Pixel 5 revisit: 10 months later By Android Police

So back in september 2020 google announced the pixel 5 and for me, it quickly became one of my favorite phones fast-forward nine, ten months after release. What is it like now with so many great phones out and more on the way? How does it stack up, and is it even worth considering anymore, let's refresh our memories on some specs six inches 1080p display with a 90 hertz refresh rate, a 4080 William hour battery snapdragon 765g, with 8 gigabytes of ram 128, gigabytes of UFS, 2.1 storage, stereo speakers, ip68, certification, wireless charging and reverse wireless charging, among other things, of course. Now, if you're familiar with spec sheets from other phones, you look at the pixel, 5s and you're, probably not too impressed. So why exactly did so many people myself included, enjoy and continue to enjoy the pixel 5? Well, it's because it got the basics right sure it doesn't have a 120 hertz, refresh rate top tier processor, 65 watt, fast charging or UFS 3.1 storage. I mean you look at something like the Realme gt5g. I just made a video on it's clearly faster and more powerful than the pixel 5, and it costs hundreds less.

You should check out that video by the way, if you haven't yet, but when it comes to user experience, the spec sheet isn't everything, and we know this, or at least we should, from the pixel 5's materials size, crisp display to reliable battery life, great cameras and clean software. It checks a lot of boxes, if not most of the ones. That really matter, but considering what we've seen in other devices since the five's launch, have we as users added more boxes to check here's the thing with the pixel 5. ? In my eyes it was sort of a bridge year for Google and what I mean by that is, it was clear to see they took a few steps back to iron out some of the issues they had in the past, with quality control, ram management, battery life, strange design, choices bugs and more. Obviously, this isn't a perfect phone, but at least you could see those improvements and instead of attempting to wow us with crazy, perhaps gimmicky features they kept things super simple, no XL model, just one variant with one storage and ram option for 700 bucks and at the time 700 was refreshing to see, especially with everything going on in the world at the time as much as I wanted to see a pixel, 5, XL or pro or plus, or whatever, with all the top tier flagship specs, and felt that that was the year to do it.

Out of the previous years, you could see that google found a sweet spot with 20 20s pixels. They found something that worked. Phones that didn't cost an arm and a leg got the basics down wrapped in a clean nice, looking design free of large ugly notches and four heads. But now knowing what we know about the pixel 6 line, we see that google is going back to multiple sizes, flagship level, specs premium quality and strange designs. Although I think this design looks pretty cool coming from someone who still really likes the Pixel 4 XL with its former flagship processor, pixel neural core good speakers and amazing haptics, a more premium pixel 5 variant is something I definitely would have been willing to pay more for it.

Oh, well enough about the past and the future for a sec, my wishful thinking, mini rant is done. So what's the pixel 5 like now? Well simply put it's still a perfect phone. Did you expect anything less now my pixel 5 is currently running the android 12 beta shortly before I installed the beta? The pixel was running pretty much the same as it was day one, if not better because of the software updates. It had gotten since everyday use great battery life, great aside from the scattered hiccups during very heavy power user usage, which included a lot of picture taking. I was fine with what it gave me and even now, with this beta, this phone is butter, albeit with a few glitches here and there, the buttons, nice and click the rear, mounted fingerprint scanner, practical, reverse wireless charging, convenient and the size of the phone.

Just about perfect, now, usual revisit reminder. This hasn't been my main device since release, but I have used it a ton and I often found myself switching back to the pixel from the top of the top tier devices. Also, it hasn't even been a year yet, so we should be able to assume the phone still runs well right, I'll, keep tabs on how things operate, moving forward, and we'll revisit again in the future. By now, most smartphone enthusiasts know what to expect when it comes to the pixel. It's all about the software and the cameras, and the camera's greatness is mostly thanks to the software and over time.

You really begin to appreciate the software with things like now, playing call screening call waiting the revamped voice, recording app the extreme battery saver, all the things the software does. In tandem with the cameras, the heavy Google Assistant integration and more not to mention all the many things, android 12 will have up its sleeve from visual and functional standpoints. Oh, and you can't forget about what's probably the most important aspect of the software support now. I know you've heard this a million times before, but getting the latest updates and new software iterations as soon as they drop is something you won't necessarily get elsewhere. The pixel 5 may not have been the exact phone from Google.

I had my fingers crossed for in 2020. It lacks a few things that I, along with I'm sure a number of you were pretty sad to see missing, but you want to hit that 700 price tag. Well, you got to cut some corners, that's just how things work. The thing is, though, not even a year later, you see that it didn't take long for manufacturers to push the needle forward significantly when it comes to mid-range and even budget options becoming more and more compelling due to their price to performance and features ratio, many of which make the pixel 5 and, what's under its hood, seem pretty outdated, but ultimately, google released a device that wasn't only beneficial for people not wanting to drop a grand on a phone. I believe it was also beneficial for Google.

They were able to take a step back and hit the reset button: simplicity, responsiveness, reliability, long-term support, quality of life, that's what mattered most to google and the pixel 5 meant exactly what they wanted it to now. Is the pixel 5 worth a pickup now? Well, yes, and no! Yes, because, like I said it still works great, it provides a smooth and clean user experience. The cameras are nice, it's nice phone to hold and use, and it's got the software to back everything up and now because one it sells for about the same price it did when it came out even on the used market. In a way, that's cool to see this phone has been holding its value, unlike previous pixels, whereby now in their lifespan, their prices would have dropped significantly and two at this point, the pixel 6 line isn't so far off and Google is not messing around this year. So I'll leave this one up to you.

I know a lot of people will say it's overpriced and under powered. Either way I've been enjoying the pixel 5 over time. In a lot of ways, it's been able to hold its own against the spec monsters out there and in other ways it's been able to outshine them. As I said before, we'll see how it does as time moves on as more updates are pushed out and more devices released. I cannot wait for the next flagship pixel.

Here's to hoping the pixel 5 was the bridge we needed to greatness. So what do you think of the Google Pixel 5 in 2021? Let us know your thoughts down below, and we'll talk about it in the comments. If you enjoyed the video feel free to drop a like, it helps us out a lot subscribe to the android police channel if you're new, it's been Zach I'll talk to you later, and thank you so much for watching.

Source : Android Police