From time to time I will take a random device from the Verge cabinet and spend a week or two with it. This is mostly out of casual curiosity and because of the comparison of the “old” products with the newest and best. I was recently attracted to Google’s Pixel 5. So I reset it to factory settings, updated the phone to Android 12 and used it as a daily driver for the last few days.
The experience was fantastic. I have very large hands – the iPhone 13 Pro Max doesn’t look out of place in them – and I prefer large screens, so I don’t think I could completely switch to the Pixel 5. But it’s such a good “small” phone (by 2022 standards). ), which I was certainly tempted. Pixel 5 makes it easy to do everything I need with one hand. Its mid-range processor works better than ever on Android 12 and this phone still looks unique to the competition.
Google abandoned the design and size of the Pixel 5 too early. I have been using one for the last week. It’s even smoother on Android 12. It still looks and feels unique.
This should be the Pixel version of the iPhone SE and just accelerate every few years. pic.twitter.com/UXLfrms4p0
– Chris Welch (@chriswelch) June 20, 2022
First of all, I was disappointed that Google gave up the style and size of the Pixel 5 after only one year. The smallest phone in the company’s range at the moment is the Pixel 5a, which has a 6.3-inch display. To its credit, Google is slightly shrinking things with the upcoming 6A. But with the A-Series models, you give up subtleties like a 90Hz display and wireless charging. Thus, the Pixel 5 may be the last of its kind in the Google range. So much for even frames too.
The Pixel 5 is smaller than both the Pixel 5A and the 6A – with more premium charging hardware. Image: Google
Now I think I want Google to keep 5 as an iPhone SE-style product that accelerates with hardware upgrades every few years – without losing what makes it good. Let’s take a look at some of the strengths of the Pixel 5.
Design and materials: The Pixel 5’s 6-inch OLED display is surrounded by thin, symmetrical bezels that make the phone comfortable and usable with one hand. And the textured coating of “bio resin” on the body of 5 leads to a unique feeling and soothing grip when you hold it all day. The volume control shares this texture, while the power button is made of shiny metal, which makes it easier to distinguish between the two by touch. Thanks to its feel and palm size, the Pixel 5 is one of those phones that can be left without a case without causing much horror.
Before Google moved all in the overall design of the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro glass sandwich, previous models in the series often used distinctive materials and textures that helped the phones stand out. In the Pixel 2, this was the almost rough back cover of the black model. Pixel 4 had gripping side rails. But after the organic resin of 5 – I’m still a big fan of the green color of Sorta Sage with this coating – Google chose a more basic hand feeling with last year’s flagships.
The bio-resin coating of Pixel 5 creates a unique feeling in the hand. Photo by Amelia Holovati Krales / The Verge
Better screen: The Pixel 6’s OLED panel may look perfectly good based on first impressions. But, frankly, it’s mediocre. There are many topics in Reddit that complain about problems with uniformity, ugly green hue at lower brightness levels and other imperfections. The Pixel 6 Pro’s beautiful LPTO panel doesn’t show any of these problems, so it’s clear that Google has come to terms with less as part of reaching the $ 6 out of $ 599 price tag.
Even the Pixel 5’s screen looks a bit higher quality than the 6 that replaced it. Both are 90Hz displays, but the white dot, uniformity and overall image of the 5 are a little better for my eyes. This can sometimes boil down to differences between units, but I hope to see better than the Pixel 7.
Rear Fingerprint Sensor Pixel Imprint: I’m still disappointed that phone manufacturers have decided to move the fingerprint reader together from the back of the phone, where your index finger often rests naturally as you hold it, below the display. Google’s Pixel Imprint scanners were probably the fastest and most consistent in the entire Android ecosystem, and, well, let’s just say that the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro screen sensors never matched it – even after Google improved productivity through software updates.
Continuous camera performance: Google spent several years optimizing its computing photography for the 12-megapixel main camera shared by the Pixel 5 and its predecessors. And while it lacks the dynamic range of the Pixel 6/6 Pro and doesn’t offer features like Real Tone or Magic Eraser, the Pixel 5 is a consistent shooter. You know what you’ll get, which is not always the case with the Pixel 6 line. I don’t like the unpleasant-looking background blur that you sometimes get from the larger 6 sensor, but it’s something Google will no doubt improve.
The Pixel 6A will soon be Google’s smallest phone. Image: Google
Pixel 5 is not perfect
While I’m mostly pleased with the smooth performance and overall responsiveness of the Pixel 5 on Android 12, there are still cases where the mid-range Snapdragon 765G processor hits a wall and sinks. Take a photo and the frustrating delay while the phone processes the photo remains. 5 can also shut you down if you become too ambitious with multitasking.
Although I’m selling with the look and feel of a Pixel 5, Google’s hardware quality assurance isn’t always the best. Many devices have a slight difference between the display and the case. After launching the phone, the company said that the difference is not a cause for concern – but it’s just the kind of small details that I find annoying.
And then there’s that awful speaker under the screen that still sounds tinny in most cases, even after Google tried to improve it with an “adaptive sound” setting. These symmetrical frameworks did not come without compromises.
But even taking into account these shortcomings, there is still something special in this phone. I was close to buying one from Woot, which sells a new, unopened Pixel 5s for $ 450. Obviously Google must have come across some additional inventory somewhere in the warehouse. As Apple’s mini iPhone, which is rumored to be cut from the upcoming iPhone 14 range, looks like the smaller phones are on the way (again). This makes this moment tempting to buy. The only asterisk to consider in Google’s case is that software support for the Pixel 5 will end in October 2023.
But maybe until then, Google will again introduce a small Pixel, which does not save on hardware features and does not take so softly after its older siblings.
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