Google’s Pixel 5 Targets Coronavirus Impacted Economies

Google has recognised the harsh economic realities of a world that has been gripped by the global Coronavirus pandemic for the past ten months.

It has announced a new flagship smartphone, the Pixel 5, that prioritises features over performance, in an effort to deliver an affordable device for users.

The Pixel 5 was revealed at Google’s Launch Night In livestream event, with prices starting at just $699 (£599 in the UK). Google unveiled a number of other phones, including the $499 Pixel 4a 5G, which offers similar performance, without some of the premium features.

Pixel 5

Google also showcased Nest Audio and Chromecast with Google TV at the event.

The Pixel 5 is available to pre-order now from the Google Store and it will ship on 15 October.

Storage wise, the Pixel 5 comes with a maximum of 128GB, which seems limited in this day and age. It also does not support microSD cards to expand that capacity further.

Colour wise, it comes in either green (Sorta Sage) or black (Just Black), and the body is made out of recycled aluminium, which differs from rival smartphones that tend to feature glass or plastic backs.

Smartphone makers typically use those materials to allow for wireless charging, but the Pixel 5 does still allow wireless charging despite the aluminium shell, which is IPX8 water-resistant.

It also weighs 151 grams, and measures 144.7 x 70.4 x 8mm.

So what other features does the Pixel 5 offer? Well, it offers a 6-inch Full HD display with a resolution of 1080 x 2340. The display is an OLED panel and is an always-on display.

In an effort to save costs and make a more affordable phone, the Pixel 5 doesn’t boast a top-end processor but rather utilises the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G processor, coupled with 8GB of RAM.

5G enabled

The Pixel 5 comes with a 4,080mAh battery, and it also offers a reverse-charging feature called Battery Share, so users can charge supported devices with their smarpthone.

And it is 5G enabled, but users will have to sign up to more expensive month plans to utilise this connectivity (and live in a 5G enabled area).

The smarpthone runs the latest version of Android (Android 11).

Port wise, there is a USB-C port at the bottom of the phone, but no 3.5mm headphone jack. A fingerprint scanner is included on the rear the handset, and unlike its predecessor model, there is no 3D Face Unlock technology.

Lastly the Pixel 5 offers a 12.2MP dual-pixel camera, coupled with a 16MP ultra-wide camera.

The front facing camera is a 8MP selfie camera.