I imported a Google Pixel smartphone to South Africa — and it’s been awesome

I imported a Google Pixel 7 Pro to South Africa and have thoroughly enjoyed the smartphone over the first two weeks of ownership.

While Google makes the operating system that powers the vast majority of the world’s smartphones, many South Africans might not be aware that the search giant is no newcomer to smartphone design.

Its first smartphone — the HTC-manufactured Nexus One — was released back in January 2010.

While many of Google’s subsequent Nexus releases received high praise, my interest in its smartphones only started with the Pixel 6, released in 2021.

It was that phone’s distinctive phone-wide camera bar, which some have compared to the masks worn by the Ninja Turtles, that first caught my eye.

After reading several reviews online, I quickly discovered that the Pixel’s true strength is its cleaner, Google-centric operating system and unique software features.

As someone who considered switching from a Samsung Galaxy to an iPhone mainly because of its well-refined and integrated software ecosystem, this appealed greatly to me.

The fact that several websites and users referred to the Pixel as the “iPhone of Android” fuelled my interest further.

My recent discovery that various Google Pixel models could be shipped directly to South Africa from Amazon’s US marketplace — often at impressively affordable prices — finally made me commit.

I bought a 512GB version of the Google Pixel 7 Pro — the company’s 2022 flagship — for $613, including shipping, taxes, and delivery. After conversion, the price worked out to roughly R10,800.

I could have bought a 128GB or 256GB model for less than R10,000, but I figured the large capacity upgrade was worth it considering my media-hoarding habits.

The price was so good that even my insurer had to double-check my receipt to see whether I hadn’t bought a used device with the replacement value I provided.

At the time of publication, all the new Pixel 7 Pro models sold by specialist importers on websites like Bob Shop and Zeek Online were priced at over R20,000.

Initial impressions

In addition to the phone itself, the Pixel 7 Pro’s box included a SIM card removal tool, a USB-C to USB-C cable, and a USB-A to USB-C adapter for easy data transfer from various devices.

The small one-page manual was unlike any other smartphone’s. It just had four website links to instructions for initial setup. I had no use for them in any case.

I connected the Pixel 7 Pro to my Galaxy S22 via the provided USB-C cable, and Google’s data and app transfer tool on both devices did the rest.

There was no need to set up a separate account like on other Android smartphones, you only require your Google credentials.

With Samsung phones, you would also need to have a Samsung account, for example.

Out of the box, my Galaxy S22 also came with many redundant apps, including both Samsung and Google’s app stores, browsers, SMS and email apps, gallery apps, and smart assistants.

It also came with several Microsoft apps and numerous niche Samsung apps that the typical smartphone user will likely never use.

Without my requested app transfers, the Pixel had only a few Google apps, primarily the essentials for multimedia and file management, emails, messaging, and smart home management.

The table below compares the pre-installed apps on the Galaxy S22 and Pixel 7 Pro.

While you can deselect some of the apps during the initial setup of the Samsung phone, or remove them afterwards, most are irremovable.

Software sweetness continues

Navigating the phone’s home page and settings was easy for a seasoned Android user.

The biggest changes were the minimalist Quick Settings and notifications panels, which appeared less cluttered than the default Samsung OneUI’s equivalents.

That might not be the best thing for power users who need fast and easy access to many settings and the ability to quickly see lots of information from their apps.

For me, the less cluttered space was a fresh breath of air.

Another big software upside is that I received the latest update to Google’s operating system — Android 15 — on the same day that it was released to all other Pixel users in the rest of the world.

That is despite the Pixel 7 Pro being a two-year-old device.

This is the same approach that Apple applies to the iPhone, for which all users with supported devices get the new iOS updates on the same day.

With other manufacturers, you often have to wait longer than users in other countries for the latest Android update to become available on your device — even if you have the latest flagship.

Below are images of the Pixel 7 Pro’s home screen and screenshots of its lock screen and settings pages.

Excellent camera

Another major selling point of Pixel devices is their photographic capabilities.

DXOMark ranked the Pixel 7 Pro’s smartphone camera as the best in the industry shortly after its launch.

Several newer releases — including Google’s own Pixel 8 and Pixel 9 series — have since pushed it down to 20th two years later.

Regardless, the camera still delivers excellent photos and videos and especially excels at colour accuracy.

The up to 30x zooming capability afforded by the telephoto lens was also very impressive.

But perhaps my biggest joy with using the Pixel camera has been the fast shutter speed, something over which I have long envied iPhone users.

I could easily snap 60 photos in quick succession within 30 seconds without the camera app lagging.

Below are some of the images I’ve taken with the Pixel 7 Pro over the past few weeks.

General photos

Zooming (Click or tap to enlarge)

Night Sight

Great battery life

Another aspect that impressed me during my first weeks of use was the Pixel 7 Pro’s battery life.

I unplug from my charger at around 05:45 in the morning and hit the road at roughly 06:30 to go to the office.

Even if I don’t top up during the day, the battery level is typically over 65% when I get in the car to go back home — roughly 11 hours after unplugging.

After some more frequent use at home, the battery drops down to around 40% by bedtime.

Overall, the Google Pixel 7 Pro offers excellent value for money. If Google offered Pixel devices here, I believe they could see some traction in the South African market.

The software will be very familiar to existing Android users but should also be easy for iPhone users accustomed to a highly concentrated and integrated software ecosystem.

The only issue I had was that certain standout features of the Pixel — including Call Screen, Hold for Me, and Direct My Call — are not available in countries where Google does not officially sell its phones.

The Pixel also does not support 5G connectivity in South Africa, which mobile operators say is because Google has not bothered to certify it for local 5G networks.