Pixel 7 camera: what to expect

Google’s Pixel lineup is undoubtedly quite famous for its awesome camera capabilities and coupled with Google’s great level of AI optimizations, the camera helps you take the best possible photos in any scenario. The Pixel 7 series, coming this fall, will also most likely sport a great camera system with industry-leading software optimizations. The phones are not yet officially unveiled, but rumors and leaks have been sharing glimpses of what to expect. So far, we’ve heard that the Pixel 7 series will retain the Pixel 6 series cameras. Small optimizations to the sensors are expected, but nothing major this time. The magic will be done with improvements to the AI photo processing abilities of the next Pixel flagship phones.

With that being said, let’s jump into what we expect the Pixel 7 camera to be, based on the latest leaks and rumors.

Pixel 7 camera summary

Pixel 7 camera upgrades: What we expect

So far, as we already mentioned above, we’ve heard the majority of the improvements over the Pixel 6 this year will be more on the software side of things. We expect there to be notable improvements in the AI processing of the photos, but we will see those for certain when the Pixel 7 series get announced.

Apart from that, possibly, the cameras will get a slightly larger aperture (this is the part of the camera responsible for the incoming light that reaches the sensor, more on aperture later). This means we could see more crisp photos and even better photos in low-light scenarios.

Same cameras, improved software (rumored)

If the rumors turn out to be true, the Pixel 7 and the Pixel 7 Pro will both sport a 50MP main camera with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS). The Pixel 7 will probably come again with a dual-camera setup, with a 12MP ultra-wide camera for capturing more of the scene you’re seeing. The front camera will likely remain unchanged at 8MP.

The Pixel 7 Pro, on the other hand, might keep the additional 48MP telephoto camera (capable of 4x optical zoom) that the Pixel 6 Pro sports. This camera will allow you to take better-looking and more usable zoom shots.

The front camera on the Pixel 7 Pro could also be the same as the Pixel 6 Pro: meaning, 11.1 MP for beautiful video calls and selfies.

Larger aperture (rumored) on the Pixel 7

Now, let’s talk a bit about aperture, which is one of the aspects that rumors suggest the Pixel 7 lineup might improve upon its predecessors. The aperture, as we mentioned above, is responsible for how much light comes through the lens and reaches the sensor. A lower aperture number (or an F-stop), means the aperture hole gets bigger and more light can reach the sensor. And, to avoid confusion — lower F-stop number means larger aperture (don’t ask us, ask photographers why this should be so counter-intuitive). So, a lower number is better. On top of that, the aperture is responsible for the depth of field in your photos. The lower aperture number ensures a bigger depth of field and therefore, more realistically looking photos with a focus on your subject and blurrier background.

The 50MP sensor used in both the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro has an aperture of F1.9, the 48MP telephoto camera on the Pro has an aperture of F3.5, and the 12MP ultra-wide on both phones has an aperture of F2.2. A possible upgrade here is making the aperture number smaller in any of those cameras, probably – the main one. However, an aperture of F1.9 is already excellent, we might add, but there are some smartphone cameras capable of going to F1.6. If Google decides to do that, this would create even better bokeh shots and low-light shots.

With all that being said, while we wait for the Pixel 7 series to get its fancy unveiling and then land in the stores (and with us for reviews), you can see some sample images of the Pixel 6 Pro, to get an idea what those cameras are capable of:

How many cameras will the Pixel 7 have?

The Pixel 7 is likely to have 2 cameras on the back, judging by the most recent rumors and leaks. On the other hand, the Pixel 7 Pro will likely sport a triple-camera system, as does its predecessor.

How many megapixels will the Pixel 7 camera be?

So far, given the fact that the Pixel 7 series has not been officially unveiled yet (well, Google did show them briefly during Google I/O, but it did not give a lot of info on them), the megapixels here are based on leaks and rumors. Rumors state the hardware of both phones won’t dramatically change. That being said, the Pixel 7 will likely keep the 50MP main camera and the 12MP ultra-wide of its predecessor, as well as the 8MP selfie camera.

The Pixel 7 Pro (similarly to the Pixel 7) is expected to sport a 50MP main camera, a 48MP telephoto camera, a 12MP ultra-wide camera, and an 11.1MP selfie shooter.

Pixel 7 camera features

One of the most important aspects of smartphone cameras is their feature set. The Pixel phones usually come with a lot of cool features to play with and let your creativity blossom.

So far though, as the phones are yet to be officially announced and released, we don’t have information on what the specific Pixel 7 camera features will be. It is highly likely the upgrades over last year’s flagship Pixel phones will be in this category.

The Pixel 6 brought features such as Magic Eraser (that deletes the dude that photo-bombed your awesome photo), Real Tone (a software feature that ensures every skin tone looks realistic, and darker skin tones look real, alive, and vibrant – just as real life). Other features were Long Exposure (if the background of your image was moving, it gets blurred while the subject remains in focus), Face Un-blur, and many others.

The Pixel 7 lineup will for sure retain those features, probably make them even better or refine them, and will probably add some new ones.

When we know more, we’ll keep you posted, so stay tuned!