Google Pixel 5 Review: Best Pixel Ever? By Android Central

In a year of massive upheaval and change, we have a different kind of pixel phone from Google. The pixel 5 selling for 6.99 in the US is the cheapest flagship pixel in years and the first not to use the very best Qualcomm processor. But despite this, it might also be the best pixel ever take a sec to subscribe to android central here on YouTube, and we'll get into. Why that's the case in our full review of the Google Pixel 5. So if this black pixel 5 looks familiar to you, it's probably because it's the spitting image of the Pixel 4a launched just a couple of months ago. Actually, on multiple occasions over the past week, I've picked up the Pixel 4a thinking it's the 5 and not realized it for several minutes, while I'm using it that's how similar they are.

But there are some key differences to note. The most obvious is the screen. The pixel 5 has slimmer uniform, bezels and a larger overall display area at 6, inches diagonally, as well as being ever so slightly bigger overall, and while the screen resolution is the same at full, HD plus the much quicker 90 hertz refresh rate makes the pixel 5 feel smoother when scrolling and more responsive to touches. It's also the first pixel in three years to have an aluminum unibody, though it's coated with a special resin. That means it doesn't particularly feel like metal.

Don't get me wrong. The hand feel is more premium than an all plastic handset, like the Pixel 4a. Just don't expect the feeling of bare aluminum, because that's not what you're going to get here. The reason for the resin coating in part is to avoid the appearance of antenna lines and also to allow for QI wireless charging. That's another feature.

The five can boast over the Pixel 4a google cuts an area into the metal unibody to allow the charging coil to pick up charge. The black pixel 5, I'm using honestly, looks a little dull. It has this subtle speckled pattern on the back, but otherwise it's pretty nondescript. If you're interested in a pixel, 5, that's more colorful or just less dull you'll definitely want the greenish sorter sage model, which is much more eye-catching. Whichever pixel 5 you buy, you'll get the same hardware loadout inside it's powered by the snapdragon 765g chipset, not the highest of the high end, but enough power for most of us and appropriate for the price.

That's backed up by eight gigs of ram and 128 gigs of storage, there's no 256 or higher option, which is unfortunate but again consider the price water resistance is on board too, with an ipx8 rating providing extra peace of mind. But let's be clear here. This is a cheaper pixel at launch than the pixel 4, and so, in addition to not using the very fastest chipset, there have been some other hardware changes. The face, unlock and motion sense gestures from the pixel 4 are gone instead, replaced by a basic hole, punch, selfie, camera and pixel imprint, fingerprint scanner. I'm not too sad to see motion sense, go considering how well useless it was in the pixel 4 and as for face unlock the pixel 5's rear.

Fingerprint scanner works. Fine for biometric unlock duties and gives you the very helpful option to swipe down at any time to see your notifications. The most important thing google has upgraded in the pixel.5, though, is the battery with the 4080 million power rating. It's the biggest battery in any pixel and a welcome upgrade over the frankly terrible battery life of the pixel 4. I've routinely gotten more than double the longevity of the pixel 4 out of the pixel 5.

, in some cases, coming in around 7 hours of screen on time over 24 hours off the charger with lighter use. There's no question: you could get a second day out of the pixel 5. And the fact the battery life is so dependable makes it a bit more acceptable that you're still stuck with 18 watt wire charging via the very same charging, brick that ship with all four previous generations of pixel google's pixel software continues to be a delight to use we'll have to see how well it ages over time. But first impressions are very positive. The look and feel hasn't changed too much at all, compared to pixels on android 10, but Google's continued to build out its software services and AI features to really differentiate the pixel from other android phones.

The Google Assistant of course remains ubiquitous with the new fast interface. That's still only available on Google phones a year after the pixel 4 launched and the features I really appreciate on a pixel are back too, like now playing for music identification and live caption for transcribing any audio on the device compared to previous years. The number of new pixel software features is relatively small here, but there are some neat additions. All the same, although the pixel 5 has great battery life, the extreme battery saver feature lets you whitelist a few apps to keep running and shut off everything else. In the background, potentially letting you keep the phone running for hours longer and Google Assistant has also picked up some new telephony tricks provided here in the US.

The new hold for me feature means you, don't have to spend minutes or even hours listening to badly compressed hold music when you're on hold. You can just tap and the assistant notifies you when there's an actual human available to take your call and the portrait light. Editor is a new feature in google photos that uses machine learning to adjust the lighting on your subject. After the fact. This works not just on photos taken with a pixel 5, but older pictures in your Google photos.

Library as well super useful if you're taking portraits in less than ideal lighting and a great fit for the night sight portrait mode which we'll get to later in this review, naturally being a pixel. You also benefit from being the first, with any new android platform updates. Google promises three years of platform security updates, taking the pixel 5 up to android 14 in 2023, that's about as good as you're going to find on android phone, especially at this price point. But let's get to the other really exciting thing about using a pixel phone. The cameras, last year's pixel 4 introduced a two times telephoto alongside the main 12 megapixel sensor, but Google has backtracked this year instead switched to a secondary ultrawide camera at 16.

Megapixels, that's more in line with the competition at this price point, and both cameras can produce expectedly excellent results. Even at this, cheaper price point photos have that trademark, pixel look and the stunning night sight mode is as good as any of the competition in very dark conditions. Plus night sight now works with portrait mode, and it can activate automatically in darker conditions. To save you manually. Switching overall quality is of course, fantastic, though, with a little of difficulty around hair in certain situations.

Still I've been really impressed. Google has four years of experience, optimizing, HDR, plus for its main sensor, and especially with night sight. Google can go toe-to-toe with much more expensive competitors. General photo quality from that ultra-wide camera is decent, though without optical stabilization photo quality can dip in darker conditions around the edge of the frame even with night sight in brighter scenes, HDR plus works its magic and the pixel 5 is capable of some truly amazing ultra-wide shots. One thing you'll notice compared to the pixel 4, is slightly lower.

Photo processing speeds, though that's in part, because the lack of the pixel visual core in this phone, the custom google chip used in pixels 2 through 4, has been retired and the pixel 5 instead uses the snapdragon processor's built-in neural networking capabilities, which is easier on the battery. Nevertheless, processing times are a bit slower and that's something that is noticeable elsewhere. Google is focused on amping up the pixel's video capabilities and the pixel 5 now comes with 4k video supported up to 60 frames per second. That said, I'd find it easier to get excited about 4k video on a pixel if the storage didn't max out at 128 gigabytes. In any case, Google hasn't just upped the frame rate.

It's given the pixel video camera four new stabilization modes. You've got your standard stabilization same as pixels have always had active, is for heavier movement, aiming to smooth out footage that might have been taken from a vehicle or while you're walking quickly, there's locked mode, which zooms to two times and aims to keep locked on that single spot. Even if you're moving around and cinematic pan is probably the most fun of all the new video modes, basically shoots at 60 frames per second, then slows down to 30 and adds a bunch of stabilization, and with this mode you can capture some pretty stunning pants and other kinds of moving shots. So the new pixel video modes are fun, but the lack of dedicated telephoto is unfortunate. You'll definitely notice the difference compared to the pixel 4 there, as is the relatively low resolution of that main sensor.

If google switched to something like a more modern, 48 megapixel sensor, then I think these video modes would have a lot more wiggle room for zoom and stabilization. Even the front-facing camera benefits from that immense HDR, plus expertise that google's built up over the years. It's clear, Google isn't really trying to compete with something like the galaxy s20, ultra or Huawei p40 pro, both of which, by the way, cost around double pixel 5's price. So if you want super telephoto or more manual control, then those phones have you covered for a price. The pixel's approach to photography continues to be keep it simple, and while Google is adding more features this year, especially in video, the point of shoot charm of the pixel camera remains, as does its impressive overall quality.

The pixel 5 is a different kind of pixel. It's a delightful little phone for this miserable chaotic year, cheaper, more accessible and more coherent as an overall package than any previous pixel. There are no glaring oversights and no obvious omissions in this pixel. Considering its price, I argued last year. The problem with pixels was that google got the icing right, but screwed up the cake, or rather google built some great features, but couldn't get the smartphone basics right.

That's not the case with the pixel 5. All the fundamentals are really strong, even things like battery life, which frustratingly seem to elude google in last year's models on paper, the pixel 5's hardware is pretty run-of-the-mill, but this kind of hardware makes more sense in a pixel than any of the previous devices. Google is taking good enough smartphone hardware and elevating it to software services and AI, and while some people like me, made more than the days when we could get all that stuff, alongside top tier specs, that's obviously not the direction of travel for the pixel series. The result of a lot of tough decisions for Google's hardware team is pretty much the best pixel phone ever. You can always wish for more like a XL model or more cameras or more storage, but considering the price pixel 5 is a truly fantastic little phone.

That's it for now stay tuned and be sure to subscribe to android central. So you don't miss our future videos. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you next time you.

Source : Android Central