The Pixel 6 and 6 Pro may be Google’s “fastest-selling Pixels to date,” however they haven’t been what I’d take into account a slam dunk within the {hardware} division. I’m not speaking about aesthetics right here: I’m a fan of the digicam bar look, personally, although I detest curved shows. To every their very own. Looking on the massive image, I feel the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are among the many greatest telephones that Google has made — the digicam is excellent (for stills), and the Tensor chip’s voice typing and dictation capabilities are genuinely subsequent stage — however they’re not with out some faults. Google has efficiently tackled most of the early software program bugs, however some lingering {hardware} issues stay.

A yr in, based mostly alone time utilizing each units for prolonged intervals and observations from different house owners, these are the primary annoyances that I’m hoping Google will handle with the about-to-launch Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro.

The Pixel 6 telephones generally run heat, and it doesn’t take an intense workload to get them feeling like hand heaters after 20 minutes or so. Even regular duties or informal apps like TikTookay can flip up the temperature. It’s not an incredible look when Samsung and Apple units keep comparatively cool at almost all instances, and the Pixel 6 can get heat for seemingly no cause.

Google has regularly addressed this drawback over time; the discharge of Android 13 went a great distance in cooling down each telephones. But the warmth situation nonetheless persists every so often, and when it occurs, the Pixel 6 telephones will disable features just like the digicam flash (or cease charging when plugged in) to make sure security.

I’m hoping that with the Pixel 7 and seven Pro, Google has put extra of a give attention to effectivity and sustaining efficiency with out the thermal points.

A distinction in refresh price (90Hz versus 120Hz) and LTPO know-how isn’t all that separates the shows of the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. At a extra basic stage, it’s apparent that Google selected an inferior OLED panel for the lower-cost system. Brightness, distinction, and uniformity are all higher on the 6 Pro throughout the board. It’s the sort of factor you’d miss should you purchased the Pixel 6 and by no means in contrast the 2, however put them aspect by aspect, and the distinction is noticeable.

It’d be good to see Google supply a greater display screen for the Pixel 7, as this actually isn’t a tradeoff that different producers make. Samsung’s midrange telephones typically have glorious shows, and other than it being simply 60Hz, the iPhone 14’s OLED is mainly simply as good because the 14 Pro’s. Opting for the (barely) smaller, extra inexpensive telephone shouldn’t imply looking at a worse display screen all day.

A frequent criticism concerning the Pixel 6 lineup has been that they usually exhibit weaker mobile connectivity compared to other flagship smartphones — and previous Pixels, for that matter. This appears to be a direct results of the Samsung modem that Google constructed into the units, which was already pretty outdated when the telephones had been introduced.

If you’ve acquired robust sign in your space, it’s doable you haven’t encountered any issues. But weak sign power has been among the many main critiques of the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, so hopefully Google will swap to a more recent modem with the 7 duo.

The Pixel 6 and 6 Pro merely can’t juice up their batteries as rapidly as competing flagship telephones in 2022. It’s nothing I’d take into account insupportable, however they don’t even meet Google’s personal marketed “30 watt” wired charging. The company says it goals “to strike a balance between battery life, longevity and fast charging,” however OnePlus, Samsung, Apple, and different telephone makers have Google beat on this division. And temperature performs a task right here, too, so when the Pixel 6 heats up, that’s not going to do any favors for its total recharge time.

Personally, I haven’t had many points or misreads with the under-display fingerprint sensors on the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, however I do know many individuals haven’t been as lucky. Google has made quite a few makes an attempt to enhance and pace up the fingerprint unlock course of with software program updates. Will issues get sooner with the Pixel 7? We’ll discover out quickly. But both approach, it appears Google might add face unlock as a handy backup possibility. I nonetheless miss the a lot sooner, extra correct fingerprint scanner that was on the again of previous Pixel telephones.

Google will share all the small print on the Pixel 7, 7 Pro, and Pixel Watch at tomorrow’s {hardware} occasion. We’ll be reside running a blog the bulletins as they arrive in, however you must also keep tuned for our full critiques of the brand new units for any perception on what fixes and enhancements Google has made yr over yr.