Released: October 15, 2020
We have for you today Google’s flagship smartphone, the Google Pixel 5. Now you are going to have to agree with me here, Google’s idea of a flagship isn’t what you think it is. We all know that for a smartphone to be considered a flagship it means the device’s specs have to be the best there is. Google, however, has a unique description and approach to this concept but it still remains the best phone they’ve released. Google, this time around, has decided to focus on the user experience and one other major area that Google is known to be great for, is the simplified camera experience. There are some features that have been shed off from its predecessor, the Google Pixel 4. These include no telephoto shooter, no face unlock, and unique features such as Soli(used to track motion on a microscopic scale). Regardless of all this, it still has amazing features such as a 90Hz OLED display, larger 4080mAh battery as compared to the Pixel 4’s 2800mAh battery, and an IP68 rating.
| Dimensions | 144.7 x 70.4 x 8 mm (5.70 x 2.77 x 0.31 in) |
| Weight | 151 g (5.33 oz) |
| Build | Glass front (Gorilla Glass 6), aluminum back, aluminum frame
With IP68 dust/water resistance |
| Display | OLED, 90Hz, HDR10+ |
| Screen Size | 6.0 inches, 87.6 cm2 (~85.9% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~432 ppi density) |
| Glass Type | Corning Gorilla Glass 6 |
| OS | Android 11 |
| Chipset | Qualcomm SDM765 Snapdragon 765G (7nm) |
| CPU | Octa-core (1×2.4 GHz Kryo 475 Prime & 1×2.2 GHz Kryo 475 Gold & 6×1.8 GHz Kryo 475 Silver) |
| GPU | Adreno 620 |
| Card Slot | No |
| Internal Storage | 128GB |
| Memory/RAM | 8GB |
| Main Camera | 12.2 MP, f/1.7, 27mm (wide), 1/2.55″, 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS 16 MP, f/2.2, 107˚ (ultrawide), 1.0µm |
| Video | 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps; gyro-EIS |
| Selfie Camera | 8 MP, f/2.0, 24mm (wide), 1/4.0″, 1.12µm |
| Video | 1080p@30fps |
| Sound | Yes, with stereo speakers |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD |
| GPS | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, BDS |
| NFC | Yes |
| Radio | No |
| USB | USB Type-C |
| Sensors | Fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer |
| Battery | Li-Po 4080 mAh, non-removable |
| Charging | USB Power Delivery 2.0 Fast charging 18W Wireless charging 12W Reverse charging 5W |
| Colors | Just Black, Sorta Sage |
Design and Display
When it comes to the design, the Google Pixel measures 144.7 x 70.4 x 8 mm (5.70 x 2.77 x 0.31 in) in dimensions. Making it a rather compact device compared to the majority of smartphones released this year. The Pixel 5 has a familiar design to that of the Pixel 4a. It has a 6-inch 90Hz OLED display which is circumscribed by extremely thin symmetrical bezels and has a punch-hole at the top right corner of it for the selfie camera. The rear is made of metal i.e. recycled aluminum, i love the fact that we are going green here. The metal wraps around the sides of the device for an all-in-one body which you won’t find on the market. With this we can deduce that the phone should have good resilience and durability.
You can hold it with full confidence without worrying about dropping it and getting cracks as one would with glass made devices. The edges of the device are curved and they make it possible for a more comfortable grip. Google didn’t include the under-display fingerprint sensor here, instead it went for the rear physical fingerprint reader. There’s also a camera bump on the rear but despite this, it doesn’t cause the phone to wobble on a flat surface. There’s no headphone jack on the Google Pixel 5, instead you have to do with the one USB-C connector at the bottom. On the bottom left is the microphone and on the bottom right is one of the two speakers.
Software & Processor
The Pixel 5 comes with Android 11 fresh from the box and Google promises at least three years of major OS updates including security patches during the device’s product cycle. Instead of going for the best of the best processor, the Snapdragon 865 Plus or SD865, Google compromised and went for the more well-rounded power-efficient Snapdragon 765G chipset. It consists of a performance cluster with two ARM Cortex-A76 cores at 2.4GHz and 2.2 GHz. Meanwhile, the power-efficient cluster contains six small ARM Cortex-A55 cores clocked at up to 1.8GHz. These cores may run at different speeds depending on the CPU load. The processor is coupled with an Adreno 620 to run the graphics which is an upgrade from the Pixel 4a’s Adreno 618. There’s a single memory option of 8GB on the Pixel 5 as with the internal storage which is 128GB. Unfortunately, there is no expandable storage option.
Camera
One of the main strengths of Google’s smartphones is their camera prowess, this is also one of the major reasons why consumers go for the Pixel phones. It features a dual camera setup with a primary camera being the same 12MP sensor that has been around since the Pixel 3, the only difference is that it is accompanied by, a first ever on a Pixel phone, a 16MP ultra-wide shooter this time around. However, the ultra-wide’s FOV is only 107 degrees which isn’t much as compared to the 120 degrees or more that the competition is dishing out.
Battery
Perhaps the biggest improvement on the Pixel 5 over its predecessors is the 4080mAh battery in contrast to the 2800mAh battery of the Pixel 4 and 3700mAh of the Pixel 4 XL. It comes with the 18W USB-C PD charger and also supports Qi wireless charging with fast-charge speeds of up to 12W and reverse wireless charging speeds go up to 5W.
The Google Pixel 5 is a great phone especially for the price of around $700 but it’s got stiff competition from Samsung’s Galaxy S20 FE and Oneplus’s Oneplus 8T. Despite the latter two devices out-contesting the Pixel 5, it does the upper hand in some areas but not by much. For example, the Galaxy S20 FE is priced as the Pixel 5, has a more powerful Snapdragon 865 chipset, 120Hz display, a larger battery and a triple camera setup. The Pixel 5 still has better camera quality and is a more compact device for the small phone lovers. That said, the Galaxy FE has a bigger claim.
The Oneplus 8T has a 120Hz display, additional camera sensors and 65W fast charging. Google’s Pixel 5 outshines the Oneplus 8T when it comes to having wireless charging, and IP68 rating for water and dust resistance.
The Pixel 5 is now available for purchase!
