GooglePixel 7-5G Android Phone - Unlocked Smartphone with Wide Angle Lens and 24-Hour Battery - 256GB - Obsidian

I've had this Google Pixel 7 phone now for about 8 months, after having used Samsung phones for years. The #1 best thing if you switch from Samsung is the absence of all that bloatware, those apps you never use and can't uninstall either. This phone saves so much memory by just not having those apps, and it makes it easier to sort through the apps you do have and find the one you need quickly and efficiently. Huge relief, and that's probably the #1 reason I wouldn't go back to Samsung. Photography is my hobby and for the first time this year, I did not use my SLR camera at all. I feel bad but the camera on this phone was versatile enough for my purposes! Picture quality is excellent. The magic eraser feature in editing is quite a game changer. The fact that the phone saves photos directly to your Google drive is also nice though sharing pics to social media from there isn't that straightforward. I do it all the time but I haven't figured out how to post multiple pics without them appearing in backward order. The biggest negative for the Google Pixel 7 phone is that I need to charge it just about every day. Keep in mind that I don't use it for gaming or listening to music or watching videos. I literally just use it to text, call, google stuff, occasionally for social media, and maps if I'm driving which isn't every day. Even so, I have to charge it approximately every 30 hours. This is the one thing they need to change on this phone. I have a 2022 model and it looks like I'll be getting updates until 2026 which gives them enough time to work on that! The other thing is that fingerprint recognition rarely works. When it does seem to work, I think it's actually the facial recognition thing that comes on at the same time that's opening the phone. Facial recognition works great fortunately. Oh, and just for kicks: the feature I like best that the phone comes with is "Now Playing" that identifies what song is currently playing. I put it on my home screen so that I don't have to switch on my phone to activate it. Just a light touch and it tells me what the mystery song I'm hearing in a cafe or on the radio is. My 20-yr-old nephew who is an iPhone user was actually envious of this feature! It's not an app -- it's just a feature that appears in Settings>Sound. To summarize: do I like this phone and would I recommend it? A resounding yes. Should battery life be improved? Also a resounding yes.

I got my Pixel 7 a few days ago from Amazon and I have to say I'm impressed. I'm upgrading from a OnePlus 6T, so keep that in mind when reading my review. I haven't had any problems. powering it up the first time and transferring all my data from my old phone worked like a charm (better than on my wife's Pixel 6A, which had a couple of glitches during the process). Setup took a while, mainly because I have a ton of apps that I needed to sign on to. I've got almost everything done now, except for the most annoying apps (Okta verify, I'm looking at you). The only issue I had during setup was turning WiFi calling on--it failed twice, then I realized the bad reception in my basement was to blame. When I did it from my living room, where reception is good, it turned on without a problem.In daily use, the phone has worked flawlessly. Face unlock is fast (albeit not as secure as a fingerprint because it only uses the regular camera, unlike on the iPhone). The fingerprint reader has yet to fail to recognize my finger, and it's faster than the one on my old OnePlus. The phone feels snappier than my old one, particularly when running certain apps that slowed down my old phone (Instacart, for example).The screen is a beauty--coming from a 60Hz screen, 90Hz is a noticeable upgrade and feels buttery smooth. It's bright enough to use easily in direct sunlight.The camera is very good, from what I can tell. Definitely way better than my old phone's. I haven't taken many night or low-light shots yet, but everything else has come out looking great.I know the Pixel 6 was glitchy and, in some cases, got buggier as time went on. Fingers crossed this won't happen with the 7, but so far so good.Overall, I can't believe the amount of stuff the phone has to offer for the price, particularly with the $100 gift card pre-order offer. It's a flagship phone for a mid-tier price. I was considering getting an iPhone 13, but opted for the Pixel 7 because of the lower price. I'm glad I made that choice, as that extra $$$ comes in handy these days.Edit to add that the battery life is good, but not great. It lasts through a whole day of moderate to heavy use and has about 20% left at the end of the day.