MP telephoto configuration. The regular Pixel 7, as you may have guessed, only comes with a 50MP standard wide and a 12MP ultrawide camera. Unlike the Pixel 6 series, the selfie cameras on both Pixel 7 phones are the same this time. You get a 10.8MP, f/2.2 sensor on the front to handle selfies and video calling. On the video front, you can capture 4K videos at up to 60fps using the rear cameras of both phones. And since the selfie camera sensors are also the same this time, both Pixel 7 and the Pixel 7 Pro can shoot 4K videos at up to 30fps using the front camera too.

Which Pixel should you buy?

The Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro start at $599 and $899 respectively in the US, and we think these are quite competitive prices. Even when you spend an additional $100 to add more storage, they're still cheaper than the base variants of many other flagships on the US market. But which Pixel 7 phone should you buy in 2022?

If money is no object and you really want the best Google has to offer in 2022, then the Pixel 7 Pro is the way to go. It'll get you a better display with a higher resolution and refresh rate, more RAM, a larger battery, and an additional telephoto lens at the back with support for 5x optical zoom. The downside to buying the high-end Pixel 7 Pro is its bigger size and the curved edges on the front.

But if you don't care about all the extra bells and whistles of the Pro model, and you'd rather save $300 to spend on the best accessories then don't hesitate to pick up the vanilla Pixel 7. You're going to get the same overall performance and software experience on both phones with three years of software updates and five years of security updates. The cheaper Pixel 7 -- just like the Pixel 6 -- is a better value than the high-end Pro model for most people.

Google Pixel 7

The vanilla Google Pixel 7 is very similar to the high-end Pro model, but it's $300 cheaper and offers more value for money.

View at Best Buy

Google Pixel 7 Pro

The high-end Pixel 7 Pro has a better display higher resolution and refresh rate, a bigger battery, and an additional telephoto lens at the back.

View at Best Buy

So which phone from the new Pixel 7 series are you planning to buy this year? Let us know by dropping a line in the comments below. If you've made a choice then be sure to stop by our collection of the best Pixel 7 cases and best Pixel 7 Pro cases to protect your phone.