In many ways both the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are vast improvements from the Pixel 6 series and they bring some notable new upgrades and interesting features. After using an older iPhone XR model, I was really excited to upgrade to the new Pixel. But after having used the Pixel 7 Pro for a little more than two weeks, I can’t wait for the next big flagship — the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
That’s not to say the Pixel 7 Pro isn’t a good phone — it's the best Pixel Google has made to date. It has a premium design, a beautiful bright OLED screen and is powered by Google’s Tensor G2 chip which brings some impressive software driven features. The camera on the Pixel 7 Pro also puts it on our best camera phones list — it has a 50MP main sensor and two more lens’ that do what Pixel phones do best with photography.
The notable drawback of the phone is its below-average battery life. And after making it my daily driver over the last few weeks, I realized that it was a big miss by the company as I struggled to get it to last me through an entire day. On the Tom's Guide battery test, where we surf the web, the Pixel 7 Pro lasted just 6 hours and 31 minutes, which is incredibly poor. In my day-to-day use, I was able to get between 7-8 hours, which is better, but still a pain because I always had to lug around its charger just in case it died.
Google improved the sluggish fingerprint scanner that we saw on the Pixel 6, with the Pixel 6a and the Pixel 7 series. In fact, I like that Google finally gave us face unlock. The Pixel 6 didn't boast an amazing battery life either though, and like the fingerprint scanner, it was something I expected Google to take note of with its new flagship phones.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is already one of the most anticipated phones and is tipped to arrive by mid-January 2023. It will compete closely with the Pixel 7 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max for the best phone title. Rumors indicate that Samsung has a beast of a phone on its hands, so here’s why I can’t wait for the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Battery life
Interestingly, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is rumored to get the same 5,000 mAh battery that the Pixel 7 Pro has. But with the power of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, my hope is that the battery life will get a significant boost. The Galaxy S22 Ultra battery life was slightly shorter compared to the S21 Ultra though. It gave us 10 hours of endurance in our web surfing battery test but trailed behind the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
The charging speed is likely set to increase to 45W which could be much better than the 30W charging the Pixel 7 Pro has.
200MP Camera
The most persistent rumor around the S23 Ultra is that it could get a massive 200MP camera. Google has done well with the camera on the Pixel 7 Pro — it has a “pro level zoom” that magnifies distant subjects with its 48MP telephoto lens and it has a new macro ability for close up shots. The Tensor G2 chip also gives the phone a much faster Night Sight mode for low light scenes.
Google leaves no stone unturned with its photography, yet the promise of a 200MP camera makes me want to check out the level of detail that lens can bring to my daily driver. I took some stunning sunset shots with my Pixel 7 Pro but will Samsung’s 200MP shooter be able to top them? That will be an interesting comparison to make — a 200MP camera vs a 50MP one.
Performance
Google’s Tensor G2 is a big upgrade from its first iteration that we saw on the Pixel 6. Software driven features like Photo Unblur and the speech-to-text functionality are truly impressive. However, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is expected to come with the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip and could bring the best performance on an Android phone, leaving behind the Tensor G2.
In fact, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 may even outperform the iPhone 14 Pro, which means it could have some serious smarts.
Most importantly, the Snapdragon Gen 2 is expected to give the device better power efficiency and even though the phone may not be a huge departure from the S22 Ultra, this chip that could make all the difference.
Bottom line
Overall, if I can get a phone that improves everyday functionality like battery life, performance and has a decent camera I would be happy. At this point it seems like Samsung’s upcoming S23 Ultra will check all the boxes for me in addition to being one of the most premium Android phones around. We won't know how the S23 Ultra will perform until next year but in the meantime, I will try and find some ways on my own to increase the battery life on my Pixel 7 Pro.
- Next: A new rumor says the Galaxy S23 could launch as soon as next month.
