Google Pixel 7 Pro in 2025: Is There Life in an Old Flagship?

We all love new gadgets – new features, cutting-edge technology, and the thrill of unboxing a brand-new device. But sometimes, it’s fun to take a step back and revisit an older flagship to see how it holds up today.

That’s exactly what I did with the Google Pixel 7 Pro.

Why the Pixel 7 Pro?

For context, my daily driver is the Galaxy S24 Ultra—Samsung’s top-tier flagship packed with the latest innovations. But every now and then, I feel like switching things up, exploring something different.

With Android 16 (Beta 2) rolling out and regular updates from Google, the Pixel 7 Pro still feels like a relevant device in 2025. And let’s not forget about the legendary Google Camera.

So, how does it hold up today?

Android 16: Fast, Clean… but a Little Too Simple?

Android 16 introduces several notable features aimed at enhancing user experience and privacy:

• Embedded Photo Picker: The updated photo picker now supports cloud-based media services like Google Photos, allowing users to seamlessly select images from their cloud accounts without switching apps.  
• Health Records Integration: With enhanced functionality in Health Connect, apps can access and manage medical data through new APIs, supporting the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) format for standardized electronic health records.  
• Privacy Sandbox on Android: This feature aims to limit tracking mechanisms by utilizing anonymized data and local processing, delivering personalized content without compromising user privacy.  
• Audio Sharing: Leveraging Bluetooth LE Audio’s Auracast technology, users can stream audio to multiple Bluetooth devices simultaneously, such as headphones or speakers, without complex pairing processes.  
• Notification Cooldown: Designed to reduce distractions from rapid notification bursts, this feature temporarily lowers notification sounds and minimizes alerts when multiple notifications are received in quick succession.  
• Adaptive Apps: To ensure seamless functionality across various devices and screen sizes, Android 16 removes the ability for apps to restrict screen orientation and resizability on large screens, encouraging developers to create adaptive apps.  
• Live Updates: A new class of notifications designed to help users monitor and quickly access important ongoing activities, such as rideshares, deliveries, or navigation.  
• Advanced Professional Video (APV) Codec Support: Introduces support for the APV codec, designed for professional-level high-quality video recording and post-production, offering features like YUV 422 color sampling and 10-bit encoding.  
• Vertical Text Rendering: Adds low-level support for rendering and measuring vertical text, benefiting languages that utilize vertical writing systems, such as Japanese.  

These enhancements aim to provide a more seamless, secure, and versatile user experience across a wide range of devices.

Right off the bat, the Pixel 7 Pro feels snappy. A 120Hz display, stock Android, and lightning-fast app launches make for an incredibly smooth experience.

But here’s the thing—it feels too simple. The clean, minimalistic UI is refreshing, but compared to Samsung’s One UI, it lacks a bit of personality. Some may see this as a plus, but after using feature-packed Samsung phones, stock Android can feel… well, a little boring.

As for new features? I intentionally avoided reading the official changelog for Android 16 to see if anything would stand out naturally. So far, the only noticeable change is the slightly revamped notification panel. Other than that, everything feels pretty much the same as before.

The Camera: Google’s Magic Still Works

Now, let’s talk about what truly makes the Pixel special—the camera.

Even in 2025, the Pixel 7 Pro delivers stunning photos that can compete with today’s flagships. Google’s computational photography is still one of the best in the industry. (And no, you can’t easily install the Google Camera on just any device, unless you’re diving into mods and workarounds.)

For fun, I tested the Pixel 7 Pro side by side with my Galaxy S24 Ultra, snapping photos in identical conditions. Here’s what I found:

• S24 Ultra – Bright, vibrant, eye-catching photos. Samsung loves its punchy colors, and honestly, I do too.
• Pixel 7 Pro – More natural, true-to-life images with incredible detail. It’s the kind of camera that makes you want to keep taking photos.

Both phones take amazing shots, but the experience is completely different. It all comes down to personal preference.

Final Thoughts & What’s Next

This was just my first impression of the Pixel 7 Pro in 2025. I love testing older devices to see how well they age, and this one still holds up surprisingly well.

And speaking of older devices… I happen to have an iPhone 7 Plus sitting nearby. Thin, metal, classic—an absolute beauty. But that’s a story for another day. 😉

Have you used an older flagship recently? Let me know in the comments!