This is the Google Pixel 5. Google’s latest and greatest smartphone that costs $700 US. This is a crowded market segment with plenty of fantastic options out there. Some bigger, some smaller. How does the Pixel 5 stand out? Is it worth your money? Let’s find out with a little review.

0:00 Intro and Disclaimer
0:54 Physical Features
3:52 User Experience
7:07 Taking a Look at the Camera
8:49 Some Concerns
9:48 Conclusion

Products Mentioned (Amazon Affiliate Links):
Google Pixel 5: https://amzn.to/3mvxpkH
Google Pixel 4a: https://amzn.to/2HHj5a8

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Vanguard Alta Pro 263AB Tripod: https://amzn.to/2O7V8Yn
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The Pixel 5 comes in two colors. Black, and Sorta Sage. You get a few accessories. The phone itself, a usb type c charging cable, usb c charging brick, a usb a to usb c adapter, recyclables and a tiny little sim card ejector tool. Let’s discuss the physical details about the device. The Pixel 5 has a picture frame-like border. What I mean by this is that, like a picture frame, the border is constantly the same size throughout all 4 sides of the phone. No massive chins, foreheads, or extra chubbiness on the sides, which makes this phone look super clean and minimalistic compared to some other devices including the older Pixel phones. The back of the phone is aluminum but it doesn't feel like aluminum. It’s most likely plastic close to the wireless charging area but the rest of the shell is aluminum, and all wrapped in this plastic layer with this shiny “G” google logo on the bottom. It does not have the headphone jack that is on the 4a and 4a 5g. The Pixel 5 actually has the top speaker under the display.

There was no stuttering and apps opened fast. That’s what you should expect out of a higher end smartphone in 2020. The only real performance hitch I ran into was this scenario. When you take a picture and head straight to the gallery view to see the picture you just took. The phone takes a second to process the image. This is a very minor inconvenience, most people won’t be just snapping a picture and trying to analyze it on the spot, and even if they are, they can wait a second. The pixel 5 is also free of all the excess bloatware you get when you purchase a new device, and the fact that it runs stock android makes it even better. I really do enjoy using this phone. It’s a simple phone without some of the crazy gimmicky features out there. The dual speaker sounds as good as you’d expect from a higher end smartphone, but when you block the bottom one, the top under display speaker does sound a bit tiny when isolated like this.

That being said, the Pixel 5 is using a Snapdragon 765G and it does the job. If you’re not playing intense games, and you’re a light user. You can get a day and a half out of this thing. It’s fantastic. The Snapdragon 765g isn’t going to give you the highest settings in your games, but it’s good enough to pretty much play any game you have. For example, here we have Genshin Impact, a game I noticed was pretty popular right now, that I am awful at by the way, and it runs this game smoothly at 30fps on medium. I want to point out something I love about Pixel cameras. The UI. It’s fantastic, everything is easy to read and find. And, I said this in my 4a review, I love the fact that when you tap on an object, the camera tracks and focuses on the item you clicked on. It’s something I love on my sony mirrorless cameras and is a welcomed feature here. There’s two cameras on the back, an ultrawide and a wide angle lens.

#TeamPixel #GiftFromGoogle

So, what do I think of the Pixel 5? First, I want to say I think this is a fantastic phone. There’s plenty of things to like, from it’s ease of use, pixel-exclusive features, and well-rounded specs it’s hard to find flaws. But, this is a $700 smartphone and with that price that's when you can start being a bit knitpicky. Google set a really high bar with the 4a and 4a 5G with how great of a value those devices are that If I were to recommend a Pixel device, it’d probably be the Pixel 4a 5G. If you want the best the Pixel line has to offer with all the nice extra quality of life features then this is it. The Pixel 5 stands out through simplicity in everything it does, it has a minimalistic look, simplistic UI, minimal gimmicks, fantastic support, and a great feature set. You’ll buy this phone cause it’s a pleasure to use and meets all of the common needs. I really like this phone. If I had one gripe, I wish it was $600 but you can’t put a price on fantastic user experience. I’d definitely look at the Pixel 5 cause it’s simply fantastic.