It’s probably no accident that Google is sharing details of the Pixel 7 line on the day of the iPhone 14 launch. After all, if any company can steal some of Apple’s thunder, it’s Google – or Samsung, but we’re not expecting anything else big from the Galaxy Fold maker this year.
First, the company revealed that the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro would be fully unveiled on October 6, and now – via its online store and spotted by Phone Arena - Google has revealed the colors you’ll be able to get the phones in.
In the case of the Google Pixel 7, it’s a choice of Obsidian, Snow or Lemongrass, and for the Pixel 7 Pro it’s Obsidian, Snow or Hazel.
So not the widest selection, and each model only has one unique shade. Obsidian and Snow are basically black and white respectively, while Lemongrass is a greenish yellow, and Hazel is a greyish green.
Alongside the colors, Google has also revealed the chipset these phones will use. We already knew that it would be the next generation of the Tensor chipset seen in the Pixel 6 line, but now we know the name – it’s the Google Tensor G2.
Google promises this chipset will bring “even more helpful, personalized features to photos, videos, security, and speech recognition.” However, going by the previous version it’s unlikely to match the raw power of the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1, which is the current top Android chipset, let alone the A16 Bionic that we’re expecting to see in the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Analysis: a new selection of shades
While the Pixel 7 color selection isn’t especially wide, it does include some shades that weren’t offered on the Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro.
The Pixel 6 can be had in Stormy Black, Sorta Seafoam, or Kinda Coral, while the Pixel 6 Pro is available in Stormy Black, Cloudy White, and Sorta Sunny. So there’s blacks and whites in both selections, but the Hazel and Lemongrass offerings this year are new.
However, the Pixel 6 line arguably has more interesting colors, because if nothing else many of them are two-tone shades, with a different color above the camera block than below. For the Pixel 7 though Google has ditched this idea.
The new phones arguably look smarter as a result, especially with their metallic camera block, but they also look slightly less eye-catching and distinctive. Still, they're sure to rank among the best Pixel phones.
