Google’s leaping on the 5G prepare with the $499 Pixel 4A 5G (£499, AU$799) and $699 Pixel 5 (£599 and AU$999). The telephones run the most recent Android 11 OS, have a second ultra-wide digicam and larger batteries than any earlier Pixel telephone. But because the marquee machine, the Pixel 5 is supplied with just a few extra options.These goodies embrace a 90Hz show, 2GB extra RAM, an even bigger battery and a water resistant, aluminum physique. It additionally has wi-fi charging and reverse wi-fi charging. (For extra on the variations, take a look at CNET’s video, Pixel 5 and Pixel 4A 5G spec comparability.)
Like90Hz display5G-enabledReverse wi-fi chargingTerrific digicam
Don’t LikePricey for its {hardware} choices
Other than that, the telephones have the identical digicam setup, processor and normal feel and appear. And as a result of they’ve so many overlapping options, I lean in the 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, not less than 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 an even bigger display, which makes the Pixel 4A 5G my choose of the three new Pixel telephones this 12 months (sure, do not forget about that Pixel 4A from August) and certainly one of my high total picks for Android telephones in its value vary. As for the Pixel 5, it is exhausting to suggest 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 prepared 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 telephone, it is not precisely an ultra-premium flagship telephone. 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 water resistant. Though it would 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 the event you’re searching for much more flagship options, like 8K video recording, a sooner processor, expandable storage or extra cameras (like a telephoto lens), it is best to look elsewhere altogether.
Pixel 5’s digicam: New ultra-wide digicam and stabilizing choices Like in previous years, the Pixel telephones’ major promoting level is the digicam. Google removed the telephoto lens that we noticed on the Pixel 4 and changed it with an ultra-wide digicam. Though I like having a telephoto lens, the ultra-wide digicam works effectively and I do take pleasure in having the broader discipline 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 digicam’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 at all times good, nonetheless. In the images I took I did see some patchiness round my flyaway hairs and situations 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 telephone nonetheless makes use of a mixture of optical and digital picture stabilization that offers video a clean, nearly drone-like high quality. And there are actually various kinds of optimizations you may select for stabilization, together with Cinematic Pan. This presents 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 to be; it makes the telephone fairly user-friendly.) And for slow-motions followers, the telephone can now file 60fps in 4K decision. In normal, the cameras are nonetheless incredible and keep 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 superb job at dealing with low-light. Digital zooming maxes out at 7x and whereas it really works effectively sufficient, particulars do get muddied on faraway objects. Also, the delta between the Pixel’s digicam and different telephones is not as huge anymore. Compared to the OnePlus 8T, for instance, footage appeared fairly on par with each other. Though, when it got here to low mild, the Pixel had higher dynamic vary and white stability. This shot of boats within the night had been taken with the principle 12-megapixel digicam.
Lynn La/CNET
The identical scene captured with the 16-megapixel ultra-wide digicam.
Lynn La/CNET
A closeup shot of this succulent reveals sharp detailing.
Lynn La/CNET
This photograph of the constructing was taken throughout the road utilizing the principle digicam 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 huge 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 images at nighttime. Here, my solely mild sources had been a close-by candle and a pc monitor just a few toes away.
Lynn La/CNET
Night Sight lit up this very dim scene close to a lake, and you’ll 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 for the reason that OS has been rolling out. That consists of Dark Mode, Quick Controls and a function I’ve used usually to assist with this very evaluate — the built-in display recorder. Hold For Me lets Assistant take your home when you’re placed on maintain.
Lynn La/CNET
The gadgets do preview one thing referred to as Hold For Me, which lets Google Assistant take your home while you’re on maintain and notifies you when an actual particular person is again on the road. It builds off the identical AI expertise 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 telephone 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 for the reason that final time I took a take 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 appropriate a handful of errors in a row. I do like this new instrument within the Recorder app, which creates somewhat 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 digicam show on the entrance. The rear digicam bump is extra flushed on the Pixel 5 too, which seems to be a lot nicer. When designing the Pixel 5, Google stated it needed the telephone to have a gentle look that is paying homage to a pebble or stone. Perhaps as a result of the comfortable, Scandinavian aesthetic is stylish proper now, however I dig the telephone’s matte, pure look. It jogs my memory of high-end Japanese washi paper and the sage inexperienced colour seems to be particularly good. The reflective accents of the facility button and “G” emblem 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 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 means of information feeds and internet pages really feel a lot smoother and nearly bouncy. To save on battery life, there are some conditions that the telephone will revert again to 60Hz, like when the display is static or when an app would 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 function a Snapdragon 765G processor. It’s an fascinating alternative provided that quite a lot 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 gadgets 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 best capability of any Pixel telephones in years previous, however consider loads of different telephones — just like the OnePlus 8 and the Galaxy S20 have batteries which might be as massive and even greater than that. From what I’ve seen to this point, the Pixel telephones are capable of go with out charging for greater than 24 hours with delicate utilization. I keep in mind final 12 months with the Pixel 4, that telephone’s battery noticeably drained fairly shortly by means of the day and happily I’m not seeing the identical factor right here. A preliminary battery checks on the Pixel 5 for steady video playback on Airplane mode closed in 21 hours, 17 minutes, which is great. But we’re nonetheless conducting battery checks on the Pixel 5, so test again quickly for an replace. Lastly, Google is introducing a brand new mode referred to as Extreme Battery Saver. It’s an choice on high 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 measurement, 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 (commonplace), 16-megapixel (ultra-wide)
12.2-megapixel (commonplace), 16-megapixel (ultra-wide)
48-megapixel (commonplace), 16-megapixel (ultra-wide), 2-megapixel (macro)
64-megapixel (major), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 5-megapixel (macro), 5-megapixel (depth-sensing)
Front-facing digicam
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-resistant (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
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