For those looking for a feature-filled smartphone at a reasonable price point, look no further than the new Pixel 5 from Google.
Compared to the latest iPhone that also launched this fall, the Pixel 5 only comes in one size. It has a more compact shape than almost any other Android phone, making it a lot easier to handle and fit in your pocket. The Pixel even brings back the fingerprint sensor, which is a welcome addition in the era of mask-wearing.
The device is equipped with an excellent OLED screen, a powerful battery, and an industry-leading camera. It also has a durable aluminum body that’s not nearly as fingerprint-prone as its competitors.
What sets the Pixel 5 apart from the dozens of other smartphones on the market is its unique software features. My favorite was the new "Hold for Me” tool, which can monitor phone calls for you while you’re on hold, so you can put your phone down and do whatever else you need to do.
Most Pixel smartphones have convenient software features like these, including last year’s Call Screen feature, which curbs annoying spam calls. Google also guarantees Android updates for the Pixel for three years.
Key Specs
• 6-inch OLED display with a resolution of 1,080 by 2,340 pixels; 432 ppi; 90 Hz refresh rate, HDR support
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chipset
• 8GB of RAM; 128GB of storage
• 12.2 MP main camera; 8 MP selfie camera
• 4,080 mAh battery with wireless charging, reverse wireless charging, fast wired charging tech
• Stereo speakers
• Android 11 and minimum 3 years of OS and security updates
I tested Google’s Pixel 5 smartphone for a week to see how this model measures up against the numerous other smartphones that have been released this fall.
Here are four reasons why I think the Pixel 5 is one of the best Android devices released this year — along with the few nitpicky faults that it has.
It Has a Solid Design That Feels Premium, but Is Smaller Than the Competition
The Pixel 5 feels great to hold in your hands. The body is made of recycled aluminum, but you might not be able to tell since its backside is covered in something called bio-resin, which feels a little like paper. Compared to the numerous glass and polycarbonate phones out there, the Pixel feels more durable, not as slippery, and it’s less susceptible to fingerprint smudging.
The smartphone is sensibly sized, and despite having a 6-inch OLED display, it somehow manages to feel compact. The device doesn’t feel unwieldy like the majority of other 6-inch smartphones. It's lightweight with nicely rounded sides, and I’m able to wrap my entire palm around it.
The Pixel 5's Gorilla Glass display and IP68-rated water resistance are welcome durability improvements over the Pixel 4a. And the fingerprint sensor on the backside definitely came in handy for quickly unlocking my phone when I was wearing a mask.
The device has thinner bezels, but they aren’t quite as thin as the Galaxy S20. It has a punch-hole selfie camera and two download-firing stereo speakers, but it lacks a headphone jack — a feature that its sibling, the Pixel 4a, does offer to users.
It Captures Excellent Photos, Especially at Night
There’s no doubt that Google has been the frontrunner when it comes to mobile phone photography. The Pixel 5’s cameras continue to impress with standout results. Its main camera uses a 12.2 MP sensor with an f/1.7 aperture that consistently produces photographs with greater detail than practically any other smartphone.
Google did away with the telephoto camera that was on last year’s Pixel 4. Instead of that secondary zoom lens, there’s a 16 MP ultra wide lens, similar to the one that’s in the iPhone 12. Although it would have been nice to see three cameras over the two, the camera quality is still impressive. I was constantly blown away by the photos that I took with the Pixel 5, especially when I used “Night Sight.” The feature is automatically enabled to help you take photos in darker settings.
Video has also been improved with the Pixel 5, and now you can shoot in 4K at 60 frames per second. There are also new video stabilization options to choose from: Active, Locked, and Cinematic Pan. These really come in handy for capturing special moments.
Overall, the Pixel 5 camera lenses offer a great dynamic range, capturing vibrant and clear shots with sharp detail. Compared to other flagship phones, the Pixel 5's only weakness is its inability to aggressively zoom, since its digital zoom maxes out at 7-times magnification, and it lacks a telephoto lens.
It Offers the Best Battery Life Yet
The Pixel 5 has a 4,080 maH capacity battery, making it the biggest battery Google has ever put in a Pixel. Battery life for the Pixel 5 is solid and will easily get you through a full day of use. When I activated Google’s new Extreme Battery Saver mode, which shuts Wi-Fi off and pauses apps, I was able to get closer to 2 days of use before needing to recharge the device.
The Pixel 5 has another nifty feature called Battery Share (more commonly referred to as Reverse Charging) that you can use to recharge your other gadgets wirelessly by resting them against the Pixel 5’s backside. You can recharge the Pixel 5 wirelessly, as well.
It’s Futureproof and a Worthy Investment
As you’d expect, the device runs the latest version of Android 11, which is a stock version of Google’s smartphone OS. Google promises 3 years of software and security updates for its Pixel phones, which is far better than any other manufacturer.
The device supports 5G, so it connects to ultra fast, next-generation cellular networks. It comes with 8 GB of RAM and a generous 128 GB of storage. The phone has a beautiful OLED screen that supports 90-Hz refresh rates, which makes games and app animations look super smooth.
Some Minor Shortcomings
The Google Pixel 5 is a great phone, but it’s not perfect, and that’s OK! Some folks may scoff at Google for not opting for the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 865 processor. But I think this phone will be more than powerful enough for most users. If it’s not, and you’re a gamer looking for a more powerful processor with stronger cores, you should opt for the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, instead.
Others may complain that the phone lacks a microSD card slot. However, Google does offer Pixel owners 100 GB of free Google One cloud storage for 3 months, which definitely softens the blow.
For me, the three most disappointing aspects about the Pixel are that it doesn’t have a superzoom camera like other smartphones in its price range, its speaker is subpar, and it no longer has the Pixel Neural Core chip for image processing.
The Pixel 5 doesn’t use a traditional earpiece speaker. Instead, its screen vibrates to create audio. This workaround simply doesn’t offer bass or the volume of a traditional speaker, and without that Neural Core processor, there's a bit of lag — so you'll have to wait for images to process when you're snapping photos.
Wrap-Up
In my review of the Google Pixel 4a, I compared the device to my Acura MDX SUV because it costs less than the competition, gets the job done, and doesn’t make much of a statement.
Continuing the Acura analogy, opting for the slightly more expensive and more reliable Pixel 5 is sort of like buying the touring package for your vehicle at the dealership. I do believe the $200 up-charge for the Pixel 5 over the Pixel 4a is fair and worth it for a lot of buyers. This device has wireless charging, water resistance, 5G, a better camera, and a tougher aluminum body. The bottom line is that the Pixel 5 is a really good phone running the best software at a reasonable price.
Read More:
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Read Our Review of the iPhone 12
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