Google’s Pixel 5 was the last of its kind – The Verge

From time to time, Ill grab a random device out of the Verge reviews closet and spend a week or two with it. Its mostly out of random curiosity and for the sake of comparing old products against the latest and greatest. Most recently, I was drawn to Googles Pixel 5. So I gave it a factory reset, updated the phone to Android 12, and have been using it as my daily driver for the past several days.

The experience has been fantastic. Ive got very large hands an iPhone 13 Pro Max doesnt look out of place in them and I prefer large screens, so I dont think I could fully switch over to the Pixel 5. But its such a good small phone (by 2022 standards) that Ive certainly been tempted. The Pixel 5 makes it easy to do anything I need one-handed. Its midrange processor performs better than ever on Android 12, and this phone still looks unique next to the competition.

Above all else, Ive come away disappointed that Google gave up on the Pixel 5s style and size after just one year. The smallest phone in the companys lineup is currently the Pixel 5a, which has a 6.3-inch display. To its credit, Google is shrinking things down slightly with the upcoming 6A. But with the A-series models, youre giving up niceties like the 90Hz display and wireless charging. In those ways, the Pixel 5 might be the last of its kind in Googles lineup. So much for the even bezels, too.

I now find myself wishing that Google would keep the 5 around as an iPhone SE-style product that gets brought up to speed with hardware upgrades every couple years without losing what makes it good. Lets cover some of the Pixel 5s strengths.

Design and materials: The Pixel 5s 6-inch OLED display is surrounded by thin, symmetrical bezels that go a long way in making the phone comfortable and usable in one hand. And the textured bio resin coating on the 5s body results in a unique feel and reassuring grip when youre holding it throughout the day. The volume rocker shares this texture, while the power button is glossy metal making it easy to distinguish between the two by touch. Owing to its feel and palm-able size, the Pixel 5 is one of those phones that can go caseless without causing much consternation.

Before Google went all in on the common glass sandwich design with the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, previous models in the series often used distinctive materials and textures that helped the phones stand out. With the Pixel 2, it was the almost-coarse rear shell of the black model. The Pixel 4 had grippy side rails. But after the 5s bio resin Im still a big fan of the Sorta Sage green colorway with this finish Google opted for a more basic in-hand feel with last years flagships.

A better screen: The Pixel 6s OLED panel might seem perfectly fine based on first impressions. But in all honesty, its mediocre. There are plenty of threads on Reddit complaining about uniformity issues, an unsightly green tint at lower brightness levels, and other imperfections. The Pixel 6 Pros gorgeous LPTO panel exhibits none of these problems, so its clear that Google settled for less as part of reaching the 6s $599 price.

Even the Pixel 5s screen seems of a slightly higher quality to me than the 6 that replaced it. Theyre both 90Hz displays, but the 5s white point, uniformity, and overall image are just a bit nicer to my eyes. This can sometimes come down to variance between individual units, but I hope to see better from the Pixel 7.

Pixel Imprint rear fingerprint sensor: Im still let down that phone makers decided in unison to relocate the fingerprint reader from the back of the phone, where your index finger often naturally rests while holding it, to underneath the display. Googles Pixel Imprint scanners were perhaps the fastest and most consistent in the entire Android ecosystem, and, well, lets just say the in-screen sensor on the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro has never matched it even after Google improved the performance through software updates.

Consistent camera performance: Google spent several years optimizing its computational photography for the 12-megapixel main camera shared by the Pixel 5 and its predecessors. And while it lacks the dynamic range of the Pixel 6 / 6 Pro and doesnt offer features like Real Tone or Magic Eraser, the Pixel 5 is a consistent shooter. You know what youre going to get, which cant always be said of the Pixel 6 line. I dont love the unpleasant-looking background blur you sometimes get from the 6s larger sensor, but this is something Google will no doubt improve.

Although Im mostly satisfied with the smooth performance and general responsiveness of the Pixel 5 on Android 12, there are still occasions where the midrange Snapdragon 765G processor hits a wall and gets bogged down. Snap a photo, and the frustrating delay while the phone processes the shot remains present. The 5 can also get hung up if you get overly ambitious with multitasking.

While Im sold on the Pixel 5s look and feel, Googles hardware quality assurance isnt always the best. Many units have a slight gap between the display and body. After the phones release, the company said the gap wasnt anything to worry about but its exactly the sort of minor detail that I find annoying.

And then theres that dreadful under-screen speaker, which still sounds tinny in most cases even after Google tried to improve it with an adaptive sound setting. Those symmetrical bezels didnt come without tradeoffs.

But even with those downsides factored in, theres still something special about this phone. Ive come close to buying one from Woot, which is selling new, unopened Pixel 5s for $450. Apparently Google mustve stumbled across some extra inventory in a warehouse somewhere. With Apples mini iPhone rumored to be cut from the upcoming iPhone 14 lineup, it seems small phones are on the way out (again). That makes this a tempting moment to buy. The only asterisk to consider in Googles case is that software support for the Pixel 5 will end in October 2023.

But maybe by then, Google will reintroduce a small Pixel that doesnt skimp on hardware features and doesnt so blandly take after its larger siblings.

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Google's Pixel 5 was the last of its kind - The Verge