Google Pixel 7

It's hard not to miss the Pixel 7 Pro's high-end features, but this is still a great-value premium device

- ALEX WALKER-TODD

SCORE 5/5 

PRICE 128GB, £499 (£599 inc VAT) from store.google.com

The Pixel 7 brings much of the same goodness as the Pixel 7 Pro (see p72) in a cheaper package. Costing a very reasonable £599 with 128GB of storage, it has the same Tensor G2 chipset and the same Android 13 software, which together add up to a great experience.

The design is similar to the Pro's, with a Gorilla Glass Victus casing, an in-display fingerprint reader and a metal camera band across the back. The display is slightly smaller, at 6.3in, making it more pocketable. The Snow and Obsidian colour schemes return, but in place of Hazel you get the choice of a cool Lemongrass hue.

While the OLED screen isn't quite as stunning as the Pro's, it still looks rich and colourful, with a sharp Full HD+ resolution. It hits a maximum brightness of 1,000cd/m² in normal use, ramping up to a peak of 1,400cd/m² in bright conditions. The most noticeable compromise is the 90Hz refresh rate: it's far from jerky, but it doesn't have the perfect fluidity of the 120Hz screens on the Pixel 7 Pro and other flagship phones.

Android 13 is characteristically clean and easy to navigate. Google's Material You "design language" provides smart colour theming, intelligently generated to complement your chosen wallpaper, while neat interface enhancements make it easier to get things done. For example, there's a one-handed mode that moves the UI down the screen to make elements easier to reach, while superb haptic integration gives weight and certainty to touchscreen actions.