Price, Specifications, Design and more compared

Samsung set the tone for 2023 with the launch of the Galaxy S23 series, which includes the Samsung Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, and Galaxy S23 Ultra. The company unveiled its latest flagship line of smartphones at the Galaxy Unpacked event, showcasing an iterative update to the Galaxy S22 series with a new processor, slightly refreshed design, bigger battery and more durable body. The lineup competes with the Google Pixel 7 series, which retails in the same price range and offers a flagship hardware configuration.

While the Pixel 7 Pro and Galaxy S23 Ultra/Plus are top-of-the-line models, not everyone needs an expensive Android flagship. You have a more affordable but premium option: the vanilla version. In this article, we will compare the Samsung Galaxy S23 and the Google Pixel 7 and see which device gives you the best bang for your buck.

Samsung Galaxy S23 vs Google Pixel 7 price in India

Samsung Galaxy S23 is available in India at a starting price of Rs 74,999 for the 8GB RAM and 128GB storage model. On the other hand, the Google Pixel 7 comes with a price tag of Rs 59,999 in India, available only in 8GB RAM and 128GB storage option. The difference between the Indian pricing of Samsung Galaxy S23 and Google Pixel 7 is Rs 15,000, with the S23 being more expensive.

Samsung Galaxy S23 vs Google Pixel 7

design

You wouldn’t be able to tell the vanilla Samsung Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S22 apart were it not for the contoured camera housing removed, giving the devices a more premium design. Samsung built the S23 with premium glass on the front and back, and aluminum on the sides. It is available in four colors Phantom Black, Cream, Green and Lavender. The device is compact with 146.3 x 70.9 x 7.6mm overall footprint and should feel light to hold in the hand at 168 grams.

On the other hand, there is the Google Pixel 7. Once again, the only noticeable design change is in the camera bar, which is now covered in metal instead of the glass bar we got with the Pixel 6. Like the S23, the Pixel 7 also has high-quality glass on the back and front but has a plastic frame. You can get the Pixel 7 in three color options: Snow, Obsidian, and Lemongrass. Pixel 7 is slightly heavier at 197g with a larger body size of 155.6 x 73.2 x 8.7mm.

One significant difference in the build quality of these devices is the glass used by the companies. The S23 comes with the brand new Gorilla Glass Victus 2, compared to the Gorilla Glass Victus of the Pixel 7. That doesn’t mean the Pixel 7 isn’t tough enough to withstand accidental drops — it’s not as durable as the Galaxy S23, at least on paper.

Show

As mentioned earlier, the Samsung Galaxy S23 is a compact phone with a 6.1-inch display AMOLED panel that supports 2340×1080 pixel resolution, HDR10+ colors, and 425 PPI pixel density. The screen runs at 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and has 1750 nits peak brightness.

The Pixel 7 sports a wider 6.3-inch AMOLED panel with 2400×1080 pixel resolution, support for HDR10+ colors, and 416 PPI pixel density. You should get smooth scrolling experience with 90Hz refresh rate and clear viewing experience with 1400 nits peak brightness.

On paper, the S23 has a better display than the Pixel 7, but both phones should provide a smooth and satisfying viewing experience during content consumption or doom-scrolling social media.

Display

The Galaxy S23 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. This is the latest and greatest chipset from Qualcomm that you can get on an Android phone, and the company has specially designed an upgraded version of the 8 Gen 2 SoC for Samsung. With 8GB of RAM and 128GB/256GB of storage options, the S23 should handle anything you throw at it, with enough space to store files as needed.

On the other hand, the Pixel 7 comes with Google’s in-house Tensor 2 SoC, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage. While it is primarily built for AI tasks, the Pixel 7’s performance is everything you would expect from a premium Android flagship. However, it falls behind the S23 when we look at the benchmark results of both the devices.

Security

Samsung is known for offering one of the best security features available on the Android side of the smartphone market. It ships its premium phones with the latest ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanner and Samsung’s Knox security for an added layer of privacy. You also get Samsung No Vault to securely store important documents.

The Pixel 7 comes with Google’s in-house Titan M2 chip for an added layer of security. While it doesn’t have the newest ultrasonic sensor, you still get the good old reliable optical in-display fingerprint reader with the Pixel 7. However, the Galaxy S23 has an edge over the Pixel 7 with better and more advanced security features.

Battery and Charging

Battery life and charging speed can make or break the user experience, and both the phones deliver similar but interesting results despite their completely different hardware configurations. With the S23, you get a 3,900mAh battery with support for 25W charging. During the review, we got more than 5 hours of active usage. Sadly, in today’s super fast charging era, where smartphones get fully charged within 15 minutes, the S23 takes around 70 minutes to refuel from 0 to 100 percent.

While the Pixel 7 has a more flagship 4,355mAh cell than the S23, its charging speed tops out at 20W, which is slightly slower than the already slow S23’s 25W speed. Despite having more battery capacity at its disposal than the S23, the Pixel 7 only managed 5 hours of SoT (Screen On Time) – the same we got with the S23. And, if the S23’s 25W takes about 70 minutes to fully charge the device, expect to twiddle your thumbs for a while longer, waiting for the Pixel 7 to juice it up with a 20W charging speed.

camera

The photography and video capturing capabilities of flagship phones from Samsung and Google have always been top notch. Both the devices do a good job of taking detailed shots. The Galaxy S23 sports a 12MP front-facing snapper and a triple rear camera setup: 50MP primary, 12MP ultrawide, and 10MP telephoto lens. On the other hand, you get a 10.8MP selfie shooter and dual rear camera setup on the Pixel 7: a 50MP primary sensor and a 12MP ultrawide lens.

The Galaxy S23 can capture up to 8K video at 30fps, while the Pixel 7 maxes out at 4K resolution. Once again, the S23’s camera layout is better on paper, but you won’t be disappointed with the Pixel 7’s camera.

software

Both the Galaxy S23 and Pixel 7 run on the latest Android 13 OS out-of-the-box. The Pixel 7 offers a stock Android experience with strong materials that you’re impressed by in every aspect of the UI. With the S23, Samsung offers its One UI 5.0 custom skin that includes the Material U theme mixed with Samsung-centric styling.

Samsung has promised five years of security patches and four major Android updates for the Galaxy S23. Meanwhile, the Google Pixel 7 will get three Android software updates and four years of security patches. This means that the S23 will get an Android update up to Android 18, while the last Android update for the Pixel 7 will be Android 17.

Samsung Galaxy S23 vs Google Pixel 7VDecision

The conclusion between these two devices depends on your preference and requirement. Both the phones will give you a flagship experience that you would expect from a premium phone. The more expensive S23 will be a better fit if you want a more powerful processor, comparably faster charging speeds, an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, tougher build quality, more camera lenses and four years of OS updates.

However, at Rs 15,000 less than the S23, the Pixel 7 is a better deal if you want a premium phone with a flagship feel. It offers excellent picture quality, deep integration with the Google service, no pre-installed bloatware, and a few Pixel-exclusive software features.