Pixel 7 unveil included always-on display, astrophotography, and RCS digs at the iPhone

Abner Li | Oct 6 2022 - 5:17 pm PT

In announcing the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, Google started by making a series of digs about the iPhone and how the Pixel series was first to several features.

Google’s Brian Rakowski said that the “Pixel has always been a leader in smartphone innovation, and we take it as a compliment when others in the industry follow our lead.” He proceeded to note that the Pixel 2 in 2017 introduced an always-on display (and At a Glance).

That was of course a highlight of last month’s iPhone 14 Pro with Apple finally adding that staple of Android phones. Meanwhile, the iPhone’s AOD approach has been criticized for being too on.

Night Sight and astrophotography from the 2018 Pixel 3 was up next, with the iPhone 11 a year later introducing “Night mode,” which has undergone improvements.

This section closed by highlighting Car Crash Detection from the Pixel 4 in 2019, with the iPhone 14 (and Apple Watch) just introducing it. The final message was:

It’s an amazing track record of pioneering features that were first on Pixel, and make the phone experience so much more helpful.

Later on, Google brought up how the Pixel 7 “uses RCS for enhanced media sharing and end-to-end encryption.” This is just the latest call from the company for Apple to adopt Rich Communication Services. That push usually comes from the Android team.

RCS is the modern industry standard for messaging, and it’s already been adopted by most of the industry. We hope every device maker gets the message and adopts RCS, making texting better for every smartphone user.