Google’s Pixel 5 was the last of its kind

I will remove a random device from time to time edge reviews the closet and spends a week or two with it. This is mainly out of casual interest and to compare “old” products with the newest and best. I was recently introduced to Google’s Pixel 5. So I reset it to factory settings, updated my phone to Android 12, and have been using it as a daily driver for the past few days.

The experience was fantastic. I have very big hands – the iPhone 13 Pro Max doesn’t look out of place in them – and I prefer big screens, so I don’t think I can make the full transition to the Pixel 5. But it is very good. “Small” phone (according to the standards of 2022). The Pixel 5 makes it easy to do everything I need with one hand. Its mid-range processor runs better than ever on Android 12, and the phone still looks unique in the face of competition.

First of all, I was disappointed that Google gave up the style and size of the Pixel 5 just a year later. The smallest phone in the company’s series is currently the Pixel 5a with a 6.3-inch screen. To its credit, Google is slowing things down with the upcoming 6A. But with the A-Series models, you are to give up subtleties Like 90Hz display and wireless charging. In this way, the Pixel 5 could be the last of its kind in the Google rankings. Even for frames.

Photo: Google

Now I want to keep Google 5 as an iPhone SE-style product that is accelerated by hardware upgrades every two years – without losing the things that make it good. Let’s 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 frames, which makes the phone comfortable and usable in one hand. And the textured “bio resin” coating on the body of the 5 results in a unique feel and reassuring grip when you hold it during the day. The volume control shares this structure, and the power button is shiny metal – making it easy to distinguish the two by touch. In terms of feel and palm size, the Pixel 5 is one of those phones that can go without a box without much hassle.

Before moving to a common “glass sandwich” design with the Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, previous models in the series often used different materials and textures to help differentiate phones. with pixels 2, this black model had an almost coarse back shell. The pixels 4 there were igniting side rails. But after 5’s bio resin – I’m still a big fan of Sorta Sage green with this finish – Google chose a simpler hand feel with last year’s flagships.

Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Better screen: The Pixel 6’s OLED panel may look perfect on first impressions. But to be honest, it is average. There are many topics on Reddit that complain about unity issues, useless green at low brightness levels, and other flaws. The Pixel 6 Pro’s spectacular LPTO dashboard doesn’t show any of these problems, so it’s clear that Google agreed to a lower price as part of the 6’s $ 599 price tag.

Even the screen of the Pixel 5 seems to me a bit higher quality than the 6 that replaced it. They both have a 90Hz display, but the white dot, unity, and overall image of the 5 is a bit nice to my eyes. This can sometimes result in differences between individual units, but I hope I see better than the Pixel 7.

Pixel Imprint rear fingerprint sensor: I still agree that phone manufacturers have decided to move the fingerprint reader to the bottom of the screen from the back of the phone, where your index finger naturally stops when you hold it. Google’s Pixel Imprint scanners were perhaps the fastest and most consistent in the entire Android ecosystem, and the in-screen sensor on the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro never matched it – even after Google improved its performance through software updates.

Continuous camera performance: Google has spent several years optimizing computational photography for the 12-megapixel main camera shared by the Pixel 5 and its predecessors. While the Pixel 6/6 Pro lacks the dynamic range and doesn’t offer features like Real Tone or Magic Eraser, the Pixel 5 is a consistent shooter. You know what you’re going to get, it’s not always possible to say that about the Pixel 6 line. I don’t like the unpleasant-looking background blur you sometimes get from the larger sensor of the 6, but that’s definitely something Google will improve.

Photo: Google

The Pixel 5 is not perfect

While I’m mostly satisfied with the smooth performance and overall response of the Pixel 5 on Android 12, there are still cases where the mid-range Snapdragon 765G processor hits the wall and sinks. There is a frustrating delay when taking a photo and processing a phone call. If you are overly ambitious with too many tasks, 5 can be closed.

Although I’m sold with the look and feel of the Pixel 5, Google’s hardware quality guarantee isn’t always the best. There are many units slight gap between display and body. The company after the release of the phone said the gap was nothing to worry about – but these are the small details that I find annoying.

And then there are six speakers on that awesome screenEven after Google tried to improve it, it still sounds elegant in most cases “adaptive sound” parameter. These symmetrical frames did not come without replacing each other.

But even with these downsides, there is still something special about this phone. I approached to get one from Woot, that is The new, unopened Pixel 5s retails for $ 450. Apparently, Google has to come across some additional inventory in a warehouse somewhere. Small phones are coming out (again) with rumors that Apple’s mini iPhone will be discontinued from the upcoming iPhone 14 series. This is a tempting moment to buy. The only star to be considered in Google’s work is that the software for the Pixel 5 will expire in October 2023.

But it is possible that by then Google will re-introduce a small Pixel, which does not save on hardware features and does not follow its older siblings.