The Google Pixel 5a Is $449, Adds a Bigger Screen and Water Resistance (arstechnica.com) 58
Google's next midrange smartphone is the Pixel 5a, featuring a slightly bigger display than last year's Pixel 4a, a considerably larger battery and IP67 water and dust resistance. It's priced at $449, which is $100 more than the Pixel 4a, and is expected to be the last Google phone to include a charger in the box (sorry Pixel 6 fans). Ars Technica reports: Part of the reason for the price increase is that the Pixel 5a is a bigger phone, with a 6.34-inch display and 73.7 mm width compared to the Pixel 4a's 5.8-inch display and 69.4 mm width. Another big change is the addition of IP67 dust and water resistance, which means the phone should survive submersion in 3 feet of water (1 meter) for 30 minutes. As with the Pixel 5, the Pixel 5a's body is metal coated in plastic instead of the pure plastic body of the Pixel 4a. We didn't see the appeal of this construction in the Pixel 5, but the new phone is presumably stronger now.
As usual, we're getting a no-frills design that takes care of the basics. On the front, there's a slim-bezel OLED display and a hole-punch camera in the top right, while there are two cameras (main and wide-angle) and a capacitive fingerprint reader on the back. Specs include a Snapdragon 765G (that's a 7 nm chip with two Cortex A76 cores and six Cortex A55 cores), 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and the biggest battery of any Pixel: 4680 mAh. The main camera is 12.2 MP and looks like the same Sony IMX363 sensor that Google has used for the past four years. There's a 16 MP wide-angle and an 8 MP front camera. Oh yeah, the headphone jack is sticking around for at least one more year. If there's a disappointment with the Pixel 5a, it's the 60 Hz display, which is looking pretty slow in a world where 90 Hz and 120 Hz are often the norm. Another important note is that the Pixel 5a will get three years of major updates and three years of security updates. It's currently available for preorder now and starts shipping on August 26.
As usual, we're getting a no-frills design that takes care of the basics. On the front, there's a slim-bezel OLED display and a hole-punch camera in the top right, while there are two cameras (main and wide-angle) and a capacitive fingerprint reader on the back. Specs include a Snapdragon 765G (that's a 7 nm chip with two Cortex A76 cores and six Cortex A55 cores), 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and the biggest battery of any Pixel: 4680 mAh. The main camera is 12.2 MP and looks like the same Sony IMX363 sensor that Google has used for the past four years. There's a 16 MP wide-angle and an 8 MP front camera. Oh yeah, the headphone jack is sticking around for at least one more year. If there's a disappointment with the Pixel 5a, it's the 60 Hz display, which is looking pretty slow in a world where 90 Hz and 120 Hz are often the norm. Another important note is that the Pixel 5a will get three years of major updates and three years of security updates. It's currently available for preorder now and starts shipping on August 26.
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Apple products are good walled gardens, I'll grant you that. Also, Apple is a good way to get electrocuted. [apple.com]
Where's the power adapter? (Score:2)
I'm putting this thread here so that all the slashdot tees who mocked Apple for not including a power adapter have a convenient place to say their mea culplas and ask forgiveness in their shame.
Does it make phone calls? (Score:4, Interesting)
I relinquished my Galaxy S9+ for a Pixel 5, and convinced my family members to do the same. We wanted to love them. Unfortunately, we all hate them. It's the only phone we've had which doesn't reliably make phone calls. They have persistent audio handling bugs which cause silence during phone calls, WIFI calling which frequently doesn't work and doesn't failover to 4G/5G, bad speakers compared to other cheaper phones, UI bugs which make them nonresponsive when receiving calls sometimes, bizarre SMS-handling bugs after switching SIM cards (required factory resets, reoccurred several times), and bad cell reception compared to Samsung phones in the same location. They are just buggy, poorly-performing hardware. These bugs are all widely complained about online, with few reliable resolutions and little support from Google. We'll be going back to Samsung as soon as we get fed up enough to sell out the cash and ditch these suckers. Quite disappointing, because they seem like such a good product in theory but the execution is inadequate.
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Re:Does it make phone calls? (Score:4, Insightful)
Are you sure it's not your carrier?
I have a Pixel 5 (got one a few days after launch on offer) and have never had issues with calls or SMS. Or reception for that matter.
Overall I love the Pixel 5. Great camera, very smooth and responsive with a 90Hz display. Great battery life. At launch there was a bug where the proximity sensor was visible sometimes but they fixed that within a couple of weeks.
Re: Warranty repair service? (Score:2)
Re: Does it make phone calls? (Score:1)
But it uses up an update within two months (Score:2)
Can anyone sell me on this? (Score:2)
I have old tech and need to upgrade. Not a fan of having Google on my phone, but I'm already on Android. No idea where to go from here, really, so give it your best shot.
My current phone / digital assistant is a Thanksgiving Black Friday special, so I'm not precious about any of it.
Re:Can anyone sell me on this? (Score:4, Insightful)
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The tech is unsupported by the service provider. I need a new one, or a new provider. I'm not a fucking idiot.
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Looks like a decent modern handset for a reasonable price. But personally after seriously considering Pixel I keep going back for another Moto. Just appreciate the value too much.
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>"I have old tech and need to upgrade. [] No idea where to go from here, really, so give it your best shot."
Check out the Samsung A52 5G. Very similar specs, but with front finger sensor.
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If you want to play around with LineageOS or other alternative Android-based ROMs, the Pixel phones are pretty good bet because they tend to be decently supported as they are popular and because you can unlock the bootloader.
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Take a look at the Motorola G [motorola.com] line. I've had a Moto G5s Plus for a few years that I paid about $200 for and I've been very happy with it. You get 90% of a $1000 phone for $200 or less, and the missing features (mine doesn't have NFC) are not really missed.
And those features do eventually show up in cheaper phones, just 2-3 years behind the "flagship" phones - a lot like how Mercedes and BMW cars have features before they become standard in Hondas and Toyotas. Biggest tech scam of the decade is convincing
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I appreciate all of your input. Except for the guy who thinks I'm an idiot.
60hz (Score:5, Informative)
Am I the only person in the world who doesn't give the slightest shit about the screen refresh rate?
Any more than 60hz is a total waste of time on any device.
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You're not the only one. Lamest handset review point ever.
Re:60hz (Score:4, Interesting)
It's a talking point for the review industry. Everything else has more or less gotten good enough and is at the point where all the manufacturers are doing the same thing, that the only points of differentiation are the screen refresh rate and camera quality. They don't have anything else to talk about, but need to find something to fill in negatives. Something that has changed, is none of these reviews discuss call quality anymore, whereas that used to be a thing of phone reviews.
I've dabbled with phones with the higher refresh rate, it's a subtle improvement, but noticeable if you're looking for it, however, I'd never leave it switched on as I'd always prefer the longer battery life.
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it haz electrolites.
Same lame argument since sellers tried to sell new things that weren't new. Add a 'sport' sticker to a car, larger tires, whatever.
What matters : people can brag about their bigger thingie at coffee break.
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it's good for gaming, like fps's, but yea you really don't need it for text, or videos which is most of the phone use case.
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90Hz is noticeably smoother to me. It's slightly easier to track text as you scroll the screen.
Re:60hz (Score:4, Interesting)
>"Am I the only person in the world who doesn't give the slightest shit about the screen refresh rate?"
No you are not. I couldn't care less, either. The lack of an SD card and putting the finger sensor on the back are things they should have thought about, instead. Hey, at least they didn't get rid of the headphone jack (which, for me, is important).
The other joke of phones is the case material. Done for reasons other than strength or weight, it stupid. Most people are going to put it in a case, anyway.
And bigger and bigger is still an irritating trend. Many of us don't want a huge phone, and yet don't want a "lower spec" phone just because we don't want to carry around a tablet-sized device.
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Agreed. I wouldn't pay an extra $50 to get a higher refresh rate.
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The Pixel 5a actually costs $50 less than the Pixel 4a 5g which came before.
The Pixel 5a costs more than the Pixel 4a because that one did not have 5g wireless.
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Phones are supposed to get better after a year.
Pixel 4a 5G and 5a uses the same CPU, RAM, camera, storage.
It's basically the same phone. But with IP67 and larger battery. The 4a is also similar, but smaller and without 5G.
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Any more than 60hz is a total waste of time on any device.
Higher refresh rate screens make movement and scrolling look *way* better (if you care). At this point I'd gladly take higher refresh rate over higher resolution. To me, it was very noticeable going from 60 to 90 Hz. I look forward to my next phone being 120 Hz, although the improvement might not be as noticeable. There is a real difference. Maybe you don't notice or care.
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And with a single post, redback has destroyed the entire gaming industry. All that money invested in 120Hz or 144Hz displays. All the modern game consoles supporting 4k120. All the high end GPU cards. All go "poof" with the one declaration that over 60Hz is pointless. A good chunk of the consumer electronics industry too, from TVs adopting 4k120 and al
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You are not alone. I look for a number of things in a phone; screen refresh rate is not one of them.
Expensive (Score:1)
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Less than half of flagship price while having far more than half the functionality. But personally I'll probably go for Moto once again, less than half the price of the Pixel while having far more than half the functionality.
Re:Expensive (Score:4, Insightful)
This is the same AOC, Bernie Sanders logic that pharmaceuticals are over priced because the pill cost $.25 to make.
The second phone cost $170 in parts. The first one cost $100M.
The manufacturers have huge investment in R&D for each new phone. Add the cost for getting a phone certified in dozens of countries. And this is before they ever sell a single phone. Where do you think they get the money for this?
improvements! (Score:2)
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No. We want more screen space but *smaller* phones that we can carry in our pockets. In other words: We want *both*.
That is why manufacturers have been trying to make roll-up and folding phones for decades now.
I think the ultimate solution will be a *virtual* big screen. As in: It looks huge when you look at it, but it's actually tiny.
And preferably without wearing glasses or contact lenses.
Anyone who manages that, will make a shitton of money.
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There used to be a joke in a cartoon reminding one of hip-hoppers carrying huge boom boxes, but it was "Mainframez in da hood!". With reel-to-reel storage and everything.
We could update that joke to "Phabelets in da hood!". But be sure to show one guy's phablet being so thin, that it cuts his shoulder clean off. And then he goes "It's only a flesh wound.". ;)
Font/back (Score:2)
Oh well. I just ordered the Samsung A52 5G instead. Why? Because it has a front (behind screen) finger sensor (and retains SD card and headphone jack). Like the old Pixels, the new ones have the sensor on the back, which (to me) is extremely inconvenient.
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>"and yet in a year or two you''ll have to ditch it because the battery is not replaceable (I assume). my 3500 mah batteries last about 18 months, but I just get a new one for $12 and keep going."
Pretty much all phones are like that. So it isn't much of a deciding factor. At least most of the batteries CAN be replaced, it just takes a lot of effort and is dangerous. I replaced the non-replaceable batteries in my Nexus 5, then in my Moto G5+, and even my Moto 360. So far I have been lucky.
A bigger screen is a minus (Score:2)
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Finally water resistant (Score:2)
Been waiting for a long time for water resistance to come to the a line. I've had a pixel 2 since they came out but couldn't bring myself to go to the 3a or 4a due to lack of water resistance.
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Pixel 4a 5g Owner (Score:2)
I'm completely underwhelmed by the 5a specs as a 4a 5g owner. A Phone Arena comparison [phonearena.com] shows almost no benefit... same processor, same GPU, same memory, same storage, same camera specs. A slightly larger display size and battery capacity doesn't seem worth the upgrade at all. In fact if you can find a sale on the 4a 5g heading into the 5a launch I'd consider getting that, basically the same phone.
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You're right, no reason to "upgrade". But if you're a new buyer or coming from an older phone, you get those minor upgrades (battery and screen) and it's $50 cheaper. The carriers want all phones to have 5G going forward, and this model and price are probably as low as Google felt it could go and offer something worthy of being called a Pixel.
So why do the carriers want everybody to have 5G phones? It's not so much that they deliver higher speeds to the user; at any given amount of bandwidth, 5G only offers
Don't forget, no more free storage (Score:2)
Up until now, all google phones have had free storage for photo/video uploads:
Pixel 1 - free forever at original quality
Pixel 2 - free until Jan 2021 at original quality, unlimited storage saver forever
Pixel 3 - free until Jan 2022 at original quality, unlimited storage saver forever
Pixel 3a, 4, 4a, 5 - unlimited storage saver forever
Pixel 5a (and upcoming 6) - it's looking like no free storage offer at all.
I wish I would want another Google phone. (Score:2)
I remember when I still liked the Google phones. Stock android is so much better than the other providers who fill'em with various crap.
The problem is that they're too big. Waaay too big. The last Google Phone I found to have an acceptable size of was Google Nexus 4. After that, it's gotten worse and worse.
The Nexus 4 was 133.9 x 68.7. This one is 156.2 x 73.2.
If we go all the way back to my *favorite* one, size-wise, we have to go back to the Nexus One, clocking in at 119 x 59.8.
No More (Score:2)
I've had Pixel phones for a number of years.
My last pixel 4 died inside a year - replaced under warranty.
That replacement lasted 6 months before dying as well - in for repair now.
In the meantime I bought an Oppo that was $180 Australian - 10% of a pixel price. It's slow but it gets the job done.
No more pixels for me as the quality is rubbish.
It's more like the Pixel 4a 5G (Score:2)