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Can’t decide between Google and Samsung? Gadget Cover is here to help! Let’s compare the Google Pixel 7 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy A53 to see which one suits you best.

Whether you choose one of these gorgeous gadgets or something completely different, you’ll always want to make sure you have the right phone insurance cover. And that’s a much easier decision to make!

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Google Pixel 7 Pro – a worthy successor to the Pixel 6 Pro

Launched in October as a follow up to the brilliant Pixel 6 Pro of 2021, the Google Pixel 7 Pro offered some welcome design tweaks but also plenty of under-the-hood improvements. As Google’s biggest launch of 2022 so far, the Pixel 7 series has pulled out all the stops in challenging Samsung for the best Android phone title.

There are some impressive camera tweaks and tricks, improved biometrics, a new Tensor G2 chip, and a super-bright display. And all at a price that’s significantly less than its Samsung rivals such as the Galaxy S22 Ultra. 

The Pixel 7 Pro has undoubtedly built on what the Pixel 6 Pro achieved, and gone beyond that high standard. Pretty impressive.

Samsung Galaxy A53 – challenging for the best budget crown

While the tech press headlines might focus on battles between stunning flagship phones, there’s an equally hard-fought area of the market – that of so-called budget phones. These are phones that still offer incredible performance but without all the bells and whistles of their more expensive counterparts.

As the very latest budget phone from electronics giant Samsung, the Galaxy A53 has a lot going for it. Highlights include a 120Hz display, expandable storage up to 1TB, decent cameras, and four years of OS upgrades.  

Just because you’ve chosen a cheaper mobile phone, doesn’t mean you can afford to leave it uninsured. Let Gadget Cover find you phone insurance to protect against breakdown, damage, theft and loss.

Google Pixel 7 Pro and Samsung Galaxy A53 go head-to-head

Whether you’re in the market for the very latest flagship device or an impressive entrant to the budget phone market, getting hold of the spec sheets is a great way to decide on your perfect upgrade. Tech review sites are brilliant but often the quickest way to compare models and decide which is best for you is to refer to their tech specs.

Just like finding the right phone insurance, you’ll want a clear run-down of what the latest phones have to offer. Remember getting great value doesn’t always mean paying for the most expensive phone or policy.

So, in a head-to-head how does the flagship Pixel 7 Pro compare to the budget Galaxy A53? Let’s take a look.

 

	Google Pixel 7 Pro	Samsung Galaxy A53
Display size	6.7-inch LPTO OLED, QHD+	6.5-inch Super AMOLED
Display resolution	3120 x 1440, 513ppi	2400 x 1080 pixels, 405ppi
Peak brightness	1500 nits	800 nits
Refresh rate	120Hz	120Hz
Dimensions	76.6 x 162.9 x 8.9mm	74.7 x 159.9 x 8.1mm
Weight	212g	189g
Build	Corning Gorilla Glass Victus front and back, aluminium frame	Corning Gorilla Glass 5 front, plastic back and plastic frame
Operating system	Android 13	Android 12 (can be upgraded to Android 13)
Camera	50 MP f/1.9 (main), 48 MP f/3.5 (telephoto), 12 MP f/2.2 (ultra-wide)	64 MP f/1.8 (main), 12 MP f/2.2 (ultra-wide), 5MP f/2.4 (macro), 5MP f/2.4 (depth lens)
Front-facing camera	10.8 MP	32 MP f/2.2
Video capture	Up to 4K at 60fps	Up to 4K at 30fps
Processor	Google Tensor G2 (5nm), octa-core	Exynos 1280 (5nm), octa-core
Graphics	Mali-G710 MP7	Mali-G68
RAM	12GB LPDDR5	6GB
Storage	128GB/256GB	128GB with expandable storage up to 1TB via MicroSD
Battery capacity	5,000 mAh	5,000 mAh
Charging	Fast charging: 23W Fast wireless charging: 23W	Fast charging: 25W
Biometrics	In-screen fingerprint, face unlock	In-screen fingerprint, face unlock
Connector	USB-C	USB-C
5G	Yes	Yes
Water/dust resistance	IP68 (up to 1.5m for 30 minutes)	IP67 (up to 1m for 30 minutes)
Colours	Hazel, Snow, Obsidian	Black, White, Blue, Peach
Price	From £849 (128GB)	£399

But it’s not all about the tech specs. How do they feel in-hand? What kind of photos do they produce? How long does a full charge really last when you’re gaming for hours at a time? Make sure you ask the seller all the questions that are important to you before parting with any hard-earned cash.

Google Pixel 7 Pro in detail

Design and build

As with many other smartphone manufacturers in 2022, Google has clearly stuck with the design language introduced last year, just adding some nice refinements for 2022. The most obvious change you’ll notice is the smart looking metal camera bar that blends seamlessly into the frame.

Unlike many of its competitors, the bar means the Pixel 7 Pro doesn’t rock back and forth when placed on a flat surface. That gets a thumbs up from us, although the polished metal does pick up more fingerprints and smudges than if they made it matte.

And on the subject of shine, something we did notice is that it’s a rather slippery device if your hands get wet. While the high-gloss finish is no doubt intended to be eye-catching and ooze premium, if you end up dropping and smashing it on the floor then those admiring glances will soon dry up.

That said, if you put the Pixel 7 Pro in a decent phone case  then that should solve the problem. Phone insurance that guards against breakages would also be handy.

Display

With a 6.7-inch curved OLED panel, QHD+ resolution, snappy 120Hz refresh rate and Always-On display support, the Pixel 7 Pro is similar to its predecessor. However, this time around Google has used a newer-generation display panel which makes the Pixel 7 Pro significantly and noticeably brighter.

With a 1,500 nits peak brightness compared to the 800 nits brightness in the Pixel 6 Pro, you’ll easily be able to use the screen when outside, which is great for outdoor photography sessions on sunny afternoons. The colours really pop off the screen with sharp contrast and deep blacks, making watching films a dream.

The Pixel 7 Pro certainly has a good display, even though it doesn’t quite measure up to its two biggest rivals, Samsung and Apple. Despite closing the gap, the Pixel 7 Pro’s display still falls way behind that of the iPhone 14 Pro and Galaxy S22 Ultra. That said, is there a phone that doesn’t?

And if you’re watching movies then you’ll be pleased to hear the stereo speakers are also very good. Or you could pair the phone with a nice set of Pixel Buds Pro.

Just make sure your phone insurance also covers accessories lost, damaged or stolen at the same time as your handset. Policies arranged by the team at Gadget Cover will have this covered.

Performance

Google’s second-generation Tensor G2 chip is a key highlight of the Pixel 7 Pro and responsible for many of the excellent upgrades over its predecessor.

Not only does it offer more power than the first-generation chip but it also gives far more AI and machine learning brilliance with the new Tensor Processing Unit (TPU).

Which, according to Google, offers a whopping 60% more power compared to last year. Great news for mobile gamers.

In view of the struggles some users had with the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro’s in-display fingerprint sensor, you’ll be pleased to hear Google seems to have smoothed out any problems. While it might not be perfect, it’s certainly better and the Pixel 7 Pro now also includes face unlock as a nice addition.

Cameras

Just as with any Pixel phone, we’ve come to expect great things when it comes to mobile photography and the Pixel 7 Pro hasn’t let us down. It sports a triple rear camera setup with an impressive 50MP main sensor, a 12MP ultrawide sensor for capturing great detail and a 48MP telephoto sensor with an excellent 5x optical zoom level.

The Pixel 7 Pro takes a lot of the effort out of taking great shots and videos and you’re bound to be impressed with its ability to make it look like you know what you’re doing! For night-time photography you’ve also got the super-useful and super-fast Night Sight feature.

But one of our favourite features of the Pixel 7 Pro has to be Photo Unblur. This feature does exactly what you imagine it would do, it unblurs photos. No matter when, where or how it was taken! 

Software

It should come as no surprise the Pixel 7 Pro ships with the updated Android 13 software straight out of the box. But while on first impressions the software feels very much like any other supported Pixel device, in fact there’s a host of neat features exclusive to the Pixel 7 Pro.

As well as the wonderful Photo Unblur above, you’ll also find Assistant Voice Typing, improvements to Direct My Call and new abilities for At a Glance. Enjoy!

But while the Pixel 7 Pro comes with five years of security patches, Google has only committed to three years of OS updates. Which is a shame, and something that might be held against Google when consumers are comparing its products to those of Samsung or Apple.

Battery

Looking at the tech specs for the Pixel 7 Pro a 5,000 mAh battery should be enough to provide a good day’s worth of use. And some days it will, but reviewers have commented on the inconsistency of the battery. So, you’ll probably need a charger on hand just in case.

The tech reviewers over at Tom’s Guide put the Pixel 7 Pro through its paces alongside other flagship phones and this is what they found. As you can see, when it comes to phone batteries, size most definitely isn’t everything!

	Battery size	Battery life
Pixel 7 Pro	5,000 mAh	9h 21 mins
iPhone 14 Pro Max	4,323 mAh	13h 39 mins
Galaxy S22 Ultra	5,000 mAh	10h 18 mins
iPhone 14 Plus	4,325 mAh	11h 57 mins
OnePlus 10T	4,800 mAh	11h 22 mins

 

Samsung Galaxy A53 in detail

Design and build

With a plastic back and matte finish that is resistant to fingerprints and smudges, the Galaxy A53’s design is simple but very effective. Just like its capable predecessor the A52.

Despite having a plastic body, the handset feels nice in hand, solidly constructed and far from cheap. It also comes in some nice pastel shades for those who are bored of black and white.

The Galaxy A53 has the obligatory camera bump on the back and certainly isn’t going to win any cutting-edge design awards. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing if you prefer to go under the radar with your gadgetry!

It also has a decent IP67 rating for water and dust resistance. And the A53’s stereo speakers are surprisingly good for a budget phone. Unfortunately, there’s no headphone jack for those who love their vintage tech.

Display

With a very nice 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display, a 120Hz refresh rate, and FHD resolution the Galaxy A53 sports a really exceptional display for the price. Although be aware during use you have to choose between a 120Hz or 60Hz rate, there’s no automatic adjustment of refresh rate.

Colours look amazing, animations appear buttery-smooth, and there’s no issue with viewing the display at an angle. The Galaxy A53 beats many more expensive rivals and offers one of the best phone displays under £400 we’ve seen.

Performance

Equipped with Samsung’s Exynos 1280 system-on-chip, the Galaxy A53 isn’t set to win any performance races with its more powerful siblings. But that said, it’s a whole lot cheaper and still does okay in day-to-day use.

While gamers and other power users might prefer to pay a little extra for something like the iPhone SE (2022) and its A15 Bionic chip, the Galaxy A53 will still perform well for most things. Web browsing, watching videos, scrolling on social media, and generally navigating around the A53 are all perfectly pleasant, especially with that super-smooth 120Hz display.

Cameras

Just like the Galaxy A52, the Galaxy A53 comes with a quad camera array made up of a 64MP main sensor, 12MP ultrawide, 5MP macro, and 5MP depth shooters. And just like the A52 it produces decent pictures for a budget phone, provided there’s good lighting and you aren’t asking too much.

That said, having Samsung’s impressive range of photographic modes available at the swipe of a finger is well worth the money. These include Food for optimising photos of food; Super slow-mo for videos; or Single Take if you can’t decide what kind of picture would be best for the subject.

Software

The Galaxy A53 has the same intuitive and well-organised One UI 4.1 you’ll find on the flagship Galaxy S22. And it comes with Android 12 straight out of the box, although you should soon be able to update to Android 13.

As well as customisation features, better privacy and security, you’ll also get Samsung’s commitment to updates. Probably, the best update schedule of any Android phone.

Samsung has committed to providing five years of security patches and four years of Android updates for the Galaxy A53. So, when Android 16 arrives in 2025 you should be able to run it on your phone – if you haven’t already upgraded!

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Battery

A 5,000 mAh battery has started to become standard among flagship phones like the Galaxy S22 Ultra and the OnePlus 10 Pro, and the Galaxy A53 has followed suit. So, you’d think the Galaxy A53 would pack a hefty punch – let’s see if it does.

Reviewers at Phone Arena always enjoy putting batteries through their paces. So how did the Galaxy A53 do?

Well, they found the Galaxy A53 easily lasted them a whole day of heavy use even with the 120Hz refresh rate turned on. While dropping down to 60Hz and only light use could push a full charge to a day and a half or even two!

So how does it compare to other phones in the market?

	Video streaming	Browsing test 120Hz	3D gaming 120Hz
Google Pixel 5a	10h 46 mins	15h 6 mins	10h 46 mins
Google Pixel 7 Pro	9h 39 mins	14h 19 mins	4h 11 mins
Samsung Galaxy A52	8h 30 mins	12h 36 mins	9h 42 mins
Samsung Galaxy A53	7h 45 mins	15h 45 mins	5h 28 mins
Apple iPhone SE (2022)	4h 45 mins	9h 5 mins	4h 59 mins

 

Google Pixel 7 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy A53 - The Gadget Cover verdict

With an excellent camera and stellar performance from the Tensor G2, the Google Pixel 7 Pro is certainly worthy of the flagship name and is in many ways the best Android phone you can buy right now. Indeed, the Galaxy S22 Ultra had better watch out if it wants to retain its crown!

But with better battery performance and a frankly stunning-for-the-price 120Hz display, the Galaxy A53 is still worthy of your consideration. Particularly if budget is a key consideration for you.

When it comes to upgrading your phone it’s always worth referring to Gadget Cover’s ultimate guide to buying a mobile phone before you make your final decision. From jargon busting to which brands to choose from and where to get the best value phone insurance around, this guide has it all.

Find phone insurance for Pixels, Samsungs and more at Gadget Cover

When the choice is made, what next? Well, now it’s simply a matter of protecting your tech from harm. We can find you instant phone insurance at Gadget Cover.

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