Google’s leaping on the 5G practice with the $499 Pixel 4A 5G (£499, AU$799) and $699 Pixel 5 (£599 and AU$999). The telephones run the newest Android 11 OS, have a second ultra-wide digital camera and larger batteries than any earlier Pixel cellphone. But because the marquee gadget, the Pixel 5 is supplied with a couple of extra options.These goodies embody a 90Hz show, 2GB extra RAM, a much bigger battery and a waterproof, aluminum physique. It additionally has wi-fi charging and reverse wi-fi charging. (For extra on the variations, try CNET’s video, Pixel 5 and Pixel 4A 5G spec comparability.)
Like90Hz display5G-enabledReverse wi-fi chargingTerrific digital camera
Don’t LikePricey for its {hardware} choices
Other than that, the telephones have the identical digital camera setup, processor and common appear and feel. And as a result of they’ve so many overlapping options, I lean in direction of the Pixel 4A 5G. While I like the upper refresh fee on the Pixel 5 and wi-fi charging, that $200 I’d be pocketing by going with the 4A 5G makes it price skipping out on these options, at the very least for me. After all, with that chunk of change I may purchase a pair of wi-fi earbuds or extra storage on Google One. Plus, it nonetheless has 5G and a much bigger display screen, which makes the Pixel 4A 5G my decide of the three new Pixel telephones this 12 months (sure, do not forget about that Pixel 4A from August) and one in every of my prime total picks for Android telephones in its value vary. As for the Pixel 5, it is onerous to advocate given its value. True, it’s $100 cheaper than the Pixel 4 ($390 at Back Market) was when it launched final 12 months. And Google is aware of individuals aren’t keen to spend so much proper now and is producing solely 800,000 Pixel 5 telephones this 12 months. But whereas the Pixel 5 is Google’s flagship cellphone, it is not precisely an ultra-premium flagship cellphone. There are loads of alternate options from Samsung, Apple, OnePlus and even LG that boast higher {hardware}. Most price as a lot or greater than the Pixel 5, however not all. The OnePlus 8 ($699 at Amazon), for instance, is at the moment $600 for the 8GB/128GB mannequin. It too has 5G, an ultra-wide lens, a 90Hz show and the T-Mobile variant is waterproof. Though it does not have wi-fi charging or reverse wi-fi charging, it has a bigger show and the extra highly effective Snapdragon 865 chipset, versus the Pixel 5’s Snapdragon 765G. And in case you’re in search of much more flagship options, like 8K video recording, a quicker processor, expandable storage or extra cameras (like a telephoto lens), it is best to look elsewhere altogether.
Pixel 5’s digital camera: New ultra-wide digital camera and stabilizing choices Like in previous years, the Pixel telephones’ primary promoting level is the digital camera. Google removed the telephoto lens that we noticed on the Pixel 4 and changed it with an ultra-wide digital camera. Though I like having a telephoto lens, the ultra-wide digital camera works properly and I do take pleasure in having the broader subject of view for sweeping landscapes or simply becoming extra content material in a single body. Tweaking a photograph utilizing the Portrait mild instrument.
Lynn La/CNET
The digital camera’s low-light mode, branded as Night Sight, takes nice footage in dim lighting and now it really works in portrait mode so you may nonetheless take these polished, dramatic footage at nighttime. The impact is not all the time excellent, nonetheless. In the photographs I took I did see some patchiness round my flyaway hairs and cases the place my fingers within the foreground (holding up a peace signal) was confused and blurred out as a part of the background. Google additionally added a instrument that permits you to mess around with portrait lighting. It’s simple to make use of and it got here in useful each time I took a usually good picture, however the lighting simply did not fairly come out proper. For video, the cellphone nonetheless makes use of a mixture of optical and digital picture stabilization that provides video a easy, virtually drone-like high quality. And there are actually various kinds of optimizations you may select for stabilization, together with Cinematic Pan. This gives a slower, extra cinematic search for panning. (I additionally like that Google included fast explainers and samples of when to make use of every of those choices and what they appear like; it makes the cellphone fairly user-friendly.) And for slow-motions followers, the cellphone can now report 60fps in 4K decision. In common, the cameras are nonetheless implausible and bear in mind the Pixel 5 and 4A 5G share the identical cameras. Pictures have nice dynamic vary, photographs are vibrant and clear and Night Sight does a wonderful job at dealing with low-light. Digital zooming maxes out at 7x and whereas it really works properly sufficient, particulars do get muddied on faraway objects. Also, the delta between the Pixel’s digital camera and different telephones is not as broad anymore. Compared to the OnePlus 8T, for instance, footage seemed fairly on par with each other. Though, when it got here to low mild, the Pixel had higher dynamic vary and white steadiness. This shot of boats within the night had been taken with the principle 12-megapixel digital camera.
Lynn La/CNET
The identical scene captured with the 16-megapixel ultra-wide digital camera.
Lynn La/CNET
A closeup shot of this succulent exhibits sharp detailing.
Lynn La/CNET
This picture of the constructing was taken throughout the road utilizing the principle digital camera and no zoom.
Lynn La/CNET
The identical shot of the constructing utilizing the 7x digital zoom.
Lynn La/CNET
This image exemplifies the Pixel’s broad dynamic vary. When the OnePlus 8T took the identical picture, the signage on the constructing was blown out and unreadable.
Lynn La/CNET
Night Sight now works with portrait mode to take bokeh-like photographs at nighttime. Here, my solely mild sources had been a close-by candle and a pc monitor a couple of ft away.
Lynn La/CNET
Night Sight lit up this very dim scene close to a lake, and you may see particulars within the foreground shrubbery in addition to the residence lights within the background.
Lynn La/CNET
Pixel 5 previews Hold For Me and different Android 11 goodies The Pixel telephones run Android 11 and there is not an enormous quantity of recent software program issues we’ve not already seen because the OS has been rolling out. That contains Dark Mode, Quick Controls and a characteristic I’ve used usually to assist with this very evaluation — the built-in display screen recorder. Hold For Me lets Assistant take your house when you’re placed on maintain.
Lynn La/CNET
The units do preview one thing known as Hold For Me, which lets Google Assistant take your house if you’re on maintain and notifies you when an actual individual is again on the road. It builds off the identical AI know-how as Call Screen and the interface is sort of environment friendly after I used it to name a dummy line that Google setup. You nonetheless must hover across the cellphone when an individual takes up your name, however I’ll take any reduction I can get from crappy maintain music. The native recorder app additionally has extra tips up its sleeve because the final time I took a have a look at it on the Pixel 4A. I’m not too certain why Google has actually leaned in on this app, however as somebody who makes use of it on a regular basis for taking notes and recording interviews, I’m not complaining. You can now edit textual content and replica or take away chunks of audio. Unfortunately, you may solely edit textual content one phrase at a time for now, which prevented me from breaking a misheard phrase into two (it transcribed me saying “their powers,” into “empowered”) and it was tedious after I needed to right a handful of errors in a row. I do like this new instrument within the Recorder app, which creates slightly graphic if you wish to share some quote or audio snippet on social media. Pixel 5’s pure, minimalistic aesthetic and 90Hz show Compared to the Pixel 4, the Pixel 5 and 4A 5G have thinner bezels and a hole-punch digital camera show on the entrance. The rear digital camera bump is extra flushed on the Pixel 5 too, which seems to be a lot nicer. When designing the Pixel 5, Google mentioned it needed the cellphone to have a smooth look that is paying homage to a pebble or stone. Perhaps as a result of the comfy, Scandinavian aesthetic is fashionable proper now, however I dig the cellphone’s matte, pure look. It jogs my memory of high-end Japanese washi paper and the sage inexperienced coloration seems to be particularly good. The reflective accents of the ability button and “G” brand on the again are additionally a stunning contact. On the floor, I could not inform the distinction between the Pixel 5’s aluminum design and the Pixel 4A 5G’s polycarbonate, or plastic, encasing. But within the hand it does really feel denser, regardless of being smaller. The Pixel 5 additionally has a 90Hz show, that means the display screen refreshes 90 frames a second. Most telephones, together with the Pixel 4A 5G, refresh 60 instances a second, although there are some which have 120Hz shows, just like the OnePlus 8T and Galaxy S20. For the Pixel 5 to have a better refresh fee implies that scrolling by way of information feeds and net pages really feel a lot smoother and virtually bouncy. To save on battery life, there are some conditions that the cellphone will revert again to 60Hz, like when the display screen is static or when an app does not essentially name for a excessive refresh fee. The Pixel 5 has a 90Hz show
Angela Lang/CNET
Pixel 5 efficiency and battery The Pixel 5 and 4A 5G characteristic a Snapdragon 765G processor. It’s an attention-grabbing selection on condition that loads of present flagships and final 12 months’s Pixel 4 have the extra strong Snapdragon 855 chipset. While which means the Pixels’ benchmark scores aren’t as excessive as, say, the OnePlus 8 or Galaxy S20, the telephones are corresponding to units which have the Snapdragon 765G processor, just like the LG Velvet for instance. It’s nonetheless quick and dependable too, and through my time with it, I did not expertise any hiccups or lag time all through my day-to-day duties. 3DMark Slingshot Unlimited
Note:
Longer bars point out higher efficiency
Geekbench v.5.0 single-core
Note:
Longer bars point out higher efficiency
Geekbench v.5.0 multicore
Note:
Longer bars point out higher efficiency
The Pixel 5 has a 4,000-mAh battery whereas the Pixel 4A 5G has a 3,800-mAh battery. It’s the very best capability of any Pixel telephones in years previous, however bear in mind loads of different telephones — just like the OnePlus 8 and the Galaxy S20 have batteries which can be as huge and even greater than that. From what I’ve seen thus far, the Pixel telephones are in a position to go with out charging for greater than 24 hours with gentle utilization. I bear in mind final 12 months with the Pixel 4, that cellphone’s battery noticeably drained fairly rapidly by way of the day and luckily I’m not seeing the identical factor right here. A preliminary battery checks on the Pixel 5 for steady video playback on Airplane mode clocked in 21 hours, 17 minutes. This is a wonderful time, particularly when contemplating that the Pixel 4 averaged half that point at 10 hours. But we’re nonetheless conducting battery checks on the Pixel 5, so verify again quickly for an replace. Lastly, Google is introducing a brand new mode known as Extreme Battery Saver. It’s an choice on prime of the common battery saver mode and it severely limits app utilization to increase battery life. Pixel 5 vs. Pixel 4A 5G, OnePlus 8 and Galaxy A71
Google Pixel 5
Google Pixel 4A 5G
OnePlus 8
Samsung Galaxy A71 5G
Display dimension, decision
6-inch FHD+ OLED; 2,340 x 1,080 pixels
6.2-inch FHD+ OLED; 2,340 x 1,080 pixels
6.55-inch AMOLED; 1,080×2,400 pixels
6.7-inch AMOLED; 2,400×1,080 pixels
Pixel density
432ppi
413ppi
402ppi
399ppi
Dimensions (Inches)
5.7 x 2.8 x 0.3 in
6.1 x 2.9 x 0.3 in
6.3 x 2.8 x 0.31 in
6.39 x 2.97 x 0.31 in
Dimensions (Millimeters)
144.7 x 70.4 x 8.0 mm
153.9 x 74 x 8.2 mm (Sub-6 solely) 153.9 x 74 x 8.5 mm (mmWave + Sub-6)
160 x 72.9 x 8.0 mm
162.5 x 75.5 x 8.1 mm
Weight (Ounces, Grams)
5.33 oz; 151g
5.93 oz; 168g (Sub-6 solely) 6.03 oz; 171g (mmWave + Sub-6)
6.35 oz; 180g
6.52 oz; 185g
Mobile software program
Android 11
Android 11
Android 10
Android 10
Camera
12.2-megapixel (normal), 16-megapixel (ultra-wide)
12.2-megapixel (normal), 16-megapixel (ultra-wide)
48-megapixel (normal), 16-megapixel (ultra-wide), 2-megapixel (macro)
64-megapixel (primary), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 5-megapixel (macro), 5-megapixel (depth-sensing)
Front-facing digital camera
8-megapixel
8-megapixel
16-megapixel
32-megapixel
Video seize
4K
4K
4K
4K
Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G
Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865
Snapdragon Qualcomm 7250, Snapdragon 765G
Storage
128GB
128GB
128GB, 256GB
128GB
RAM
8GB
6GB
8GB, 12GB
6GB, 8GB
Expandable storage
No
No
No
Up to 512GB, 1TB
Battery
4,000mAh
3,800mAh
4,300mAh
4,500mAh
Fingerprint sensor
Rear
Rear
In-screen
In-screen
Connector
USB-C
USB-C
USB-C
USB-C
Headphone jack
No
Yes
No
Yes
Special options
5G enabled; water-proof (IP68); 90Hz refresh fee show; dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM); reverse wi-fi charging; quick charging
5G enabled; dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM); quick charging
5G enabled; Warp Charge; 90Hz refresh fee
5G enabled
Price off-contract (USD)
$699
$499
$699 (8GB RAM/128GB), $799 (12GB RAM/256GB)
$600 (AT&T and T-Mobile); $650 (Verizon)
Price (GBP)
£599
£499
£599 (8GB RAM/128GB), £699 (12GB RAM/256GB)
£420 (4G), £520(5G)
Price (AUD)
AU$999
AU$799
UK converts to: AU$1,180 (8GB RAM/128GB), AU$1,370 (12GB RAM/256GB)
AU$750 (4G), AU$800 (5G)
*costs are at launch
Discover the newest information and greatest opinions in smartphones and carriers from CNET’s cell specialists.