Google Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G have been launched earlier today, and while this launch event was a hotly anticipated one until 2018, last year’s presence of the Soli radar chip on the Pixel 4 changed it all for India. As a result, we in India will have to remain content with the Pixel 4a, which is set to start selling via Flipkart in the coming days. Meanwhile, customers in nine 5G-ready markets will be privy to the latest phones from Google, which incidentally have a number of intriguing choices in terms of their specifications.
Google Pixel 5
First up, the Pixel 5 is no longer powered by the outright flagship chipset of the year. Google is clearly not going for spec-sheet-tearing firepower with its phones. Instead, the Pixel 5 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chipset, which is accompanied by the X52 5G modem chip to offer the latest generation of connectivity speeds and linked benefits. The processor is paired with 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage, and a 4,080mAh battery with 18W fast charging powers the phone. Needless to say, Android 11 will be running on the phone when you draw it out of the box for the first time.
Google has removed the Motion Sense front camera and the radar array that it required, so you now get an edge to edge display without a thick chin at the bottom, and a punch-hole front camera. The display is a 6-inch, full HD+ OLED screen with 19.5:9 aspect ratio and 90Hz refresh rate. It is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 6 on top. On the rear, the Pixel 5 features a physical fingerprint sensor that reminds us of the good old Nexus 5X – from an era where physical, rear-mounted fingerprint sensors on premium phones would not have raised eyebrows.
Nevertheless, Google says that the Pixel 5 is made entirely of recycled aluminium and also offers enhanced grip, and the new Sorta Sage colour looks super appealing too. The rear gets a dual camera setup, and this replaces the Pixel 4’s telephoto unit with an ultra-wide unit. The camera setup now has a 12.2-megapixel primary sensor with f/1.7 lens, and optical and electronic image stabilisation. The 16-megapixel second sensor gets an f/2.2 ultra-wide lens with 107-degrees field of view. The game, as always, is not in the spec sheet – Google is throwing its weight on the famous computational photography algorithms, which have so far managed to blow us away each year.
The 8-megapixel front camera gets Portrait Light and Night Sight modes, too. The former mode can adjust the lighting on portrait mode photos, and a Cinematic Pan setting further adds to the videography credentials of the Pixel 5. Finally, the Pixel 5 gets wireless as well as reverse wireless charging, Wi-Fi 5 in terms of connectivity and IPX8 durability rating to protect the phone against splashes of water.
The Pixel 5 will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Taiwan, UK and USA, and preorders begin from today and run until October 14 (October 29 in USA). Until stocks last, those who preorder the Pixel 5 will reportedly get a free pair of Bose QuietComfort 35 II noise-cancelling headphones, which makes us miss the Pixel 5 in India even more. The Google Pixel 5 is priced at $699 (approx. Rs 51,500).
Google Pixel 4a 5G
The Pixel 4a 5G is the biggest Pixel screen size that you can get this year, thanks to a 6.2-inch OLED full HD+ panel. The Pixel 4a 5G also runs on the Snapdragon 765G chipset, and gets the exact same camera configuration as the Pixel 5 – 12.2-megapixel + 16-megapixel on the rear, and 8-megapixel on the front (in the punch-hole slot). However, there are plenty of differences, too.
To begin with, the Pixel 4a 5G gets lesser RAM, at 6GB only. It also gets a comparatively smaller battery – 3,885mAh, but thankfully with the same 18W fast charging via USB Power Delivery. Instead of the premium aluminium build of the Pixel 5, the Pixel 4a 5G gets a polycarbonate build that will feel like a step-down once you’ve held an aluminium-body phone. As a result, it also does not get any dust or water resistance, and neither does it get any reverse wireless charging. It also gets an older generation Gorilla Glass 3 protection layer.
With these many corners cut, the Pixel 4a 5G still makes sense purely thanks to the cameras on board. It is a more affordable entry point to Google’s Pixel camera experience, without missing out on the future-proof 5G chip inside. The Google Pixel 4a 5G will sell in all of the nine countries where the Pixel 5 is premiering, and preorders will open between November 5 and 19 (in Japan, it goes on sale earlier, on October 15). The Pixel 4a 5G costs $499 (approx. Rs 36,500).
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