Samsung Galaxy S23 vs. Google Pixel 7: Which Android Phone Is Better?
This story is part of Samsung Event, CNET’s collection of news, tips and advice around Samsung’s most popular products.
The Galaxy 23 line has finally been revealed. Samsung held its Samsung Unpacked event in San Francisco to announce its mobile wares, which compete with Google’s Pixel 7 and Apple’s iPhone 14 series.
Perhaps the most obvious difference right off the bat is the price. The Samsung Galaxy S23 lineup starts at $800 (roughly £645, AU$1,120), while the Pixel 7 starts at $599 (£599, AU$999), the same pricing held by 2021’s Pixel 6. For Google, though, this price difference might not matter in the US, where most people buy devices from wireless carriers that have traditionally offered enticing upgrade deals on new Galaxy phones and iPhones (this could be changing, however, at least when it comes to premium phones).
Apart from the price, the Galaxy 23 and Pixel 7 differ in design, chipset, battery and display size. For instance, Google has a so-called camera bar running across the width of the chassis and uses its home-made chipset, known as the Tensor 2, while the Galaxy S23 runs on a special version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and lacks a camera bar or camera bump. Scroll down for a side-by-side look at the differences in specs.
The camera is a key deciding factor when buying a flagship phone. It’s worth noting that Samsung’s $800 Galaxy S23 has a dedicated telephoto camera for capturing faraway objects, which isn’t available on the more affordable Pixel 7. You have to move up to the $899 Pixel 7 Pro for that sweet optical telephoto zoom.
Last year’s Galaxy S22 was already one of the best nighttime camera phones, beating out the Pixel 7 Pro in our tests. It’ll be interesting to see how much further the upgraded Galaxy S23 will take it. The Galaxy S23 Ultra, the most-expensive of Samsung’s new Galaxy S line, has a 200-megapixel main camera, which should take the image quality capabilities to the next level.
For more information on how Samsung’s Galaxy S23 series compares with Google’s Pixel 7 series, take a look at below.