Smartphones

Google Pixel 5 test / review

Published on: 24-11-2021 / Modified: 11-12-2022
I usually test phones when they are released to be among the first to post a review. Usually I can do it, but since I work alone I have to make choices and those choices are often based on the purchase price. It is for this reason that I did not buy the Google Pixel 5 when it was released, I wisely waited a year to buy it second-hand at a reasonable price.

Why this choice? Clearly not to make money because it is too late, this phone is already too old and in addition Google has a distribution policy which is not very favorable for bloggers like me. So I'm going to test this phone because I really wanted to and wanted to realize what it was worth in terms of photo quality. I read everywhere that the Google Pixels are the kings of the photo on the mobile except that from a technical point of view, they do not use the best photo sensors on the market.

So is all this windy? I will answer this question with maximum explanation and of course I will apply the same testing protocol to all other aspects of this phone. Think of this test as a pro-bono test, I will spend many, many hours doing it and probably winning absolutely nothing.

Manufacturer web site:

https://store.google.com/

Site where I have bought the Google Pixel 5:
https://www.2ememain...

Structure of my tests

I test the phones according to a pre-established structure (see below) to provide you with as much information as possible. Unfortunately, this takes a long time. Some tests like network performance tests take several days and for photo tests I sometimes have to wait until the weather is suitable to take pictures in good conditions. I am therefore obliged to publish the tests step by step, so I invite you to come back if the test is not complete at the time of your visit.

Price Google Pixel 5

The list below shows the prices for the Google Pixel 5 from more than 50 sites around the world. If you are not satisfied with any price, you can subscribe to a price alert to be the first to be notified when the price drops.

The above links are affiliate links from companies such as Amazon, Gearbest, Aliexpress,... If you appreciate my work, I would be grateful if you could purchase these products through these links. It costs you absolutely nothing but I get a small commission that allows me to buy the material I test. Thank you very much!

Timeline

November 2021: purchase of the used Google Pixel 5 on 2ememain.be

Why this phone?

I had not yet tested a phone produced by Google. Why? Quite simply because they are way too expensive. These Google phones are however not devoid of interest and beyond the usual criteria of finish, performance, functionality, ... Google has bet everything on the photo and more particularly on the processing of photos.

Google is the undisputed king of the algorithm and this also applies to photos. In a few years they have managed to refine their ability to embellish photos without necessarily using the best technical equipment on the market. They did so well that developers had fun making their GCAM photo app compatible on other brands' phones so that many other phones could benefit from Google's photo processing.

I had the opportunity to test GCAM on many phones with sometimes good results, now I will finally have the option to test GCAM on a Google phone and I could finally go counts whether or not these phones produce better photos than others.

Unpacking

The box of the Pixel 5 is nothing exceptional, it is sober and goes straight to the point. The box contains the phone, a manual, a needle to open the sim drawer (only one physical sim card but possibility to use the esim), a charger, a cable, a large format USB to USB type C adapter. I was wondering what this adapter could be used for, it's a curious choice that I will explain in one of the next paragraphs.

The positioning of your phone is rather high-end but the box is quite basic in the end.

First configuration

I don't often complete this section of the test as I don't always have something interesting to say but I'm going to have to make an exception for this phone as I was very surprised (and not in a good way) by the How to setup this Google Pixel 5. I test dozens of Android phones a year and quite often the initial setup procedure follows the same path on just about all brands. As I test many phones, retrieving content from the previous phone is an important feature for me and syncing with Google cloud was the best solution.

Google made a drastically different choice for its own phones and frankly I wonder what went through their minds when they made that choice. To recover data from your old phone, the solution offered by Google is ... the USB cable?!? So that's what this USB adapter found in the box is for. You have to connect the old and the new phone with a cable ... in 2021 ... amazing.

If you don't want to use this procedure, you have a second choice which is to give permission to transfer from your old phone. This is a procedure that I have seen on other phones before but again it is not practical if you no longer have your old phone. The ideal cloud synchronization solution is simply not offered!

So Google doesn't even offer to retrieve data in its own cloud, it's the world upside down and it doesn't give a good first impression on the phone.

Finish

When going up to the high end, manufacturers try to stand out with the outward appearance of their phones. Some choose to use metal, others use glass and sometimes a combination of both and all kinds of creative things. Google does not go in this direction, the back of the phone is covered in a dark material like leather with a somewhat rough feel to the touch. The Google Pixel 5 does not have the allure of a high-end phone, it plays the card of sobriety where everyone else plays more the card of the beautiful shiny object that will attract attention. I don't give much importance to this sort of thing when choosing a phone but I find this phone to be frankly not very good looking.

The photo sensor is very well integrated into the back of the phone, it only sticks out a millimeter or two. The sensor is also of a reasonable size, so it does not take up a lot of space. Google is going to the essentials and for this sensor it is a good thing. The buttons on the side are placed in an unusual way and I don't think this choice is really the best one. The start button is where all other brands place the volume buttons and the volume buttons are where all other brands place the power button. I have nothing against the desire to stand out but if it comes at the expense of common sense, I find it much less judicious. I have to turn the phone off and on more often than changing the volume, I guess most people do. It is obviously a question of habit but apart from a desire to stand out, I do not understand this choice.

The Google Pixel 5 is a small-sized phone, it doesn't follow the Chinese brands' bidding up to try to design the phone with the bigger screen. I think this is a good thing because despite its size it offers a nearly 6 inch full screen experience. The screen occupies an area of 86%, it is an occupancy rate above average. This phone is also quite light, it weighs only 151 grams and it is arguably the lightest phone I have tested. Google has therefore managed to produce a compact and lightweight phone without having to make too big a sacrifice on screen size.

Below we find the usual USB type C port, Google did not try to stand out from the side there, we also find two speakers to produce stereo sound. The SIM drawer is on the right and can contain a SIM card that you can use in combination with an esim. So you can use two numbers but only one physical sim card.

The screen is interrupted by a selfie sensor on the top left, this sensor is big enough for a high end phone but it never bothered me to use, it is well integrated into the operating system. The bezels aren't very thick, so the Pixel 5 offers an almost full screen experience.

Apart from the fact that I find this phone not very beautiful, I still find undeniable quality. Its size, its weight are assets especially for those who are fed up with big screens and too heavy telephones. The fingerprint sensor is integrated on the back, it is the best choice. I just find it a shame that the buttons are reversed but I would eventually get used to it.

Specifications

The information below comes from the Device Info HW application. The application provides detailed technical information about the tested phone. The Google Pixel 5 only exists in one version with 8Gb of base memory, it's very generous and 128Gb of storage. This phone runs on a Qualcomm architecture for the CPU, GPU, wifi and GPS. Most of the components are unique to this phone, I haven't seen them elsewhere other than maybe Qualcomm's WCN3990 wifi chipset that I've seen in many other phones. The memory is in UFS 2.1, it is a shame because most of the Chinese competitors use UFS 3, this standard brings greater speed to the memory.

The screen uses 2 frequencies (60 and 90hz), the main sensor is a Sony IMX 363 of 12 million pixels, the 4000 mAh battery offers a capacity below the average of the market but with a smaller screen, it will undoubtedly be as enduring as a larger capacity battery.

Here are all the technical characteristics:

CPU / GPU Performance

This phone runs on a Qualcomm architecture for its CPU, GPU, GPS chipset and Wifi chipset (it's the same as in most Poco phones). It is based on a Qualcomm Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G CPU that is also found with the Oppo Reno4, Google Pixel 5a, Nokia 8.3 or the Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G. It is a mid-range processor that provides sufficient performance for most applications. For the graphics part we find an Adreno 620 that I was able to test in the Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite earlier this year. It's also a mid-range GPU and here too no red flags, most games should run fine.

From a technical point of view, the phone closest to the Pixel 5 is the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite which is significantly cheaper.

Benchmark Antutu/3DMark

I got a score of 334,000 points on Antutu, that's a score of a mid-range phone. This score may seem a little low for a phone of this price but not everyone is looking for performance, so Google has contented itself with integrating good mid-range components rather than playing in the race. to performance.

Gaming

To test the performance in game, I download the mobile PUBG game and evaluate the in-game experience, graphics level and depth of vision. This game is quite demanding and should help you evaluating the performance of a phone.

With 344,000 points on Antutu, I expected a good performance in the game and unsurprisingly it is. You can also play any game with this phone, only very large games with the maximum amount of graphics may not run optimally but in this case you simply have to reduce the level of graphics. The 90hz frequency of the screen offers better fluidity in the movements, I would advise on the other hand to deactivate the automatic brightness of the screen because the position of the hands for playing will sometimes obscure the light sensor and make the screen go through. 'from one lighting level to another.

The heat dissipation seems to be effective as I haven't noticed the temperature increase of the phone. The phone's temperature only rose 3 degrees during the Antutu test, so that's not much. I use the conditional for this phrase because I don't play for hours at a time, so I haven't tested this phone under extreme conditions.

Network performance

The Google Pixel 5 is a global smartphone, which means it can be used anywhere in the world. It is compatible with most 3G, 4G and 5G frequencies.

Signal 4G (from December 2020)

I decided to change the methodology for measuring the network because I noticed that the configuration of the mobile network changes over time. This makes it more difficult to compare phones because the conditions are no longer exactly the same.

To overcome this problem, I set up a device that captures 24 hours a day about ten parameters from the mobile network (ex: cell id, rssi, rsrq, snr, frequency,...). I then place the phone next to the device for 24 to 48 hours taking the same measurements so that I can compare them.

Overview of the phones tested with this methodology

I took 1444 measurements to assess the network sensitivity of the Google Pixel 5 and got an average signal of -97.02 dBm. In absolute terms, this result is fairly average but it does not mean anything if I do not compare it with the results of the probe which took the measurements at the same time. With the probe I obtained an average signal of -91.02 dBm and this confirms the first impression on the signal of this telephone. Without being bad this phone is clearly not at the top of the table, I am even quite astonished to have obtained this result on a high end phone of this type.

This phone uses a Snapdragon X52 modem which is also used in a bunch of other phones and therefore will provide similar performance to this phone. In particular, I tested the Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G and the measurements I got with this phone are in exactly the same area as those obtained with the Pixel 5. Among the other phones, I have spotted the following models: Google Pixel 4a, Google Pixel 5a, Motorola Edge, One Plus Nord, Oppo Reno 5, Samsung Galaxy A52 5G, Samsung Galaxy A71 5G, ...

Is it dramatic? No, but if you live in an area with poor network coverage, this phone may not be the phone for you.

Download/Upload speed

To test the download speed, I have identified some 4G cells offering good performance where I test all my devices several times to see what download and upload speed they can achieve.

Wifi performance

To test a phone's ability to receive the network properly, I take measurements near my router and then remotely (and always at the same place). This gives me an average in dBm where a value of -90 dBm indicates poorer performance than a value at -30 dBm.

Wifi signal

I performed 68 wifi signal measurements near my router to assess wifi sensitivity and stability. I got an average signal of -15 dBm with a variation of 2 dBm. This is an excellent score which joins other phones using the same wifi chipset (wcn3990) as the Poco F3. This test shows that my test protocol is reliable because two different phones tested at different times but using the same wifi chipset get the exact same score where other phones with another chipset get different results.

Download/Upload speed

To test the speed in Wifi, I connect to my router in 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz (if available) and use the Ookla application to measure the speed.

GPS performance

To test the accuracy of the GPS signal, I use two positioning applications to evaluate the difference between the actual position and the position indicated by the phone. This test is done outdoors with nothing to obstruct the signal. An accuracy level of up to 3 meters can easily be corrected by an application (e.g. Google Maps).

I got an accuracy of around 3 meters with this phone, it is the same level of accuracy as almost all phones using a Qualcomm GPS chip. This level of precision can be corrected by applications like Google Maps which will get you back on the road if necessary. In terms of frequencies, I detected the frequencies L1 and L5 on the GPS network, E1 and E5a on the Galileo network, L1 on Glonass, B1 on the Baidou network and L5 on the Indian network.

Battery range

To test battery life I developed an application that measures the battery level minute by minute until the battery is empty. This application consumes about ten percent of the phone's resources and I do a test with 100 brightness. This test aims to reproduce a contemplative use of a phone (e.g. surfing the internet, reading articles, spending time on social networks). These results are not valid for intensive gaming/streaming use.

The Google Pixel 5 is sailing a bit against the grain when it comes to battery power because where most smartphones sold in 2021 have a battery capacity of 5,000 mAh, the Pixel 5 is content with 4,080 mAh. Should we cry scandal? No, not so quickly, the Pixel 5 has excellent control over its consumption and this will give it autonomy close to phones with a larger capacity battery.

It took me 81 minutes to charge the battery from 1% to 100%, this is a great score for 18W fast charging. The charging speed is quite linear up to 80%, it decreases sharply after this limit. It takes 13 minutes to charge 20% but the last 20 percent takes 30 minutes.

With the screen brightness at 100% I got an excellent battery life of 773 minutes, which is comparable to phones equipped with a battery 5000 mAh (or even better than these phones). How is it possible? Screen size does play a role, with 6 inches the Pixel doesn't have a huge screen but power management is arguably the second factor behind this very good score. If I lower the brightness to 50%, I get a battery life of 1559 minutes and here too it's a great score.

The Google Pixel 5 therefore has very good battery life and charging speed, so it will score above average for the battery test.

Photo camera test

To test the quality of photos produced by a phone, I do a technical test (resolution, sharpness, chromatic aberration,...) in studio (identical conditions) to evaluate the technical part objectively. From the second half of 2020, I built my own laboratory to take completely objective technical measurements. I then take pictures in real conditions to see how the camera performs. I then evaluate these photos according to my criteria but I publish the photos so that you can evaluate the result according to your criteria.

Hardware

The Google Pixel 5 doesn't bother with a large number of sensors on the back, there's just a main sensor and an ultra-wide-angle sensor. For the main sensor, Google chose the Sony IMX 363. This sensor is not very recent, it has been used on many other phones like the Pixel 4, Pixel 3, Redmi 8A, Nokia 8.1, Poco F1, etc ... The Pixel 5 has the reputation of being an excellent phone for photography, although it uses an old sensor. How to explain that? Google's optimization layer will play a crucial role here and will allow it to compete with newer sensors or even exceed them.

The ultra wide angle sensor is a Sony IMX 355 found on many other phones and the selfie sensor is a 16 million pixel Sony IMX 481.

Photo quality

Photo quality (indoor/studio)

The studio test is carried out under the same conditions so that the results can be compared on an equal basis. I calibrate my lighting for each test to obtain the same brightness and colour temperature. This test is a preliminary analysis of the technical qualities of a camera. Most phones fail this test, so you should also read the results of the other tests in the following paragraphs.

Main sensor: Sony IMX 363

For this first studio shot, I see that like most Sony sensors, I get a slightly underexposed photo but it doesn't does not mean anything about the services outside so do not panic. The sharpness seems good enough without being exaggerated, the weighting is done mainly on the middle. The colors are a little too dark but it is related to the underexposure of the photo.

With this photo, we can better understand the level of sharpness offered. At first glance, the sharpness looks pretty good because the Canadian note is well detailed but if I zoom in 200% on this image, I get this:

The level of detail is not just good , it is exceptional. Some phones fail to produce this level of detail with a 100% zoomed photo and here with a 200% zoomed photo, the quality degradation and almost imperceptible and the post is full of detail. The sharpness degrades a bit on the periphery but given the level in the center I'm sure the periphery is better than the sharpness in the center of a lot of phones. The technical test should make it possible to quantify this sharpness and compare it to other phones in a purely objective way.

Secondary sensor: Sony IMX 355

I have already tested this sensor more than ten times, so I will go directly go to the conclusion. This ultra wide angle sensor experiences a very visible distortion like most sensors of this type, the sharpness is significantly worse than the main sensor, the exposure level is quite similar to the main sensor despite the smaller amount of light flooding in this sensor.

The sharpness test with the banknotes clearly shows the difference between the main and secondary sensors. The Canadian banknote has lost all of its details and it has a significantly inferior to other phones using the same sensor. Google optimization did not have a positive effect here, the smoothing effect is very noticeable and the photo looks very contrasted.

Photo: technical test

I was inspired by industrial technical tests to create my own technical test to evaluate the technical quality of a camera. This test is an objective assessment of a camera's ability to render a scene correctly.

I test the following elements:
- centre sharpness, peripheral sharpness
- colour fidelity based on 24 reference colours
- level of chromatic aberration
- dynamic range (ability to capture dark and light areas without loss)
- distortion

The technical evaluation may differ from the subjective evaluation as the feeling of a photo will be influenced by the processing provided by each manufacturer.

Main sensor: Sony IMX 363

Outdoor photo quality

Main sensor: Sony IMX 363

It took me almost two weeks to be able to take my photos outdoors, the weather was frankly too bad to take photos outdoors . The following photos were taken one afternoon in December with fairly significant cloud cover. Google phones use an application developed by Google to enhance photos, this application is Gcam. What is the secret of this application? Google has not reinvented the wheel but uses HDR very effectively to improve the rendering of photos. Other brands do exactly the same, but few make it to Google's level of optimization.

The photo I chose at the beginning of this paragraph gives the impression that the light was bright but it was not. I had taken the Xiaomi 11T with me when I went out to take photos with the Pixel 5 and the difference is quite striking. Here is for example a photo taken with the 11T:

This photo was taken under the same conditions as the following photo taken with the Pixel 5:

I don't think I will find anyone who will tell me that the 11T's photo is better than the Pixel's. Pixel processing is much more efficient even if in the end it diverts reality to make it more pleasant. The processing of the Pixel 5 is going to make your life much easier, much like cars crammed with assistances that will make you feel like a good driver. There is nothing wrong with that and Google gets it right. This "magic" of processing works well whether you are viewing your photos on a phone screen or laptop screen, the flaws start to appear when you view a photo on a large screen with good resolution.

Secondary sensor: Sony IMX 355

This sensor is without doubt the most used ultra wide angle sensor in 2020/2021, I tested it many times, so I have already repeated many times what I thought but in summary, I would say that this sensor has a good colorimetry , good dynamic range and poor sharpness. The processing provided by Google improves the lack of sharpness of this sensor a little, this processing is very visible when you zoom in beyond 100%, I see white lines appearing on the outlines of trees and leaves. This problem is not visible on a small screen. However, the processing is not sufficient to recover the gray area on the outskirts, but I will not be difficult, Google has done a good job.

Test photo / night

It is with the night photo that the Google Pixels are illustrated and I will show you that this reputation is not at all usurped but we must however qualify the result a little because other phones also produce good results.

I'm going to start with a famous sight in Dinant in Belgium taken by the Pixel 5:

The photo as a whole is very successful because we can undoubtedly do better with a camera SLR photo but that's not counting the bulk, the tripod and everything you need to take a good night photo with a low ISO value. This photo was taken by hand without any support or assistance. I will show a photo taken more or less at the same time with a Samsung Galaxy S20:

Here too I find that the photo is quite successful but overall it is less exposed. The Pixel therefore does better, but the difference is not huge either. I will now zoom the two photos to 100% to see which one does the best in detail.

To analyze this photo you need a large screen because on a smartphone screen you will probably not see anything. Samsung is on the left and Google is on the right. If you take a look at the "Mov In" lettering or the window surrounds, you will see that in reality the Samsung offers better sharpness. There are many details in the photo that clearly lean in favor of the Samsung. The photo taken by the Pixel is better exposed and it gives the false impression that the photo is better detailed but it is wrong.

The goal of this demonstration is not to tarnish the Pixel 5 because it has undeniable qualities for night photos, its processing is very effective but it does not have light years ahead of the rest of the market as we can read on some sites.

I will then move on to another series of photos taken in even more difficult conditions because I was in a cave (the Han caves in Belgium), the lighting is very uneven with very dark areas and very light areas. Again the Google Pixel does a great job, the ease and speed with which it processes these photos is impressive. Here is a first photo taken with the Pixel:

And the same taken with the Samsung:

Here also the two photos are quite successful but if we zoom in, the Samsung wins .

I added some other photos taken with the Pixel for your viewing pleasure and to explore this pretty cave:

If the sky allows it, I would also test the astrophotography mode available on the Pixel, I tested this mode on other phones and it is simply stunning.

Video quality

Stabilisation

The Pixel 5 is powerful enough to stabilize 4k video recording quite effectively. Most of the shock and movement is absorbed by the stabilization and when I was filming the stabilization felt like I had a delay in the display which is not visible in the final video. Stabilizing a video in 4k is not something within the reach of all phones, the Pixel 5 does well even if it is not the best phone among those I have tested.

Video normale conditions

The Pixel 5 is capable of producing 4k video and 60 frames per second. The videos produced by this phone are of good quality, the processing layer provided by Google does a good job here too. The dynamic range is wide enough, the passage from the horizon to the sky does not cause any visible exposure jumps. On the other hand, I find that the video is slightly underexposed and that some images are lost in the processing because the video is not always of equal fluidity (despite the slowness of the movements). Focusing is very fast and is done naturally without having to force the sensor's decision.

Video low light

Not yet available / tested

External audio quality

This test is intended to give you an overview of the volume and sound quality during calls and when listening to music through the external speakers.

Audio / music quality

The external speaker of the Google Pixel 5 produces medium power sound. The sound quality is quite good although it cannot compete with a dedicated speaker or the quality with headphones. The sound is not too high as it is often the case. The two speakers are located at the bottom of the phone.

Audio quality / calls

The call volume is higher than average with values between 50 and 60 dB where I usually get values between 40 and 50 dB. I found the sound to be quite smooth, not overly high-pitched like many phones. If I use the external speaker to make a call, the dB level goes up to 78 dB, which is high enough for the volume in call. This phone should therefore do better in a noisy environment.

Audio quality (headphones)

To test the quality of the phone's audio output, I connect the device's audio output to a measuring tool, then play sounds on all frequencies and measure the differences between the original sound and the sound produced by the phone. In this way I measure the phone's ability to correctly reproduce all sounds.

The Pixel 5 uses an audio chip from Realtek that I don't think I've tested on any other phone. This chip is accompanied by an audio amplifier from Cirrus (CS35L41) which will produce a power of 5.3W (8 ohm). It is the same amplifier as the Samsung Galaxy S10 +. I tried to measure the sound quality as I do each time, but the frequency curves were going all over the place while by ear I did not notice any problem. I have encountered this same issue on other phones, it doesn't affect the sound quality in any way, it's just problematic for me as I can't produce my usual graphics.

The sound produced by this Pixel 5 is really good, I perceived a wealth of detail and I even think the quality was limited by the quality of my headphones. We are clearly in the high end here.

Screen quality

To test the screen, I use a colorimetric probe that measures the color accuracy of a screen, as well as other parameters to see if a screen is able to correctly reproduce an image. I also test the brightness level to determine if the screen will be able to display an image in full sunlight.

Colorimetry

I measured the colorimetry of the screen of this phone as I usually do and first got a score that surprised me a bit for a phone in this range. Delta E was too high. So I tried to improve this score from the phone settings and like Xiaomi, Google favors an overly saturated display. This type of display makes the colors vivid but they are no longer colorimetrically correct. By choosing the "natural colors" mode, I have a dE of 1.11 close to perfect, the biggest difference is on the white which goes up to 3.4.

The screen of this Pixel will therefore rank directly among the best screens in my ranking. The temperature of the white is 6562K, this is also a result close to perfection. It is even likely that the gap in white is caused by the thick protective film on the screen.

Brightness / Contrast

This phone is equipped with an Amoled screen, so the contrast ratio is almost infinite, the blacks are really black, so the images will have excellent depth. The probe didn't even detect light in black, I literally measured 0 cd / m² in black. There is again a possibility that the screen protector may have played a role but a priori if the screen emits light from black, this light will be very weak.

The brightness of this screen is also excellent because by activating the adaptive brightness I was able to measure 721 cd / m². With such brightness, the screen will remain readable even in direct sunlight.

So the screen on this phone is clearly one of the best I have tested so far.

Biometry

Not yet available / tested

Operating system

Not yet available / tested

Encoutered bugs

Not yet available / tested

Accessories Google Pixel 5

Compare Google Pixel 5 with the others

Test / Review conclusion

Before testing this phone, I was wondering what could justify such a price because apart from its good reputation for photography, this Pixel 5 is not revolutionary and in addition it is frankly not very beautiful. I don't give much importance to the design in my tests because it is a very subjective question but the subjective feeling when opening the box for the first time definitely plays a role in the perception of the product. When I was a kid I remember having to use recycled paper because it was cheaper and compared to others in the class the comparison was not very fun. I have the same feeling with this Pixel 5 compared to other high end phones I have tested, I feel like I have a recycled phone in hand. Fortunately I do not stop at this kind of criterion and this phone pleasantly surprised me on many points.

I'm used to big Chinese phones with screens that usually exceed 6.5 inches, the Pixel 5 goes against this trend and it does it well. It offers enough screen size to provide a good experience and its size makes it much easier to pocket than a big Xiaomi. This screen is also a screen of excellent quality from a colorimetric point of view as well as contrast or brightness. Smaller size also means a smaller capacity battery and despite this, the battery life of this Pixel is good. It's a bit like some Apple models that manage to get good battery life with below-average capacity. Google has therefore designed a very well optimized phone here.

As I was far from the first to test this phone, I could read everywhere that it produced excellent photos. I didn't expect to come to a different conclusion but wanted to assess the difference between the subjective perception and the actual technical quality of the sensor. From a purely technical point of view, the Pixel 5's photo sensor is clearly not the best, it's a good sensor but others do better. It is in the processing layer provided by Google that this phone will make the difference by producing very flattering photos that will make you feel like a good photographer. This treatment reminds me of all that driving aids in a car, it makes you feel like a good driver but the car does the job for you. It's the same with this phone.

Among the other qualities of the phone, I would add the sound quality which is comparable to high end phones from Samsung. The performance is good without being extraordinary (equivalent to a phone around 200 €) but this phone is well enough designed to be used in all conditions.

Unfortunately, not everything is perfect, this phone has some shortcomings in other areas. It is a little below average for network sensitivity, GPS performance / accuracy is also average.

Strengths

Photo / video quality
Video stabilization
Sound quality
Battery performance
Size / weight
Screen quality

Weaknesses

Network sensitivity
GPS accuracy
Volume button in the wrong place
Does not accept all cables for recharging
Level of finish frankly average

Alternatives to this product

Not yet available / tested