Pixel 4 was a complete flop. In fact, the sales were so ridiculously low that Google had to discontinue the phone even before the phone turned a year old. The most probable reason for this was an insanely small 2,800mAh coupled with a 90Hz display (which is bound to drain the battery and is a complete no-no if the phone has a smaller cell), and gimmicky features that almost no one uses.
The Pixel 3a/XL, Google’s budget offerings that were priced $399 and $479 were so well received that the lineup became US’s most selling smartphones. Recently, Google launched its successor, the 4a, which is making a lot of people reconsider their “expensive” phone buying choices.
When we think about Google, Google has almost always never been a hardware-focused company and that’s what they’re trying to do here with their budget models, trying to offer better software at a cheaper price and they’ve done it very well. There’ve been a lot of rumours floating about the Pixel 5 and here’s everything we know so far.
Pixel 5: The Result of Google’s Continuous Failures
Pixel 5 is the 5th generation of Pixel devices from Google. This line up was launched after Google decided to part ways from other OEMs that the company partnered with, to give us the Nexus lineup. Now, each Pixel phone in the lineup came with two variants; A smaller Pixel N and a larger Pixel N XL but, this time around, Google might skip the Pixel 5 for the XL variant or vice-versa.
The name “Pixel 5” was first discovered in the beta version of Google App alongside other Pixel phones which included the Pixel 4a 5G which is yet to be released. Apart from that, we’ve also seen codenames of the devices in the AOSP codes, which were “redfin”, “sunfish”, and “bramble.” 4a was sunfish, 4a 5G could be redfin, and 5 could be bramble.
Flagship Redefined?
They’ve been rumours that the next iteration of Pixel will be a mid-ranger but, nothing can be deduced as of now as the specs are still a mystery. However, the presence of Snapdragon 765G as per the leaks suggest the Pixel 5 could actually be a mid-range device. The Pixel 5 will be a 5G handset that will provide best in class camera, wireless charging, and will probably still have water resistance.
Rumours also suggest that we’re talking OLED tech capped at 120Hz refresh rate which is exciting. Rest of the specifications like the cameras, battery, the amount of RAM and Storage are still a mystery. However, a teardown of Google Camera app has hinted the presence of features like dedicated motion blur and audio zoom for video calling.
Considering it will be a mid-range device, it is almost certain that Google will keep gimmicks out of their way and give us a great polished experience.
Pricing?
Considering the Snapdragon 765G is almost two years old now, whilst also considering the pricing of other recently launched smartphones with the same, I don’t see any reason for crossing the $650 mark this time.
Yes, it’s a premium midrange device, yes you get incredible software experience and support, yes you do get great cameras and for all this, a price if $650 is justifiable no? Especially when the OnePlus Nord costs $399.
It Looks Pretty Amazing
The Pixel 5 looks more like the Pixel 4a but, with dual cameras. Take these images as a pinch of salt as the end product might look different. The images also show us that the fingerprint scanner will be on the rear.
Recently, a poster showing the Pixel 5 was leaked which says “5G,” which confirms the presence of 5G in the phone.
Do we have a Release Date?
Google would launch Pixels in October within a few weeks. The Pixel 2 was launched on October 4, while the Pixel 3 launched in Q1 of October. Hence, it is safe to assume that Pixel 5 will also be revealed in October.
We suggest you take these rumours as a pinch of salt as there is no official confirmation about anything except the poster. Keeping your expectations lower is always a good thing. Why? If things go wrong, you’ll be less disappointed.
The 4a was delayed due to pandemic and you never know what would happen due to this pandemic.