The Google Pixel 5: A Mini-Review - Small Package, Small Value?

Conclusion & End Remarks

Today’s review of the Pixel 5 wasn’t the usual full-fledged piece we’d dedicate to Google’s year devices, with the goal of the piece more towards making sure we’ve covered the phone ahead of the flurry of new generation devices that are coming next week. That’s a pretty stoic take to start the conclusion of the Pixel 5 with, but I think that’s also the general correct conveyance of my thoughts on the device.

The Pixel 5 is generally a good phone. The highlights of the device are its unique build and materials, with the plastic-coated aluminium frame giving the phone a unique feel that’s actually breath of fresh air in a market of glass sandwich phones. Google’s approach and industrial design here I think are a success – both in terms of build materials and also the general simple but very functional design of the phone.

The device is a smaller form-factor, and most importantly very light-weight, something which is becoming increasingly rare in today’s industry trends. The company also doesn’t compromise on things such as battery capacity even though the Pixel 5 is of a diminutive stature, and the long battery life is actually also one of the highlights of the phone, addressing one of the important problems that had plagued the Pixel 4.

Performance of the Snapdragon 765 in every-day usage is good, and Google’s software is plenty optimised and the device feels very responsive in lighter tasks, although the hardware disadvantages do appear in anything that’s more demanding. The GPU performance in the Pixel 5 is atrocious – we can’t really explain why the phone performs so much worse than other Snapdragon 765 devices, but if you’re looking for a phone for any kind of 3D gaming, the Pixel 5 is not for you.

The camera experience on the Pixel 5 is good. Daylight pictures are competitive, and the new ultra-wide-angle module addresses a much-needed gap in experience in Google’s Pixel line-up. Low-light photography is saved through Night Sight, however by today’s standards there are superior camera experiences out there by the likes of Apple and Samsung.

Finally, there’s the question of price and value, and that’s where the Pixel 5 encounters some very large hurdles.

In the US, the Pixel 5 launched at $699 and that is still the price today. The problem here is that that’s still quite steep compared to other newer competitive options, a Galaxy S20 FE now costs $599 and outperforms the Pixel 5 in nearly every aspect. The new upcoming Galaxy S21 launching at $799 also completes the pincer-attack from the high-end, not to mention the pressure Apple is putting onto the Android ecosystem with the newer $699 iPhone 12 mini and $799 iPhone 12. European users also see a similar situation, with the added issue that Google isn’t even officially selling the Pixel 5 in many countries.

Furthermore, while the Pixel 5 is a good phone, it’s not dramatically different to the Pixel 4a 5G. They have the same SoC, the same camera system, the 4a 5G actually gains a 3.5mm headphone jack, and only trades in the 90Hz screen and IP68 water resistance in return, for only $499. Yes, the mmWave version costs $599 there, but I really wonder if that’s actually of any wise value in this product segment.

In the end, I still feel like Google’s release schedule is handicapping the company’s product lines. If the Pixel 5 had been released in early 2020, I think it would have had an easier time to rationalise itself. Being released in November, the phone really only had a couple of months opportunity to position itself in the market before getting crushed by the new spring generation refreshes – if one could argue that it had a competitive positioning at all at release.

I think Google overall did well with the direction they took with the Pixel 5, it was the wise choice to go for this product segment, however the company still needs to unbundle the Pixel release schedule with the Android release schedule, and try to further optimise the pricing of the phones. The Pixel 4a and Pixel 4a 5G are much better positioned devices, and probably a wiser purchase compared to the Pixel 5.