Hot Take: Google Pixel 7, 7 Pro lack innovation, Pixel Watch has big shoes to fill

In typical Google fashion, there have been plenty of leaks from Google’s next-gen hardware, only this time Google didn’t wait to unveil its fall lineup – instead teasing early renders during Google’s I/O in May. The Pixel event ended Thursday morning, but there were no more surprises to announce if you’ve been following leaks over the past few weeks.

We’ve got a new Google Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel Watch and we got a glimpse of Google’s upcoming Pixel Tablet. The launch event was live and in person with some pre-recorded segments. While it was nice to see a live event, I feel that a recorded event would have been shorter and to the point.

Google Pixel 7 and 7 Pro are incremental upgrades

The Pixel 7 Duo saw some improvements. A new Tensor G2 chipset boosts performance and AI processing for photography with an improved GPU that outputs photo tasks faster, a new modem and the Tensor core. These changes are welcome improvements to the first-gen Pixel 6 Tensor.

But all things considered, the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro don’t differ much from the Pixel 6 series, either in hardware or features. The 7 Pro’s ultrawide camera is new, with autofocus for macro photography, and Google’s Super Res Zoom has been improved. Other new features like Photo Unblur and a cinematic recording mode don’t really excite the average smartphone user.

The new phones represent a refinement of the Pixel 6 and feel more like refreshed versions of their predecessors than true successors. On the other hand, Google is keeping the same prices as last year’s Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, which is much appreciated.

The Pixel 7 and 7 Pro are important in expanding the markets that Google serves. This year, the Pixel flagships are coming to a few more countries, but they still lag far behind other premium smartphone manufacturers in terms of market availability.

Pixel Watch is cute, but there’s a lot to refine

The Pixel Watch feels a few years late. Sure, Google (and many other tech companies) have had severe supply chain constraints in 2020, and as such the Pixel Watch is a first-gen product that has a lot to prove. It continues for Google’s Wear OS and for Google’s small pixel ecosystem.

The design and style of the pixel watch is elegant and fashionable. Paired with Wear OS, the vibe emanating from the Pixel Watch is bubbly and helpful.

The Fitbit integration with Wear OS shows the first big benefit of the Fitbit acquisition. While the Pixel Watch is the first Wear OS device to integrate with the platform, Google currently sells a Fitbit model that’s cheaper than the Pixel Watch’s $349 price point with more comprehensive fitness tracking capabilities.

Various strap styles are available for the Pixel Watch

The announced software features were nothing new. Google gave many examples of things you can do with the Pixel Watch that were already possible on older Wear OS watches. Of course, the facelift is welcome, but long overdue.

The Pixel Watch has big shoes to fill as a Wear OS flagship. The company promises 24-hour battery life, which sounds like charging will be a daily affair. It’s still too early to judge endurance.

The Google Pixel Watch

The price of the Pixel Watch seems high. Even when positioned alongside Fossil’s range of Designer Wear OS watches, the Pixel Watch should be able to keep up with the looks. Even without seeing the smartwatch, a price of $299 would seem more reasonable, but still on the expensive side.

The Pixel Watch is expected to be like an Apple Watch equivalent for Android phones, so expectations are very high.

Pixel Tablet teases a versatile smart home display

While Google did reveal some new angles of the Pixel tablet, it was more of an extended teaser as the new Pixel tablet won’t be out until next year. Google’s efforts to improve Android for the tablet form factor have been evident since the arrival of Android 12L.

The Pixel Tablet takes an approach that blurs the line between a large-screen portable device and one of Google Home Hub’s smart displays. The charging speaker dock turns the tablet into a smart display that shows relevant information when docked. It listens for and responds to Google Assistant commands.

The Pixel tablet with speaker combo for wireless charging makes it an ideal device to casually share with other family members around the house. We’re hoping Google has plans to show the Pixel tablet with a productivity-focused accessory like some kind of magnetic folio keyboard.

This year’s event slightly advanced the Pixel brand

With no major changes to the Pixel lineup and a seemingly overwhelming Pixel Watch, this year’s Made by Google event showcased incremental updates for the Google Pixel and a long-overdue entry for Google’s Wear OS first-party release.

Compared to Apple and Samsung, Google is still a long way behind in terms of sales volume, but it’s aiming to ship more pixels next year, and even more in the year after that. The Google Pixel Watch is expected to be the Apple Watch equivalent of Android phones, and based on what Google announced Thursday, it still has a long way to go to get there.