Google Pixel 7 Pro
How we got here
Ever since I came back from being smartphone-less back in 2020 (I did a whole year without a smartphone for charity, maybe I'll do a retrospective now that it has been 3 years?), I had been using Samsung flagships. I went from a Note 10+ 5G to the S22 Ultra. Not because I'm a Samsung fanboy, but because I have always said that I get the best product for myself regardless of brand, and it just so happened that Samsung made that phone for 2 purchasing decisions in a row.
If that's the case then, why am I using the Google Pixel 7 Pro? The truth is, I got bored. There was nothing particularly wrong with the S22 Ultra, apart from the middling battery life due to the inefficient Exynos 2200. It just didn't excite me any more. Something about the launch of the Pixel 7 Pro caught my attention, so I sold the S22 Ultra, along with my Galaxy Buds Pro and Galaxy Watch4 Classic, and decided to switch up my search for the "best product regardless of brand."
The replacement headphones and watch may have been a bit of a mixed bag, but this phone has hit it out of the park.
What makes the phone so good?
There are a couple of factors that contribute to just how great this phone is to use. The first one is something that Samsung has definitely been working on, but they'll never quite get there: lack of bloatware. Now, I'm not saying Samsung is packed with it. All I'm saying is that I don't want to have Bixby thrust upon me as my default voice assistant and Samsung Wallet as the enforced payment method. I get it, you want us to use your versions of these services, but at least also give us the ability to easily remove the software we don't actually care about. I shouldn't have to use an ADB command to remove apps I don't want.
The surprise to me (considering both devices theoretically use a similar SoC) was the battery life. I'm not actually that heavy a phone user. If I have a bigger screen in front of my (and I normally do), I tend to use that instead. I'll get 2-3 hours of Screen on Time is a regular day. The S22 Ultra didn't seem to care how much I used it, I would get to the end of a day and it would ALWAYS, WITHOUT FAIL be nearly dead. Weirdly it was comforting, knowing that I would get to the end of a day no matter what I did, but it also meant that the idle battery consumption was insanely high.
The Pixel 7 Pro on the other hand barely sips power when idle. Looking at my usage as I write this, I have had it unplugged for 14 hours, with 3 hours of SoT (and 90 minutes of Audible playing over Bluetooth), and the phone is at 54%. If this was the S22 Ultra I'd be at 15%. This has changed the way I charge my phone, not having to worry too much about plugging it in overnight because I know it won't die while I'm sleeping.
The rear-facing camera system is also just incredible. Many have gone on for years about the reliability of the Google Pixel camera systems, and finally using one myself I fully get it. Sure, I can start pixel peeping and see that the 12.5MP pictures just aren't as sharp as those coming from the S22 Ultra, but in 99% of scenarios, where you're just taking the picture for it to be ruined by compression down the line anyway, the Pixel captures an incredible rendition of any scene.
But it's not perfect
The weirdest part of this whole phone for me is that, even after praising the rear cameras, the selfie camera is just so incredibly bad. The fixed-focus nature means that your pictures will only be sharp at arm's length. Trying to take close selfies results in uncharacteristically bad photos.
I hadn't realised this was an issue plaguing everyone aside from Samsung, with Apple only introducing a focussing selfie camera with the iPhone 14.
Overall
The reality is if you're comparing the £899 Pixel 7 Pro to the £1149 Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, the only smart move is the Pixel. Not only does it lead to a more consistent experience, but you save £250 whilst getting it.
That being said: The S23 line is due to be announced just days after I publish this, so we'll see what comes of it. The expectation is just slight upgrades across the board, but if Samsung finally brings Snapdragon to Europe, it could be a slam-dunk for the South Korean giant.