I have been using Pixel devices since year one and they tend be devices I hold onto longer than any other smartphone due to their great clean software experience and camera, Over the years thought they have got expensive and followed the Apple and Samsung trends of €1000 plus phones and this did not work out too well for them and with the Pixel 4 XL the battery and price was its demise but they have turned this around completely with the 4a and now their latest flagship the Pixel 5.
I moved directly from the Pixel 4a to the 5 alongside some other devices I am testing but my main sim always remains in the Pixel phone once the testing is done most of the time I carry two phones and have the iPhone 12 ordered and they will be my two main devices bar the test units we have here now and what is coming and I will most likely swap the sim in the iPhone as I am so use to using the best android experience with Pixel phones. This time around they have added more to the already great pixel 4a which I have used since it launched and thrown everything at it and still works a treat today and when the 5 arrived I was excited to see what was new and how the device performed over the 4a and overall it is a win and the question people ask most is it worth moving up from a device only released a few months ago and the answer is yes.
You have a better build quality to begin with ( aluminium) and that finish is really nice too and of course the colour, Under the hood is also better with the 765G chipset 128GB of storage which is handy and expected at the price, 8GB of RAM a 4080 mAh battery which is lasting me a day with heavy use, The rear camera is 12.2-megapixel (f/1.7) + 16-megapixel (f/2.2) ultrawide and the front facing camera is 8MP f/2.0 whilst we have no face unlock which by the way is convenience we have a finger print sensor on the back which is perfectly placed and works all the time, also 18W fastcharge , wireless charging and reverse wireless charging.
Throwing my usual daily tasks at this phone where no problem at all and it flew at anything thrown at it from multitasking to some gaming whilst testing products, of course the camera is the order of the day here for the Pixel 5 which never fails to impress and it is a simple point and shoot device with great results guaranteed almost every time check out the samples below in the video and overall I was impressed just as I was with the cheaper Pixel 4a , the device being small like the 4a did not bother me as I am custom to using bigger devices but since using the 4a smaller devices do not bother me so much and it is better than having a weighty chunk in your pocket.
In regards the camera there still seems to be a race as to whom can pack the biggest hump on the rear and the most lenses which is getting a bit lame now and you can only use one lens at a time and Google has done both here in a nice subtle way and still delivers with LESS hump and lenses which for me proves a point many fail to include and with many options in both camera and video modes there is more than enough to get the job done.
The days of €1000 plus phones are over with mobile phones and it reminds me today of yesteryear when phones cost a lot of money and was nothing but a status symbol and we have reached this era again with the cost to performance ratio coming down some time now on mobiles there is plenty on offer that does the same thing for half the price and the Pixel 5 sits right in the middle and is a nicely packed clean device that puts it up to the competition, it seems like Google have ditched the bigger device for good now but with prices and parts coming down I would like to see a slightly bigger device next time around but for now it is one of if not the best Android experiences you can buy now for the money and a phone that works on any task effortlessly.
Google sent us this device to review with no compensation or copy approval.
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