During today’s Google I/O event, the company gave us a quick teaser of what we can expect from its next revolutionary smartphone: The Pixel 7.
Although the focus was primarily on the Pixel products that are coming now — the Pixel 6a, Pixel Watch, and Pixel Buds Pro — Google also wants to make sure it’s whetting our appetites for the next big entry in its smartphone lineup.
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While it’s not launching until later this year, we’d already heard enough to know not to expect any significant design changes, so today’s teaser didn’t include any real surprises. The Pixel 7 that Google showed off looks nearly indistinguishable from the Pixel 6, suggesting that Google has settled on this design as the look for its smartphones.
However, that doesn’t mean that Google isn’t enhancing the design in some exciting ways. At today’s event, it shared that the rear of the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro will move to a 100% recycled aluminum finish across the entire rear casing, including the camera bar. The polished and aluminum glass design promises to deliver an even classier look for Google’s flagship smartphone.
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As expected, the Pixel 7 will be powered by Google’s next-generation Tensor chip, the second version of Google’s own silicon that builds on the original Tensorintroduced with the Pixel 6. While this is being referred to as the “Tensor 2,” Google hasn’t announced its name just yet. The company did offer up that the Pixel 7 Pro will set a new standard for photography, performance, and design thanks to the powerful new chip that will power more heavy artificial intelligence processing for photography and video.
There have also been some indications that the Google Pixel 7 could adopt an under-display selfie camera for the first time, but the leaked renders we’ve seen have cast some doubt on that. Google didn’t mention this when it teased the new Pixel 7 at today’s event, and it conspicuously avoided showing us any images of the front of the Pixel 7.
The new Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro will ship with Android 13 standard. Google confirmed that it will arrive this fall, but hasn’t shared any pricing or other details on it just yet, so we’ll have to wait and see what else it has up its sleeve for its next major smartphone release.
Motorola just launched a new Android phone to take on the Google Pixel 8a
If you have your heart set on a phone with a stylus, you’re probably familiar with Samsung devices like the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the previous Galaxy S23 Ultra. But there is another company out there that ships phones with a stylus — Motorola. Unlike Samsung’s flagship, the new Moto G Stylus 5G (2024) won’t break the bank thanks to its $400 starting price in the U.S.
The Moto G Stylus 5G (2024) is the latest in a series of midrange stylus-equipped phones that Motorola started releasing in 2020. The latest model keeps up with its predecessors with solid midrange capabilities and, as the name indicates, support for 5G.
The 10 most important things to know about the Google Pixel 8a
Google has just announced the next Pixel A-series device -- the new Google Pixel 8a. The A-series is the more budget-friendly Pixel option, and it comes out halfway in the cycle to the next mainline Pixel device.
This year, the Pixel 8a offers some big upgrades over its predecessor, the Google Pixel 7a. It’s also more similarly matched with the standard Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, both of which came out in October 2023.
With the excitement of the Google Pixel 8a launch, it might have passed a little unnoticed that Google also launched a new Pixel Tablet — though not exactly. For one thing, the “new” Pixel Tablet is the exact same device as the “old” Pixel Tablet. We mean that literally: same specs, same look, same screen. The only difference with the newly launched Pixel Tablet is that it’ll be sold without its charging/speaker dock, unlike the previous model, which included it.
At $399, the new Pixel Tablet is $100 cheaper than the earlier model, but that’s to be expected — both because it doesn’t come with any hardware refresh and also because it cuts the dock. It's also worth noting that it will not be launched with any new first-party accessories like a keyboard or stylus, which were previously rumored for the tablet.
