Google Pixel 7 Pro - 5G Android Phone - Unlocked Smartphone with Telephoto/Wide Angle Lens, and 24-Hour Battery - 128GB - Obsidian

I have only truly loved one cell phone. That was my Samsung Galaxy S4. My Galaxy S1 was so cheap it didn't even have a flashlight. My S7 annoyed my so much I literally threw it out the window. I upgraded to the Pixel 3XL.That was a (mostly) good phone. From day 1, the internal GPS was messed up so it never told my Nest thermostat I was home, and the thermostat would always change to away mode while I was still in the house. Using store apps was also difficult as it would think I wasn't in Walmart, or Home Depot, and not allow me to search for items in the stores.C'est la vie, I lived with it for 4 years, until it's quirks and foibles had me to the point where I smacked it with my fist and cracked the screen. So much for Gorilla Glass. No bother, I scored the 7 Pro on sale.The 7 Pro keeps some great and useful features from the 3Xl, such as double tap the screen when it's off to bring up the lock screen. Love that. I'm a troglodyte and basically use my phone to talk, text, browse, and take the (very) occasional picture. I could easily get away with a midrange phone, but I like big screens, and fast processors. The sale price was a good deal, so I bought this.Features I love that were not on my 3XL; double tap the back to perform a preset command. You can use it to take a screenshot or pause the media you're playing, etc. Very handy! The lock screen gives the option to have the clock in one grid, as opposed to the 3XL, once it was updated to Android 10, wherein the clock was split into top and bottom for hours and minutes.The phone seems a good deal faster than the 3XL. The upgrade to Gorilla Glass Victus from GG5 should hopefully help prevent damage. I don't know whether it's the GGV, or the liquid glass I had applied to the screen for protection, but the glass attracts a lot of dust! I must clean it regularly. I also don't really care for the curved glass on the screen edges. I'm not really sure what the point of that is, but it can make reading text difficult, and it can cut off letters on the edges.It is a big phone, which is what I wanted, but it will be difficult to perform one-handed operations unless you have big hands like myself. Even then, it can be a chore. The one thing I don't like, is the sensitivity of the screen. Holding it one-handed, I use my thumb to scroll up and down. This will easily cause the screen to think you're long-pressing, and highlight the text to allow you to copy/paste/google search, etc. It's the single most annoying quirk I've discovered.I've tried adjusting the screen sensitivity level to no avail. My 3XL never did this, and the screen size is virtually identical to the 7 Pro. The only fix, is to adjust how I hold the phone so that my thumb is more perpendicular to the screen and not as much of my thumb is touching. This means that it's not as secure in my palm so I have to take great care not to drop it.Overall, I like this phone. Samsung has a lot going for it, but I'm happy with my purchase. It's also very easy to use and set up. While I'm certainly not a noob, I'm not as tech savvy as I could be. Yet, I had the phone up and running within an hour or so with all my configurations locked in, and adjusted. And no GPS issues either!

Very easy to use, no bloating, such a joy compared to my wife's expensive Samsung. Has good battery life, crisp display and a simple functional quality camera.It also functions well as a phone, not something I enjoyed with my previous LG G7 Thin q.

At a week into ownership, this is running Android 15, and my experience has been all positive.If you're at all concerned about Snapdragon vs Tensor 2 (among similar 2 to 3 generation old phones), don't be. Yes, on paper and in many reviews, you might be lead to believe that the Tensor 2 will never keep up with a Snapdragon phone. I'm not a gamer, and so while that may be true as it applies to A-list games, otherwise in real life usage, this Pixel 7 Pro is fantastic.The form factor, size, weight and build quality are perfect. The battery life is so much better than the Galaxy S21FE that this replaced, it's ridiculous (yes the S21FE has a new battery installed). The variable refresh rate screen not only looks amazing, but contributes to the superior battery life.Network performance (WiFi and 5G) are probably better than any other Android phone I've used. The on-screen fingerprint sensor, though often reported to be finicky, has worked fine for me.Photos look great, and not being a pro photographer, it takes good point and shoot pics. The camera bar on the back is said to scratch easily, but I picked up a case that had a raised lip around it. Problem solved.One other thing that's nice, is that being a Pixel from Google, you get one set of apps with the OS. No "other company" branded browser, gallery, messaging app, wallet, etc. With respect to customization, I have always had (and still do) Nova Launcher on my Android devices, and that suits me fine.Overall, for about $430 (as of Nov 2024), for a 256GB variant, brand new, I don't think you'll find a better phone. Keep in mind too, that all bands for all US carriers are supported (I'm on Mint Mobile), and the native Google Phone app supports visual voicemail (my Samsung did not).I'd absolutely buy it again, and once the Pixel 11 hits, I'll likely go to a Pixel 9.