The discounts make for some pretty solid savings, though with Google I/O and the rumoured Pixel 7a just around the corner, it’s tough to say whether the deals are worth it.
The Pixel 7a is rumoured to be around the price (or slightly more than) the Pixel 6a, so before you grab one of these phones, it’s probably worth considering whether you’d like to save $200 and get the 6a now, get the 7a at launch, or get the Pixel 7 now for roughly the same cost as the 7a at launch.
The Big Three carriers all have Google’s excellent Pixel 7 on sale, though just how good the deal is varies from carrier to carrier. You’ll also need to agree to return the phone after two years.
Telus currently has the best offer, with the Pixel 7 coming in at $0 upfront and $3/mo financing, as long as you sign up for the company’s ‘Bring-It-Back’ program. Even with Bring-It-Back, it’s not a bad deal — $3/mo for 24 months works out to $72 total you’re paying to effectively rent the Pixel 7, and if you decide you want to keep it, you’re on the hook for the $160 Bring-It-Back amount. In other words, $232 total for a Pixel 7. Not bad.
Moreover, Telus has a deal on the Pixel 6a for $1.63/mo financing with Bring-It-Back, but honestly, I’m not sure it’s worth it compared to the Pixel 7 offer. That said, if you’re dead-set on getting the Pixel 6a from a carrier, Telus is better than the $10/mo financing you’d pay at Rogers or Bell.
While Telus is clearly the best option, all three have a better deal than buying the phone outright from Google, even with the company’s current $200 discount bringing the price down to $599. It’s worth noting this Google deal has been going on for a bit — learn more here.
Google’s Camera app has received a new update that brings exciting features to the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro as part of the March Feature Drop.
The update includes the required code needed to enable faster Night Sight on the Pixel 6 and the Pixel 6 Pro, as shared by 9to5Google. Additionally, the latest version of the Camera app doesn’t only offer updates for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. The Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are also receiving a revamped zoom UI with the update.
The update is now rolling out on the Play Store, and the new zoom controls are only available on the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. The new UI features light blue line segments, replacing the white dots used in the previous version, to indicate the different zoom levels. Additionally, the font for the zoom level indicator is now larger and easier to read, and it uses the same light blue colour as other areas of the Camera app.
We’re uncertain why the new zoom interface is limited to the latest Pixel flagship. It’s also unclear if the UI will roll to older Pixel devices as well.
You can find the latest version of Google Camera on the Play Store. The update is rolling out now, so you might not see it immediately.
Over this past week, we learned a lot of information about several upcoming smartphones. With the rumour mill churning this fast, we decided it was time to bring back MobileSyrup’s smartphone leak roundup.
Let’s get into it:
Google
This week we’re starting with Google’s Pixel Fold, which could arrive in mid-June after Google I/O. The device will reportedly launch alongside the Pixel 7a, offer 256GB of storage, and come in ‘Haze Midtone,’ ‘Porcelain,’ and ‘Sky ‘ colours.
Unofficial renders of the Pixel 8 Pro have surfaced, showing off a design that’s strikingly similar to the Pixel 7 Pro and 6 Pro. It looks like the device will feature a new sensor, which could be for depth or macro pictures.
Further, the handset will reportedly sport a 6.52-inch screen, a bit smaller than what’s available on the Pixel 7 Pro.
Renders of the Pixel 8 have surfaced, showing off the upcoming smartphone’s design. The handset is rumoured to launch with a 6.2-inch display and sport thinner bezels and more rounded corners compared to its predecessor.
Otherwise, the design is pretty similar to the Pixel 7.
Last weekend, Zing News published a Pixel 7a hands-on showing off pictures of the upcoming mid-range. The phone features 128GB of storage, 8GB of RAM, 5W wireless charging, two 12-megapixel shooters and a 90Hz refresh rate.
Google has released its first Pixel Feature Drop of 2023 rolling out to devices now and over the next few weeks.
Faster ‘Night Sight,’ a previously Pixel 7 and 7 Pro exclusive feature, is making its way to the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. Google says it can do this thanks to the power of its Tensor chip.
Magic Eraser is coming to more Pixel phones as well. The feature allows users to remove distractions like photo bombers, and lets you change the colour of an object to make it blend in with the image better. Oddly, Google doesn’t state what Pixel devices are getting the feature.
The Pixel now has Health Connect built-in, which allows users to store, connect and share data from compatible health and fitness apps. Health Connect lets users store data on-device and provides a central set of controls to manage health and fitness data.
Further, users can see timers across all their Pixel devices without unlocking the handset. This means if you set a timer on your Nest Hub, ‘At a Glance’ will also show the countdown on your Pixel device.
The Pixel Watch now has fall detection, which can detect if you’ve taken a hard fall and then connect users to emergency services. Once connected to emergency services, the watch will play an automated message to request help wherever you are. It’s worth noting that the Apple Watch also offers similar features.
In the coming weeks, the Pixel Watch will offer new sound and display settings on Wear OS 3+, making it easier to customize audio and visual experiences on the Pixel Watch.
Google is also bringing existing features to more regions, languages and devices.
For instance, Fast Pair is now available on select Chromebooks, Hold for Me is now available in Japan, you can now use two eSIMs on the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro.
Google’s Pixel phones have a bit of a reputation for being buggy, though the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro have been less buggy than their predecessors. Less buggy doesn’t mean no bugs at all, however.
The latest bug plaguing Pixel 7 series devices is a bit of a head-scratcher: the phones won’t save close-up pictures captured in low light with the flash on at zoom levels between 2-5x. If that sounds oddly specific, well, you’re right.
Reddit user ‘u/MintySkyhawk‘ posted a video of the bug in action (via Android Police). MintySkyhawk was trying to take close-up pictures of his PC internals with a Pixel 7 Pro’s 5x periscope lens and noticed the photos weren’t being saved to his phone.
Another user responded that they were able to replicate the issue, and Android Police says it could replicate the problem on both a Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, including on one running Android 13 QPR2 and Android 14 DP2. In my testing, I couldn’t reliably replicate the bug on my Pixel 7, but it did happen to me a few times.
Based on details shared on Reddit, it seems the bug is related to the Google Camera app and, more specifically, likely a glitch with the app’s HDR. Outside of the specific circumstances listed above, Pixel 7 and 7 Pro devices seem to be taking photos just fine. My tests, as well as Android Police’s testing, used Google Camera version 8.7.250.494820638.44.
Hopefully, Google will get around to fixing this particular bug sooner rather than later. It’s a real strange one, though, so it might take a while to get it fixed. In the meantime, I guess avoid taking zoom pictures with the flash on, and when you do, always check to make sure it saves.
The bug in question involves playing a specific YouTube video, after which the Pixel device automatically crashes and soft-reboots, sometimes resulting in users losing cellular connectivity for a few minutes. The issue first surfaced in a Reddit post made by ‘OGPixel5‘ on Sunday, February 26th.
Now, as first shared by 9to5Google, Google has confirmed that it knows about the problem and is working on a fix. The issue will reportedly be addressed in the March Pixel update.
Google didn’t share details about what’s causing the problem. Back in 2020, an image surfaced on Reddit that caused Android smartphones to crash when it was set as the phone wallpaper. The reasoning behind the crash was that the device was reading the colour space used in the photo incorrectly. The result is that a specific value at a certain point exceeds its defined maximum, which leads to an ‘out-of-bounds exception’ and crashes the System UI. It is unclear if the YouTube video crash is because of the same issue.
Further, according to 9to5Google, the problem seems to be less prominent on Pixel devices running the Android QPR Beta and Android 14 Developer Preview 1. If you’re not on one of those two builds, it would be prudent to refrain from playing the video. A video of the glitch in action can be found below:
Google’s October 2022-released Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are undoubtedly some of the best flagship smartphones available on the market right now, with an upgraded Tensor G2 chipset, a premium camera bar finish, and variable refresh rate displays. However, the phones have had their fair share of issues since launch.
It was discovered last year that the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro’s batteries drain fairly quickly, with the phones consuming more than normal power when used in high brightness modes. The devices draw roughly 3.5W to 4W at around 600 nits. Worse, it can consume up to 6W at the Pixel 7 Pro’s peak brightness of 1500 nits. Some users have also reported instances where their Pixel 7 Pro’s buttons have fallen off. Users have reportedly been complaining about this issue since the launch of the Pixel 7 back in October, but a lot of the complaints came around New Year’s. Complaints have hit the Google Support Forums and Reddit.
Now, another issue that has been prevalent since the devices were released has come to light. Pixel 7 Pro users have reported instances where their phone feels laggy and janky to scroll, and Google is finally acknowledging the issue, as first reported by Android Police.
“We are aware of this issue and working on improvements for an upcoming software update,” a company engineer wrote in Google’s issue tracker thread. It’s the first time in the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro’s four-month existence that Google acknowledged the issue. A fix will likely be rolled out with the March 2023 feature drop. It’s worth noting that not all Pixel 7 series devices have had the issue.
We aren’t certain what causes the problem. There’s a possibility the Pixel 7 Pro’s 120Hz refresh rate display could be to blame. It’s worth noting that the issue primarily affects the Pixel 7 Pro, with only some Pixel 7 users complaining about the problem. MobileSyrup reporter Dean Daley has a Pixel 7 Pro and hasn’t run into the issue. Similarly, news editor Jon Lamont hasn’t encountered the problem with the Pixel 7.
Does your Pixel 7 or Pixel 7 Pro’s display feel jittery to scroll? Let us know in the comments below.
It’s the beginning of a new month, so it’s time for Pixel smartphones to get their monthly security patches. Phones from the Pixel 4a to the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro will receive the patch.
Google has posted the February factory image and OTA 13.9 files for all the handsets.
The update includes the following updates.
Accessibility
Fix for issue preventing touch interaction with Braille keyboard in certain conditions.
Audio
Fix for issue occasionally causing instability while Clear Calling is enabled in certain conditions for the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro.
Bluetooth
Fix for issue occasionally preventing connection with certain Bluetooth devices or accessories.
Framework
Fix for issue occasionally preventing Work profile calendar information from updating in the background.
Head over to the Settings menu to update your phone over-the-air.
Although Samsung’s new Galaxy S23 series is stealing the headlines right now, those shopping for a new phone and who don’t want an S23 might want to consider Google’s Pixel phones, which are currently on sale (alongside several of the company’s accessories).
Currently, the Canadian Google Store has the Pixel 7, 7 Pro, Watch, Buds Pro and Chromecast with Google TV on sale:
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