Google Pixel 7 Pro vs Pixel 6 Pro: Should you upgrade?

(Pocket-lint) – Google is expected to announce the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro alongside the Pixel Watch during an event on 6 October, though the company has already teased the devices and released some details.  For the details we don’t know, rumours have filled in the blanks. We’ve covered off how the Google Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 7 are expected to compare to each other in a separate feature, but here we are looking at how the Pixel 7 Pro is expected to compare to the Pixel 6 Pro

Should you upgrade and what will the differences be if you’re choosing between the Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 6 Pro?

Price

Rumour has it the Google Pixel 7 Pro will start at the same price as the Pixel 6 Pro started at in the US – meaning £899. It is not clear if this will be the case for all countries, but for now, it looks like the Pixel 7 Pro won’t be more expensive than its predecessor. 

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It is likely the Pixel 6 Pro will come down in price with the launch of the Pixel 7 Pro, if you can get hold of it, but until the new model launches, we don’t know what this will be. It’s around GBP100 cheaper currently in the UK. 

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Design

  • Pixel 7 Pro: 163 x 76.6 x 8.7mm
  • Pixel 6 Pro: 163.9 x 75.9 x 8.9mm, 210g

The Google Pixel 7 Pro is expected to share similar design traits to its predecessor, including the prominent camera housing that spans the width of the rear, though there will be some refinements.

Based on the teasers from Google, the Pixel 7 Pro won’t have a two-tone rear like the Pixel 6 Pro and the camera housing will be metallic instead of glass, which will see the lenses stand out more.  From the front though, the Pixel 7 Pro is expected to look very similar to the Pixel 6 Pro with a slightly curved display and a punch hole camera at the top in the centre. An under-display fingerprint sensor is expected and it looks like the Pixel 7 Pro will measure around the same as its predecessor, possibly fractionally smaller in height but larger in width.

The Pixel 6 Pro is IP68 water and dust resistant, which the Pixel 7 Pro is also expected to be. Colour options are expected to differ between the two models though, with the Pixel 6 Pro available in Stormy Black, Cloudy White and Sorta Sunny. The Pixel 7 Pro meanwhile will come in Snow, Obsidian and Hazel. 

Display

  • Pixel 7 Pro: 6.7-inch, Quad HD+, LTPO OLED, 120Hz
  • Pixel 6 Pro: 6.7-inch, Quad HD+, LTPO OLED, 120Hz

The Google Pixel 7 Pro is rumoured to offer very similar display specifications to the Pixel 6 Pro.

The Pixel 6 Pro comes with a 6.7-inch LTPO OLED display that offers a variable refresh rate between 10Hz and 120Hz. There’s a Quad HD+ resolution on board, delivering a pixel density of 512ppi, and there are features including an Always On Display, HDR support, a high brightness mode, Now Playing and At A Glance.  The Pixel 7 Pro is also reported to come with a 6.7-inch LTPO OLED display with up to 120Hz refresh rate and a Quad HD+ resolution.

It is said it could offer a higher brightness than the Pixel 6 Pro at 1000nits, but this isn’t confirmed as yet. Elsewhere, we expect the same features, including an Always On Display and HDR support. The Pixel 6 Pro offers Gorilla Glass Victus protection.

It is not currently known what the Pixel 7 Pro will offer.

Hardware and specs

  • Pixel 7 Pro: Google Tensor G2, 12GB RAM, 128/256GB storage
  • Pixel 6 Pro: Google Tensor, 12GB RAM, 128/256GB storage, 5003mAh battery

The Google Pixel 7 Pro will run on the company’s next-generation Tensor chip, expected to be called Tensor G2. It is said the chip will offer more power for photos, videos, security and speech recognition. The Titan M2 security chip is also expected to be on board and there are rumours of 12GB of RAM and a choice of 128GB or 256GB of storage, neither of which are expected to offer microSD support for storage expansion.

The Pixel 6 Pro runs on the first generation of Google’s Tensor chip but it offers the Titan M2 security chip too. Like the Pixel 7 Pro, there is 12GB of RAM and a choice of 128GB and 256GB of storage support, with no microSD support.  The Pixel 6 Pro has a 5003mAh battery capacity, and it offers wired charging, wireless and reverse wireless charging.

Currently, it is not known what battery capacity the Pixel 7 Pro will offer, but it isn’t expected to be smaller. Wired and wireless charging are also both expected.

Camera

  • Pixel 7 Pro: Triple rear (50MP main + 12MP ultra wide + 48MP telephoto), 10.8MP front
  • Pixel 6 Pro: Triple rear (50MP main + 12MP ultra wide + 48MP telephoto), 11.1MP front

The Google Pixel 7 Pro is expected to come with a triple rear camera like the Pixel 6 Pro. There’s said to be a 50-megapixel main sensor, 12-megapixel ultra wide sensor and 48-megapixel telephoto lens, which is the same setup as the Pixel 6 Pro.

It looks like there will be a few differences though, based on a leaked spec sheet for the Pixel 7 Pro. According to the leak, the Pixel 7 Pro will have 5x optical zoom and 30x high resolution zoom, while the Pixel 6 Pro offers 4x optical zoom and 20x high resolution zoom. The Pixel 7 Pro is also said to be coming with a Macro Focus feature, which the Pixel 6 Pro doesn’t offer, and there’s a Movie Motion Blur too.

Elsewhere, the Pixel 7 Pro is expected to offer the same features as the Pixel 6 Pro, including Face Unblur, Magic Eraser and Real Tone.  On the front, the Pixel 6 Pro has an 11.1-megapixel sensor with f/2.2 aperture, 1.22um pixels, and a 94-degree field of view. The Pixel 7 Pro is said to have a 10.8-megapixel front camera with 4K video recording.

Conclusion

Based on the teasers and rumours, the Google Pixel 7 Pro will feature a similar – but refined – design compared to the Pixel 6 Pro, along with similar display specifications, the same RAM and storage options, and possibly the same battery capacity.

Under the hood, you’ll find the next-generation Tensor chip though and rumours suggest there will be some solid upgrades to the camera capabilites too compared to the Pixel 6 Pro, even if the resolutions remain the same. 

For now, not everything is confirmed but we will update this feature as soon as we have all the official specs in.

Writing by Britta O’Boyle.