Google’s Pixel 7 and Pixel Watch event: all the news and announcements

When Google announced the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro today, it added a feature no other phone can compete with: both devices will get Android OS updates, security updates, and new feature updates for the next seven years. That’s a very big deal! Ongoing support is the difference between a phone that works and a phone with gaping security holes that needs to be thrown out. There’s a very real argument to be made that this is the biggest thing Google announced today.

The promise is particularly notable for an Android phone, where OS support can often drop off after just a few years. By way of comparison, the Pixel 7A and Pixel Fold, both phones Google announced this year, will lose software support in 2026 and security updates in 2028 — that’s only three years of promised software updates for either, and one of those phones sells for $1,799.

Google’s first-party cases for the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro didn’t go over so well. In the year since those phones were released, the cases have earned an unfavorable reputation for staining and warping out of shape. This 9to5Google article is a good summary of what was so bad about the $29.99 accessory.

Some Pixel fans have called for Google to return to the fabric-coated cases that were available for previous generations of its phones. But the company hasn’t gone that route. Instead, the new Pixel 7 and 7 Pro cases are similar in material to the Pixel 6 cases — but they’re now solid colors instead of being semitransparent. That should at least address the staining and yellowing issue. Google has chosen colors that match the hues of the new devices.

We now know pretty much everything about Google’s Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, the first flagship phone competition for Apple’s iPhone 14 lineup for late 2022. And though comparing iOS and Android devices is an exercise that’s not exactly straightforward (I’m trying to avoid the apples versus oranges phrase for once in my life), lining up the specs should at least tell you which phone might deliver the right kind of performance or camera quality for your budget.

Each of these phones is built on custom processors from their respective creators. And as is usually the case, Apple is being quiet about the usual specs that it doesn’t disclose about its phones, like RAM count and the exact size of the battery, so keep that in mind. All that said, we’ve reviewed the iPhone 14 (and the larger, longer-lasting iPhone 14 Plus) and the iPhone 14 Pro. We got our hands on the Google Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, but we won’t be ready with full reviews for another handful of days.

Several years ago, if someone told you they had an Android phone, then it would have been safe to assume they were not talking about Google’s Pixel. Until recently, “Android” had a much stronger association with hardware from Samsung, OnePlus, Huawei, or even LG when it was still making phones. But that mindset may finally be shifting as the Google Pixel slowly gains more name recognition among the Galaxies of the world.

The goal of the Pixel is to bring out the best of Android and invite manufacturers and consumers to see what Google’s operating system could — and perhaps even should — look like. After all, the iPhone’s always been known for its consistent interface and cohesive ecosystem across Apple’s devices, while Android phones have long suffered from fragmentation leading to major differences in how the OS felt across manufacturers.

This has been a refrain over the past couple of months, so you probably won’t be surprised to learn that the Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro look and feel a lot like the devices that came before them: the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Their price tags — $599 and $899, respectively — remain unchanged, too, which is a welcome sight in this Year of Price Hikes and Relentless Inflation. But aside from a slight design tweak and more subdued color options, the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro don’t have much to show on the surface that’s new.

Google’s official listed dimensions for the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro suggest that they’re ever so slightly smaller than their predecessors, just by a millimeter here and there. In reality, they both still very much look and feel like big phones.

The Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are now available for preorder, releasing on Thursday, October 13th. Google is claiming that these are the company’s best phones ever, unsurprisingly, launching with improved camera capabilities, a more buttoned-up design, and jumping from the Tensor in the Pixel 6 to the new Tensor G2 processor. We’ll only know whether these improvements are worth the money once we review them, but there’s a lot that we can glean about their supposed improvements right now from the spec sheet.

If you own or are considering buying a Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro, we think it’d be handy if you had a comprehensive graph that compares Google’s latest models to its now-last-gen phones. So, we’ve made one for you.

The Pixel Watch was announced in May during Google’s I/O presentation. It was introduced alongside the Pixel 6A and Pixel Buds Pro, though, unlike those devices, it was left up in the air as “coming this fall.” Now, after an extended wait, Google has finally announced all the details on the forthcoming smartwatch, along with details regarding the Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, and other new Google hardware and features. The Pixel Watch is shipping on October 13th for a starting price of $349.99, with preorders open now.

If it’s been so long that you’ve forgotten what the Pixel Watch is all about, it’s the first in-house smartwatch from Google, one that’s launching well over a full year after the company’s $2.1 billion acquisition of Fitbit. This is also the first smartwatch in the Pixel line, as Google seems to be aiming for a more complete ecosystem of its own to better rival Apple and Samsung — as opposed to relying on Wear OS partners like in the past. The Pixel Watch features a new Wear OS experience, health and fitness tracking by Fitbit (which may mean requiring a second app), and a domed circular design with UI elements controlled by its crown and side button in addition to touch.

I’ll admit it: the Pixel Watch didn’t look all that impressive in official renders. It was a circular watch with a digital crown. Big whoop — it’s not like we haven’t seen smartwatches with a similar vibe before. But those renders don’t really do the Pixel Watch justice. In person, it’s actually a lot more impressive.

Looking at the Pixel Watch, it really does feel like Google decided to give some folks the circular Apple Watch they’ve been clamoring for. It’s got the curved glass display, a minimalist and techy feel, a digital crown, and a flat side button. Those elements aren’t unique to Apple Watches, but they serve similar functions here. That said, even with the Apple-esque design, it doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb when you put it next to the Buds and Pixel 7. It very much feels like it fits within the Pixel family.

Google has pulled back the curtain on its new Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, which are now available for preorder at Google and other retailers, with units shipping out on October 13th. These new iterations of the Pixel Phone are equipped with further improvements to the already impressive camera array and a second-generation Google Tensor CPU.

The base model of the standard Pixel 7 comes with 128GB of storage and is priced at $599, while the Pixel 7 Pro starts at $899 for its 128GB configuration. The standard Pixel 7 has a larger configuration available with 256GB of storage, while the 7 Pro can be configured with up to 512GB of storage.

Google just wrapped its big fall event, where it showed off its Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, and the Pixel Watch. (We’ll have hands-on looks up on the site shortly.) The company also offered more details on its upcoming Pixel Tablet coming in 2023. All said, there wasn’t much in the way of surprises this year since Google already spilled its own hardware beans at Google I/O, but it was great to see these devices up close and to get firm prices, release dates, and more.

In case you missed out on the event as it happened (you can always scrub through our live blog to see our first takes), we’ve built this post that will tell you every single major announcement that took place.

Alongside the launch of its latest flagship Pixel smartphones Google released more details about its upcoming Pixel Tablet. The search giant first revealed it was working on the device at I/O in May, and today, Google product manager Rose Yao announced some key features.

The biggest is a magnetic wireless charging speaker dock, which is designed to allow the tablet to transform into a smart display for your home. When docked, it looks like a Nest Hub Max, responds to Google Assistant queries, and lets you control your smart home from the redesigned Home app. Amazon has long offered similar functionality with its Fire tablets, which can be used like Echo Show smart displays with the use of Amazon’s charging docks.

Google says that you’ll be able to use the Pixel 7 to go back through your Google Photos library and fix old blurry photos, using a feature called Photo Unblur. So far, the feature is exclusive to Google’s latest phones, similar to the Magic Eraser feature launched with the Pixel 6.

Like the feature meant to erase distractions from your images, the Photo Unblur results Google showed off in its presentation were a little hit-or-miss — though some were truly impressive, like the one in the tweet below. Like many of the Pixel 7’s features, the company says this image processing is made possible by its next-gen Tensor G2 processor.

Why did Google take so long to build a smartwatch? When I asked that question to Rick Osterloh, Google’s SVP of hardware and the man in charge of all things Pixel, his answer was one word: Fitbit. Google couldn’t make the smartwatch it wanted without a killer health and fitness platform, and until very recently, it simply didn’t have one.

“We wanted to make a watch earlier,” Osterloh tells me over Google Meet, a few days ahead of Google’s official launch of the new Pixel Watch and Pixel 7 phones. He’s wearing a Pixel Watch on his left wrist, and both a Pixel 7 and the upcoming Pixel Tablet sit in front of him on his desk. “And we probably would have, if not for the fact that we didn’t have what we thought were the right capabilities for health and wellness.” That’s why Google agreed to acquire the fitness tracker company in 2019 for $2.1 billion — but the deal didn’t close until early 2021, and until then, Google couldn’t do any work to integrate or improve Fitbit’s features.

Onstage at its big Pixel event on Thursday, Google called out Apple for not adopting RCS for better text messaging. Google didn’t say the word “Apple,” but it’s pretty obvious who the company was referring to.

“When it comes to text messages, Pixel uses RCS for enhanced media sharing and end-to-end encryption,” Google’s Brian Rakowski said at the event. “RCS is the modern industry standard for messaging, and it’s already been adopted by most of the industry. We hope every device maker gets the message and adopts RCS, making texting better for every smartphone user.”

Google has formally unveiled the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro at its fall hardware event, with a second-gen Tensor chipset and prices unchanged from last year’s models. The $599 Pixel 7 and $899 Pixel 7 Pro lean on Tensor G2 to improve on existing features and introduce a few new ones to the mix. There are a few hardware tweaks and updates here and there, but mostly, this is a story about software.

The Pixel 7 gets a slightly smaller 6.3-inch 1080p screen compared to the Pixel 6’s 6.4-inch display. Google also says that the bezels are slimmer than the Pixel 6’s, though the 90Hz top refresh rate remains the same. The 7 Pro has a 6.7-inch 1440p LTPO display with up to a 120Hz refresh rate — all in line with the 6 Pro. According to Google, both displays get up to 25 percent brighter than their predecessors in peak brightness mode.

The Pixel Watch has been heavily leaked and teased over the past year, but today, Google finally revealed the complete details of its first-ever smartwatch. There aren’t too many surprises, but the fact that Google is actually launching the smartwatch marks a new chapter for Android wearables. While the tech giant was once an indifferent bystander, it’s now an active player.

The $349.99 ($399.99 for cellular) Pixel Watch’s design isn’t anything we haven’t seen before at Google I/O or in leaked renders. It’s essentially what the Apple Watch would look like if it had a circular display, complete with a digital crown and side button. That said, the Pixel Watch’s official measurements are much smaller than other premium smartwatches that have launched this fall. The case is a compact 41mm and is relatively thin at 12.3mm. It’s also lightweight for a stainless steel watch at 32g, minus the straps. That puts it closer to the entry-level Galaxy Watch 5 and the Apple Watch Series 8 rather than the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro or the Apple Watch Ultra.

Google has announced that Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro users will be getting access to its Google One VPN at “no extra cost.” The company says this makes them the first phones to include VPN access.

The perk usually comes as part of Google’s $9.99 a month premium One plan, which also includes 2TB of cloud storage as well as other benefits. There are some restrictions to the deal though — according to a tweet from the company, some data won’t be transmitted through the VPN, and the benefit won’t be available in all countries. The company didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment on what data wouldn’t be allowed through the VPN.

We already know an awful lot about what Google is set to announce today at its now-annual fall launch event. Google teased the Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, and Pixel Watch at Google I/O in June, and internet sleuths have spent the last several weeks relentlessly leaking detail after detail.

But today, at an event in Brooklyn, we’re finally going to get to hear the whole story. About Google’s latest phones, which it hopes can use machine learning and artificial intelligence to help you take better photos and get more stuff done. About Google’s first-ever smartwatch, which better be good if Google wants to take a run at the Apple Watch. Maybe even about the tablet Google mentioned at I/O — you know, the one with the huge bezels.

Last May, at Google’s annual developer conference, Google I/O 2022, there were hints about the company’s upcoming Pixel 7 and 7 Pro phones. Now, five months later, at Google’s Pixel launch event this coming Thursday, we are finally going to be introduced to them. Of course, there won’t be all that many surprises; there have been quite a few hints floating around about their cameras, displays, size, and price. But it will be interesting to see how many of these rumors are correct.

Perhaps more interesting is the new Pixel Watch, which is also expected to be introduced and which may mean that Google is finally offering a smartwatch that could be a real contender. Other announcements may include a new Tensor G2 chip, an improved tablet, some new Nest devices, and maybe — just maybe — even a foldable. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Google’s fall hardware event comes at an uncomfortable time. The company just unceremoniously announced that it would shut down its Stadia cloud gaming service in early 2023. The company also canceled its upcoming Pixelbook well into its development and redistributed the team working on it to other parts of the company.

Google has never had the best track record for sticking with its hardware concepts, but with increasingly ominous messages coming from the top about cost cutting and hiring slowdowns, now seems like a particularly unlucky time to be Made By Google.

We’re getting even closer to the launch of the Pixel 7 phone and Pixel Watch, with Google’s fall launch event set to take place on Thursday, October 6th, at 10AM ET.

While we have an idea of what to expect, Google may still have a few surprises in store. Here’s everything we’re looking forward to at the upcoming Google Pixel event.

It feels like it shouldn’t be news when the price of something doesn’t go up, but that’s where we are in the year 2022. We’re paying roughly a thousand percent more for a loaf of bread than we were this time last year, but a couple of price tags that may be staying the same during inflation-o-rama are the ones on the upcoming Google Pixel 7 and 7 Pro. Android Police founder Artem Russakovskii tweeted the alleged prices for the devices: $599 for the Pixel 7 and $899 for the Pixel 7 Pro.

That’s not just noteworthy because the price of everything everywhere is going up. If true, it’s particularly good news because the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro were already priced really well, to begin with — both the iPhone 14 and Galaxy S22 start at $799. Google has some wiggle room to increase prices if it wants to, and maybe it will down the line, but for now, we have good reason to believe that it won’t be this year.

Google’s big hardware event isn’t until next month but the leaks have already begun, this time showing pricing for a new “Google Nest Wifi Pro 6E Router” courtesy of B&H Photo (via 9to5Google). The online store lists a variety of colors and combo packs starting at $199.99, each labeled as “new item — coming soon.” In other words, coming as early as October 6th when this pro version of the Nest Wifi is expected to be announced at the Made By Google event. 

Unfortunately, the listings don’t include any photos or specs, but we’re not totally in the dark here. We previously saw details for what we expect to be called the “Nest Wifi Pro” in an FCC listing that mentioned Bluetooth Low Energy and Thread mesh networking radios (for Matter), in addition to 6GHz Wi-Fi 6E support for reduced signal interference and faster speeds. 

Google has started sending out invites for its fall hardware event, which is set to take place on Thursday, October 6th, at 10AM ET. The event will launch the upcoming Pixel 7 phones, as well as the Pixel Watch — the company showed off both devices at its I/O event earlier this year, announcing they’re coming in the fall. Google also says it’ll use the event to announce new additions to the Nest smart home portfolio.

Google’s announcement comes just one day before Apple’s Far Out event, where it will reveal the iPhone 14 — you can follow all the news about those announcements here. Since Google’s last event, purported leaks have revealed even more about the devices, with both the Watch and phones seemingly making their way into people’s hands. As 9to5Google points out, the company itself is now revealing a little more information about the devices, with the Pixel 7’s product page saying that it’ll be powered by a next-gen chip called the Tensor G2.