Pixel 5 Review - It's a Tough Choice! By Matthew Moniz

So this is the pixel 5, and I absolutely love this phone. In fact, this is probably one of my favorite android phones of 2020, but the thing is it costs 699 dollars and when I think 699, I automatically think the galaxy s20 Fe, I think, about the iPhone 12 midi and I think about the OnePlus 8t, which is 50 more in USA, but 50 cheaper everywhere else in the world, and then you sit back, and you look at the specs of all these devices and all of a sudden, the pixel 5 doesn't look as good, and I understand that specs are not everything experience trumps all, but if I'm walking into a store, and I'm looking at all these devices on the shelf, my eyes are going to the s20, the OnePlus 8t and the iPhone mini. In fact, if you were to build these phones from scratch, the pixel 5 would be the cheapest to build. Let's take the display, for example, like I like this screen size like six inches, is a good size. It's still one handable it's comfortable to hold, and I feel like the screen size is big enough. It, too, has a 1080p display, like the rest of these phones on the table.

Furthermore, it's 90 hertz, not 120, like the s20 or OnePlus 8t, but the problem I have mostly with it is its brightness. I constantly find myself cranking up the brightness to about 80. It's a fairly bright display brighter than the Pixel 4 XL, but it doesn't get as bright as the s20 or the crazy peak brightness on the OnePlus 8t. Then there are the speakers and like yes, all of these phones have stereo speakers, but the Fe, the OnePlus 8t have physical speakers at the top and bottom of the phone, whereas the pixel is using one at the bottom and then the other speaker is baked into the display. In fact, if you compare the stereo speakers on this, the Pixel 4a 5g sounds significantly better, but let's take software.

For example. This has always been google's strong suit and one of the reasons that I personally go back to the pixel year in year out, it's a clean software experience, and it's still my favorite out of all these devices on the table. But it's not a big deal as it used to be. It's a big deal over something like the galaxy phones, because they're unique in their own ways a lot of redundant apps, a lot of features that you don't use and not the best looking UI, but the OnePlus 8t, even though it's transitioned to look more like one UI is still a very clean experience, and it has a lot of little features that I personally find useful. The pixel doesn't have that selling feature of being the cleanest smartphone experience ever anymore.

It's still there, but it's not as big as it used to be. So, let's talk battery life and I feel like they're, all on par slightly better battery life on the OnePlus 8t, but literally no complaints with any of these devices like I'm easily getting through the entire day with the pixel 5, and that's a big upgrade from previous pixels. Now you do get wireless charging with this. You do have fast charging, but it's nowhere nearly as fast as the fast charging that comes with the OnePlus 8t. The downside to the at, though, is you, don't get wireless charging, and I'd rather have a little slower charging with wireless charging than not having wireless charging at all.

Then there are the cameras and like this has been the selling point for Google for years and like look, I love the color science they're using. I love their computational photography and, like all these phones on the table trade blows, whereas a few years ago the pixel would wipe the floor they're still using the same camera sensor. It's time for an upgrade. I understand. Google says that they don't feel like there's anything else on the shelf that will push them forward, but when your competitors are matching or beating you in certain characteristics you have to upgrade somewhere.

The only time that the pixel really stands out is in nighttime photography, and it's mostly over the OnePlus 8t. The galaxy s20 Fe does a remarkable job and keeps up with it, sometimes beating it out, depending on the shot and the exposure. Then there's video- and this is one area that google has improved this year- it's much better, but I still find the video to be better on the galaxy s 20 Fe. Now. The one area I do have to give google credit in is their post picture.

Editing like after you take the photo. You can do some crazy things like, for example, you can change the lighting on your face. You can now take like nighttime portrait shots, which is something these other phones can't do, and you can even like blur and blur the background and that just speaks to how powerful google's AI is getting with their camera features. So here's the bottom line. If you live in the United States, the best deal is the galaxy s20 Fe.

It just provides you the best balance of everything. However, if you have to have a pixel, the Pixel 4a 5g is the better deal. I understand it doesn't have wireless charging water resistance, it's a plastic build. It has a tiny bit smaller battery, but it keeps the two most important things: the camera experience and the software plus. It has a bigger display.

Better speakers and a headphone jack, if you're in Canada, the pixel 5, is the best deal like this is 799 dollars. While all these other devices here are over 900 reaching up to 1100 bucks, it really comes down to your region. I know in India, for example, the OnePlus 8t makes the most sense. At the end of the day, the pixel 5 is a great phone, but when you break it down, and you compare to all these other devices, it's a hard price to stomach either way that wraps up my review. I hope you guys enjoyed it.

If you have any more questions, let me know in the comments below like the video, if you liked it subscribe. If you haven't already, and I'll see you guys in the next video.

Source : Matthew Moniz