Pixel 7 Pro "barely" survives durability test

It’s uncommon these days to find folks using phones without a case. Even though devices, especially flagships, use tougher protections with each passing year, they still need protective covers to avoid wear and tear or more serious damage. For the Pixel 7 Pro, getting a case is imperative, as proven by YouTuber Zack Nelson’s (JerryRigEverything) durability test.

Zach put Google’s latest flagship through his famous torture test and noted that the phone “barely” survived. The biggest pain points were the camera bar and the overall structural integrity during the bend test.

Scratches appeared on the metal camera bump of the Pixel 7 Pro just a few minutes after unboxing. While the Gorilla Glass Victus-clad display scratched at levels six and seven of the Moh’s scale, just like most other phones, the camera island developed ugly marks with anything from coins to keys and other abrasive stuff. So don’t even think about stuffing the Pixel 7 Pro in your pocket without a proper case.

Also read: The best Pixel 7 Pro cases you can get

Zach predicts that the Pixel 7 phones could look pretty hammered aesthetically two years from now.

The bend and snap

Meanwhile, another discomforting thing happens when Zach tries to put pressure on the Pixel 7 Pro from the back. The phone suffers a slight break near the antenna line under the camera bar, most definitely losing its water resistance.

“The Pixel 7 Pro does not snap in half nor break catastrophically, but Google is definitely snuggling up a little too close to that Nexus 6P standard of structural integrity,” Zach notes.

There you have it — if you’re buying a Pixel 7 series phone, make sure you slap a case on it right out of the box. In my own experience with the Pixel 7, the thing scratches very easily, be it the front or the back.