Always-on display, astrophotography, and RCS jabs at the iPhone were all featured in the Pixel 7 presentation.

Google began its announcement of the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro with a series of jabs at the iPhone and how the Pixel series was the first to introduce a number of features.

 

The Pixel has always been a leader in smartphone innovation, and Google’s Brian Rakowski noted that “we regard it as a complement when others in the industry follow our lead.” He continued by pointing out that the Pixel 2 introduced an always-on display in 2017. (and At a Glance).

 

Of course, the addition of that feature by Apple to the iPhone 14 Pro last month was one of its highlights. The iPhone’s AOD strategy, however, has come under fire for being overly aggressive.

Following Night Sight and astrophotography from the 2018 Pixel 3, the iPhone 11 included “Night mode,” which has since been improved.

 

This segment came to a close by highlighting the 2019 Pixel 4’s Car Crash Detection, which the iPhone 14 (and Apple Watch) had only recently introduced. The last message read:

 

It’s a remarkable track record of ground-breaking innovations that debuted first on Pixel and significantly improve the phone experience.

 

The Pixel 7 “uses RCS for better media sharing and end-to-end encryption,” according to Google, which was mentioned afterwards. This is the business’s most recent request that Apple adopt Rich Communication Services. The Android team usually gives that push.

 

The majority of the industry has already embraced RCS as the current communications standard. We hope that RCS is adopted by all device manufacturers, improving texting for all smartphone users.