Aside from Google’s dominance in browsers and productivity platforms, it never failed to somehow become popular in the world of smartphones. In 2016, the first Pixel flagship device debuted. Since then, the tech giant continues to make its name in the world of smartphone manufacturing, aiming to have a competitive edge among other flagship brands.
Unlike Samsung’s S20 flagship smartphone, Google’s Pixel 5 primarily focuses on its main asset: providing smartphone users with an entirely neat Android interface paired with an excellent, simplified camera experience. Also, simplicity is the best description for Pixel 5. It has a robust metallic body with curves from its rear.
In this article, we’ll spill everything you must-know regarding Google Pixel 5 and what makes this phone an excellent alternative to more expensive flagship devices.
Design
Google’s Pixel 5 is one of the frontrunners when it comes to smartphones with a metallic structure. Pixel 5’s aluminum side frame makes it easier for smartphone users to hold it conveniently. Its metallic component has a matte-like finish, providing a more polycarbonate aesthetic instead of having the traditional aluminum frames. Although it’s not the most impressive design, Pixel 5’s structure offers a more solid grip on your phone.
It’s a crucial factor since Google Pixel 5 feels small as a flagship device. It has a minimal bezel, an all-in-one metallic structure, and a 6-inch screen. Despite its smaller size, Pixel 5 feels more compact compared to the previous Pixel series. With 8mm thickness, the tech giant’s latest Pixel flagship device is one of the thinner mobile devices on the market.
Wireless Charging
In case you’re wondering, Google Pixel 5 supports wireless charging despite its metallic nature. Due to Google’s innovative nature, Google Pixel 5 has a small hole on its rear plate, covering the charging coil. Aside from that, it is painted and covered with resin. Unlike the Pixel 4A smartphone, Google Pixel 5 is IP68 water-resistant.
Speaking of the Pixel 5’s rear part, the phone has a square camera component that is similar to the Pixel 4’s rear camera. However, the flash has switched from the top to the bottom of the block. Google Pixel 5 is also integrated with a fingerprint sensor, placed toward the top-center on the rear in a circular module.
Google Pixel 5 has a SIM tray on its left side. The downside with Pixel 5 is that it doesn’t have a microSD tray for upgrading its storage capacity. On the lower part, it has a USB-C port with a speaker on the right part.
In a nutshell, Google Pixel 5 is commendable for its minimalist and simple design. It is built with tiny bezels around the display and a front-facing camera, similar to a small punch hole. On the rear part, Pixel 5 has a square camera component with dual optics and a fingerprint sensor.
Available colors of the Google Pixel 5 are Just Black and Sorta Sage.
Display
Google Pixel 5’s 6-inch full HD+ features a bright and sharp screen, with 2340×1080 resolution. As mentioned, Pixel 5 has tiny bezels and a small punch hole-like component that houses the front-facing camera. Hence, the latest Pixel phone has a more improved screen-to-body proportion compared to the Pixel 4 series. As a refresher, the Pixel 4 has a compact black component at the upper part of its display. Because this particular component has a Soli depth sensor, the Pixel 5 has a more competitive edge with more screen advantage.
It has a 90Hz refresh rate; however, you can switch to 60Hz in the phone’s settings whenever needed. Although it depletes your phone’s battery faster, 90Hz is essential for a more seamless experience when you’re surfing on your app library and Internet.
The color quality of the Google Pixel 5 features an impressive balance between comic-like oversaturation and low-key realism. Its display quality can become fairly bright; however, it’s not as stellar as its contenders. When adaptive brightness levels are activated, Pixel 5 only features 610 nits. Speaking of comparisons, Samsung’s S20 FE has 679 nits, while Apple’s iPhone 11 has 652 nits. In terms of sRGB color quality, Google Pixel 5 features 128.8%, slightly better than Galaxy Note 20’s 122.8%.
Performance and Specs
One of the components that Google has compromised, so smartphone users can save money, is through the Google Pixel 5’s specs. Instead of integrating the phone with Snapdragon 865, Pixel 5 is built with Snapdragon 765G. Despite criticisms, the flagship device still runs on satisfactory performance.
Google’s Pixel 5 is integrated with 8GB RAM, providing smooth and reliable performance through a diverse range of tasks including video streaming, mobile gaming, and internet browsing. Aside from that, the latest flagship device from Google features 128GB of internal storage. As mentioned, the Pixel 5 doesn’t have a microSD slot. If you require more storage capacity, you’ll have to consider cloud storage services.
With Android 11 as its operating system, Google Pixel 5 benefits from the platform’s new features, such as a built-in screen recording. Through Pixel 5’s Conversations feature, the phone collects all messages from different mobile apps in one platform. Aside from that, it also features all-new smart home controls.
Here is a detailed overview of Google Pixel 5’s technical specifications:
| SPECS | |
|---|---|
| Battery | 4,080mAh
18W Wired Charging 12W Wireless Charging Reverse Wireless Charging |
| Colors | Just Black
Sorta Sage |
| Dimensions | 144.7mm x 70.4mm x 8mm |
| Display | 6” OLED
2340×1080 Resolution 90Hz Refresh Rate 432ppi |
| Front Camera | 8MP Sensor | f/2.0 Aperture |
| GPU | Adreno 620 |
| Headphone Jack | None |
| IP Rating | IP68 |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G |
| RAM | 8GB |
| Rear Camera 1 (Primary) | 12.2MP | f/1.7 Aperture |
| Rear Camera 2 (Secondary) | 16MP | f/2.2 Aperture |
| Sensors | Accelerometer
Ambient Light Sensor Gyrometer Magnetometer Barometer Spectral and Flicker Pixel Imprint Fingerprint |
| Software | Android 11 |
| Storage | 128GB
microSD Slot Unavailable |
| Weight | 151g |
Camera
Like the Google Pixel 4, the Pixel 5 features a glass-covered rear camera module. Hence, it typically receives a misconception with having the same features as the Pixel 4. Although it has a similar 12.2-megapixel primary camera, Pixel 5 features a 16-megapixel ultra-wide lens instead of the 2x optical telephoto lens.
With the ultra-wide lens, Google Pixel 5 doesn’t have any excellent zoom quality. Looking on the brighter side, a wider lens means more people can squeeze in for a group photo. Despite that, Pixel 5 only has a 107-degree viewing field, which isn’t quite impressive in comparison to other flagship contenders with 120-degree or more ultra-wide lenses.
Speaking of zoomed photos, Google Pixel 5 captures better photos in full daylight. The capture photos yield crisp and rich color quality. In terms of low-light photography, the quality is similar. It captures more accurate colors compared to other premium smartphones such as Apple’s iPhone 11 Pro Max. Through Pixel 5’s ultra-wide lens, the photos have less distortion.
In terms of post-processing, Pixel 5 features its own photo editing software. Capture an image and tap on the burger icon, and you can access a plethora of editing tools. Unlike Pixel 4, it has a more organized and sleeker interface. Aside from that, Pixel 5 has newer imaging features such as Portrait Light. Through this feature, users can brighten or lighten up particular subjects or faces from a specific angle.
The Pixel 5 remains true to its advocacy when it comes to image quality. Aside from capturing images with excellent colors, it offers unique ways of post-processing photos.
Battery Life
One of the most significant upgrades of the Pixel series is battery life. In case you didn’t know, Pixel’s battery life was a primary concern of the previous Pixel series. As a result, Google Pixel 5 has an all-new improved 4,080-mAh battery capacity. It is an upgrade from Pixel 4’s 1,300mAh battery.
Aside from expanded battery capacity, Google Pixel 5 offers the Extreme Battery Saver feature. With this feature, users can disable Wi-Fi services, pause background apps, and enable Dark Mode. Other battery-saving integrations include the Pixel 5’s Adaptive Battery feature, letting you manage which apps are frequently used, and allowing them to consume most of your phone’s battery.
During independent battery tests, Google Pixel 5’s battery lasted up to 9 hours and 29 minutes at a 90Hz refresh rate. Through this battery test, Pixel 5 had endlessly launched several web pages using a mobile data connection until its battery zeroed out. The result was definitely better compared to Pixel 4’s 7.5 hours only. However, if you want to optimize Pixel 5’s battery capacity, you can configure your device to a 60Hz refresh rate instead of the default 90Hz.
In terms of charging, Google Pixel 5 supports both Qi 12 W wireless and 18W wired charging. Its package already includes the 18W fast charger. Hence, no need to buy a separate charger. Aside from that, Pixel 5 also supports reverse charging. That said, you can charge your mobile accessories such as headphone cases and other smartphones with the Google Pixel 5.
Price
The Pixel 5 was first released in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the US on October 15, 2020, with an introductory price of AUD999, £599, and $699, respectively. It’s only available in one variation, with 128GB internal storage and 8GB RAM. Hence, it doesn’t come with Pixel 5 XL. For a $700 price range, Google Pixel 5 is one of the best mid-range smartphones you can purchase.
As mentioned, Pixel 5 is offered in two colors, namely Sorta Sage and Just Black.
Verdict
That’s a wrap for the Google Pixel 5’s comprehensive review. Without a doubt, Google Pixel 5 is the most improved Pixel smartphone ever. That said, Pixel 5 has addressed a few shortcomings made by its older sibling, the Pixel 4 series. With Google Pixel 5, you can enjoy more advanced and useful camera features. Despite its minor downgrades over the previous Pixel series, such as in the biometrics department and processing speed, Google Pixel 5 has significantly improved its battery performance.
In a nutshell, we’ll highlight the different factors to help you decide whether Google Pixel 5 is worth a try. Here are some of the good reasons why the Google Pixel 5 smartphone is best for you:
Mobile Photography
As mentioned, Google’s Pixel smartphones remain true to its advocacy – providing the best camera features for mobile photography. Undoubtedly, Google Pixel 5 is one of the best smartphones with excellent picture quality, plus all-new features.
Keeping It Simple
The simplicity of the Google Pixel is unmatched. Hence, if you want a straightforward device with a clean interface and features, Google Pixel 5 is the best match for you. Everything you need in a flagship smartphone is already built into the Pixel 5.
Security Enthusiasts
Operating on Android 11 software version, Google’s Pixel series are the first devices to receive new security patches and releases from the platform itself. With Google Pixel 5, you have three years of relevant updates on your smartphone.
Smaller Flagship Device
Unlike popular flagship smartphones, Google Pixel 5 has a smaller yet compact structure. As a result, you can conveniently use your Pixel phone with just one hand. Hence, it’s easier to keep it in your bags, purses, or pockets.
On the contrary, there are also a few factors that might affect your decision of getting a Google Pixel 5. Hence, you can purchase the Pixel’s flagship competitors, such as the OnePlus 8 and the Galaxy S20.
Mid-Ranger
Google Pixel 5 has faster and more powerful performance compared to older Pixel smartphones. However, it’s not as efficient as other more powerful phones in the market such as the Galaxy S20 and the iPhone 12. Hence, it’s a flagship device with mid-range capabilities and specs only.
Smaller Screen Size
If you aren’t used to having smaller screens, Google Pixel 5 isn’t the best flagship smartphone for you. Despite its impressive 6-inch screen, the Pixel 5 is easily overpowered by bigger mobile phones with a similar price range, such as Samsung’s S20 FE and the OnePlus 8T.
